New Books for the Comics Library

"Bone" by Jeff Smith for the Animation Library

We're getting ready for the launch of our new BA/MArt in Comics and Narrative Storytelling by acquiring new books for the comics section of our library at Escape Studios, including two copies of the "Bone" series of comics by Jeff Smith. 

Bone is an American fantasy comic book series written and illustrated by cartoonist Jeff Smith, originally serialized in 55 issues released from 1991 to 2004.

Animator's Survival Kit in The Animation Library

Animator's Survival Kit in the Animation Library

We have recently added more copies of Animator's Survival Kit - our most popular book on animation - to the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Animator's Survival Kit is the standard textbook for animators and the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.  

We now have over a dozen copies of the Animator's Survival Kit (with more on the way) in the 11th Floor Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage.  The ASK can also be bought as an eBook download for the iPad.  

"Producing 2D Animation" for the Animation Library

We've acquired a copy of Producing Independent 2D Character Animation by Mark Simon for the Animation Library at Escape Studios.   

Producing Independent 2D Character Animation is an important resource for any of our students interested in the production side of creating 2D animation.

Producing animation is an increasingly important part of what we teach at Escape Studios, as our students collaborate on short film projects, entering festivals and winning awards.

Being a successful animator isn't just about being good at animation; you also need to understand how group projects work, and learn how to collaborate with other artists in a studio environment.

Many Escapees have gone on to fill production roles at animation, games and VFX studios in recent years. 

"Producing Animation" For the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of "Producing Animation" by Katherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi for the Animation Library at Escape Studios.   

Producing Animation is an important resource for any of our students interested in the production side of creating animation.

Producing animation is an increasingly important part of what we teach at Escape Studios, as our students collaborate on short film projects, entering festivals and winning awards.

Being a successful animator isn't just about being good at animation; you also need to understand how group projects work, and learn how to collaborate with other artists in a studio environment.

Many Escapees have gone on to fill production roles at animation, games and VFX studios in recent years. 

"Prepare To Board" for the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of the storyboarding classic Prepare to Board! by Nancy Beiman  - the main book we recommend to our students studying the art of storyboarding here at Escape Studios.  

Prepare to Board! is an excellent book from a master animator and Disney Animation veteran.  We now have several copies in the Animation and VFX Library at Escape Studios. 

Nancy Beiman was a supervising animator at Disney (most notably on Hercules) and (like many 2D animators) she does storyboards and character design as well as animation.

Storyboarding is the vital starting point for all our students' short films; without a solid story few films will enjoy a successful festival career.  

New Copies of the Animator's Survival Kit

Animator's Survival Kit

We have three new copies of Animator's Survival Kit - our most popular book on animation - for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Animator's Survival Kit is now the standard textbook for animators and the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.  

We have many copies of the Animator's Survival Kit in the 11th Floor Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage.  The ASK can also be bought as an eBook download for the iPad.  

For all our students learning animation, we recommend this book as the principal animation textbook.  And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - with many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

Adventures in Animation for the Anim & VFX Library

Adventures in Animation

We're delighted to add Richard Williams' new book "Adventures in Animation" to the Animation & VFX Library at Escape Studios. 

"Adventures in Animation" is Richard Williams' autobiography, a work-in-progress completed five years after his death by his wife and long-term collaborator Imogen Sutton.  The book fills in many of the gaps in The Animator's Survival Kit, especially the early influences on Williams' work, animators like Grim Natwick and Milt Kahl. 

At Escape Studios we recommend one key textbook for learning animation - The Animator's Survival Kit, arguably the only book you need to learn the art and craft of animation.  We have many copies in the 11th Floor Library for loan. 

VFX Books for The Animation & VFX Library

VFX Books at Escape Studios Animation & VFX Library

We have lots of new VFX Books for The Animation & VFX Library to support our students studying the Art of Visual Effects.  

VFX textbooks include The VFX Handbook, Sculpting with ZBrush, The Visual Effects Producer and many books on Digital Compositing.  We also have hundreds of video tutorials for 3D VFX which can be found here, and 2D VFX (compositing) which can be found here.

To see some of the many learning resources that students have at Escape Studios, see this blog post. 

Writing and Directing Books For the Library

New Books: On Directing Film and Save the Cat

We have new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage. 

New books include "Save The Cat" by Blake Snyder on Screenwriting, and "On Directing Film" by Oscar-winning writer David Mamet.  Both books offer important insights into visual storytelling. 

And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - we have many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

Funding for Higher Education in Animation Library

Grant-making Trusts, Grants Register & Educational Grants

Our Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage has copies of three of the key books on charitable funding for Higher Education: The Directory of Grant Making Trusts, The Grants Register and The Guide to Educational Grants.  

These books are comprehensive sources for the many charities that support the funding of higher education in the UK.

For any of our students who are short of cash, these resources can help. 

More Books for the Animation & VFX Library

Hollywood Memoirs by William Goldman and David Niven

We have new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

New books include "Adventures in The Screen Trade" by William Goldman, double-Oscar-winning writer who wrote "The Princess Bride" and David Niven's Hollywood autobiography "The Moon's a Balloon".  

For all our students looking to understand how the movie business works, this is a great place to start.  And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - with many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

The Visual Effects Producer - Now in The Library

The Visual Effects Producer

We have new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Visual Effects Producer by Charles Finance and Susan Zwerman is the comprehensive handbook for any student learning the art of VFX Production - a creative blend of art, technology and finance. 

For all our students learning the Art of VFX, we recommend this book as the principal guide to understanding what VFX producers do.  

And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - with many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

New Copies of the "ASK" for the Animation Library

Animator's Survival Kit

We have new copies of Animator's Survival Kit - our most popular book on animation - for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The ASK is now the standard textbook for animators and the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.  

We have many copies of the Animator's Survival Kit in the 11th Floor Library at 6 Mitre Passage. The ASK can also be bought as an eBook download for the iPad.  

For all our students learning animation, we recommend this book as the principal animation textbook.  And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - with many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

New Books for The Animation & VFX Library

We have more new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

New books include Shamus Culhane's classic work on animation - "Animation - From Script to Screen". Shamus Culhane was a product of the Golden Age of Animation, contributing to classic films such as Fantasia, and working on iconic characters such as Betty Boop. Culhane's book explains the animation process from start to finish, a process which - despite new technology - has changed little in the past 100 years. 

New Books for The Animation & VFX Library

New books on Storyboarding in the Anim & VFX Library

We have more new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage, Escape Studios' new home in North Greenwich.

New books include The Storyboard Design Course: The Ultimate Guide by Guiseppe Cristiano, a collection of Wallace & Gromit storyboards from Aardman Animation, and a new copy of Richard Williams' Animator's Survival Kit "Minis" - on Animating Walks. 

New Books for the Animation & VFX Library

The Visual Story by Bruce Block

We have more new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage, our new home in North Greenwich.

New books include the The Visual Story by Bruce Block, an important work on the visual language of film, and a compendium of British Illustrations from the last century, - inspiration for the visual style of animated films. 

New Animation Books for the Anim & VFX Library

We have more new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage, our new home in North Greenwich.

New books include the Hue Book of Animation - a great guide for getting started if you've never animated before - and Cracking Animation by Aardman Animation, the team behind Wallace & Gromit (and the new Chicken Run movie, released on Netflix on 15 December).  We also have two new copies of "Producing Animation", by Katherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi. 

Reading List for 2D VFX (Compositing)

In this guest blog post Escape Studios VFX Programme Leader Klaudija Cermak offers a summary of the best books to read for the study of Compositing - 2D VFX. 

Klaudija's reading list is based on many years of research; traditional books are still one of the best ways to learn from the many decades of knowledge that underpin the digital arts. 

Many of these books can be found in the Escape Studios Animation & VFX Library, on the 11th Floor.   You can read more about the library and how it works here. 

New Books for The Animation Library

The Animator's Survival Kit

We have new books for the Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage, our new home in North Greenwich.

The new books include "Sketching for Animation" by Peter Parr, and a new copy of our most popular textbook (the one book every animator should own)  The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams.  

These books were donated by Escape Studios' student Sabrina Caspers-Frankel - many thanks to Sabrina for her generous donation to the library. 

New Books for the Animation & VFX Library

 Cartooning Animation & Hero With a Thousand Faces

We have new books for our shiny new Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage, our new home in North Greenwich.

New books include animation classics such as Cartooning Animation 1 by Preston Blair, and The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell - both classic texts on animation and storytelling respectively.  

The Animation & VFX Library is located on the 11th Floor outside Toontown - and is free for all our students.