Motion Graphics Taster Monday 26 Jan 2026

Motion Graphics Taster on Saturday 20th July

Join us on Monday 26 Jan 2026 at 5.30pm for a free taster session in Adobe Illustrator, one of the key pieces of software used on our Motion Graphics MA and Short Course. 

This taster session takes place online and offers prospective students a chance to meet our tutors, try out our software and find out what it's like to study with us.   This Adobe Illustrator Taster is taught by Escape Studios Motion Graphics Tutor Daniel Amor. 

"The VFX Life" With Brooke McGowan 3 Feb 2026

Join us on Tuesday 3 February at 6pm for our next VFX Event, "The VFX Life Blueprint" with vfx compositor (and Escapee) Brooke McGowan.  

Brooke McGowan is a VFX artist and professional life coach whose goal is to "empower the VFX, Film & TV Industry to learn the skills they need to build multiple streams of income".   To sign up for this free event, follow this link. 

"Meet The Masters" with Kevin Richards 16 Dec 2025

"Meet The Masters" with Kevin Richards 16 Dec at 6pm

Join us on Tuesday 16 December at 6pm for our next "Meet The Masters" events with Escape Studios' animation tutor Kevin Richards.  To sign up for this free event, follow this link. 

Meet The MoCap Masters: Adam Bennett 17 Dec 2025

Join us for our next "Meet the Masters" event at Escape Studios with Motion Graphics veteran Adam Bennett on Wednesday December 17th at 6pm GMT.  Adam will introduce motion graphics beginners to "Five Motion Graphics Techniques That Actually Work", focusing on practical solutions that bring fast results.  To sign up for this event, follow this link. 

Undergraduate Taster Day 6 December 2025

Sat 6th Dec 2025 - Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day

Join us on Saturday 6th December 2025 for our next Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day for an introduction to our undergraduate degrees in animation, games and vfx.  Come along and find out what it's like to study at Escape Studios. 

Escape Studios International Student Guide

International Student Guide

This September Escape studios welcomed our first new international students since Brexit. 

Escape Studios recently received our UKVI Licence, meaning that we are now able to sponsor international students to study with us on student visas.

Now that we are once again in a position to open our doors to students from overseas, we have launched our new International Student Guide to answer questions about studying at Escape Studios, with all the information international students need in one place.

Visit our website and fill in the form for access to our International Student Guide.

Render Motion Blur in Maya and Arnold

How to Render Motion Blur in Maya and Arnold:  This very simple and very short tutorial shows how to turn on Motion Blur in the Arnold Renderer in Autodesk Maya.  Why would we want to turn on motion blur? Because when we have very fast action, we almost always want motion blur; this simulates how our eyes actually see things in real life. 

Learn After Effects in One Hour with Adam Bennett

Learn After Effects in One Hour with Adam Bennett.  Above is a new free tutorial in Motion Graphics from our Motion Graphics tutor Adam Bennett.  Adam's latest tutorial is an introduction to the basics of After Effects, aimed at complete beginners.  And don't forget Adam's large and growing playlist of free Motion Graphics tutorials, hosted at YouTube, to help students get started and to support their classroom learning.  Our new MA in Motion Graphics is now recruiting for February 2025.

Attach and Un-Attach a Hat in Maya

Attach & Un-attach a Hat in Maya Using the Parent Master

In this short tutorial for animation beginners we show how to attach and un-attach a hat to "Monty" in Maya using the free ZV Parent Master Plugin. 

The ZV Parent Master Plugin is a very useful tool that we recommend for attaching and un-attaching objects in Maya.  

To see how to download and install it, read this blog post and watch this video.  

"Stop Motion Effect" Animation Tutorial in Maya

"Stop Motion Effect" Tutorial at YouTube

In this new animation tutorial students learn how to produce a "Stop Motion Effect" in Maya with undergraduate Programme Leader Marc Stevenson.  

Marc's tutorial, hosted at his Animation YouTube Channel, explains how to take a piece of digital animation created in Maya and simulate the look and feel of traditional hand-made stop motion animation. 

Free Motion Graphics Tutorial from Adam Bennett

Above is a new free tutorial in Motion Graphics from our Motion Graphics tutor Adam Bennett.  Adam's latest tutorial is titled "Paul Rand Advert Cel Animation | Process Breakdown". The video shows Adam's creative and technical approach to a client's design brief based on the art of legendary 20th century graphic designer Paul Rand, taking one of Rand's most famous images and bringing it to life through animation.   And don't forget Adam's large and growing playlist of free Motion Graphics tutorials, hosted at YouTube, to help students get started and to support their classroom learning.  Our new MA in Motion Graphics is now recruiting for September 2024.

Cartoony Vehicle Exit and Motion Blur Tutorial

Exit Stage Right - and Motion Blur - with the AnyCar rig

In this very simple tutorial we show how to animate an anticipation, action and reaction in Autodesk Maya, using the Yellow Beetle "AnyCar" rig.

Instead of animating the Beetle out of the frame, we add a "smear frame" in the style of the old Tex Avery or Chuck Jones cartoons.

The reaction at the end is the camera shake, simulating the air pressure as the car whizzes past. 

Animate a "Take" With the Pixo Jr Lamp

Animate a "Take" reaction shot with the Pixo Jr lamp

In this simple free tutorial we show how to animate a "take" (a reaction shot), with the Pixo Jr lamp rig which you can download from highend3d.com. 

The tutorial is a simple one, aimed at animation beginners, but it helps if you are already familiar with the Maya Interface.  Follow the thumbnails below to replicate the tutorial.

Smear Frame Animation Tutorial in Maya

In this brief tutorial we show how to animate a "Smear Frame". Smear Frames simulate motion blur in super-snappy animation, in the style of the old Tex Avery or Chuck Jones cartoons.

But how do you do a Smear Frame in 3D animation, using Maya character rigs? Watch our free tutorial to find out.

Animation Tutorial in Maya - Fish Swimming

Animate a fish swimming in Maya

In this simple tutorial we show how to animate a fish swimming, and then add some underwater lighting using Maya's software renderer. 

Start with a single side-to-side rotation of the fish; then copy and paste the curves down the fish's body, offsetting each curve by two frames. 

The result is the distinctive swish of a fish's tail.  The underwater lighting with caustics can be done with a few clicks. 

How To Get Hired in Motion Graphics

We're delighted to offer a new free tutorial in Motion Graphics from our Motion Graphics tutor Adam Bennett.  Adam's latest tutorial is titled "Seven Showreel Tips to Help You Get Hired".  Putting together a great demo reel is the key to getting hired in the creative industries.  Adam has also created a playlist of free tutorials, hosted at YouTube, to help students get started and to support their classroom learning.  Our new MA in Motion Graphics is now recruiting for September 2024.

Animate a Submarine Underwater in Maya

Animate a Submarine Underwater

In this super simple tutorial we show how to animate a submarine traveling underwater.  This is a very basic tutorial aimed at beginners in Maya. 

The idea is to do some simple animation of an underwater scene, then add a caustic effect to reproduce the effect of light penetrating water. 

Animate a Simple Camera Shake in Maya

Animate a Camera Shake in Maya with Monty

In this free animation tutorial we show how to animate a camera shake in Maya.  It's a simple tutorial aimed at beginners learning 3d animation in Autodesk Maya. 

To animate the camera shake is simple - it's just a few keyframes on the x rotation on the shot camera, simulating what might happen to a real camera operator if (as in this example) a school bus were to whizz past at high speed. 

Free Tutorial: Animate a Cartoony Car To a Stop

In this super simple beginner animation tutorial we show how to animate a vehicle coming to a sudden stop. The free tutorial uses the free "AnyCar 3.1.4 for Maya" rig, downloadable here from Creative Crash.  

This is a fun, simple tutorial that is aimed at animation beginners in Autodesk Maya, part of our series of animation basics for students who have never used Maya before.  

Animate a Traffic Cone Being Knocked Over

Animate a Traffic Cone Being Knocked Over

In this beginner's animation tutorial we show how to animate a traffic cone being knocked over by a speeding car.  It's a simple exercise - based on the Yellow Beetle animation tutorial - which you can find here.  

You can however use any vehicle, and animate it by simply setting a keyframe at the start and the end of the motion.  The timing of the traffic cone is very simple; with just a few rotation keyframes we can add texture to the scene.