Developing "The Zoo"

Development drawings for "The Zoo"

Back in the late 1990s I did some early development work for a Warner Bros Feature Animation feature film provisionally titled "The Zoo".  

The Zoo never made it to production, but the experience taught me a lot about the creative development process of a major studio. 

It also taught me an early lesson in the unpredictable nature of our industry, and why some projects never get made. 

"Previs Chess" with Sagar Rathod

In this short video tutorial titled "Pre-Vis Chess", Escape Studios' VFX tutor Sagar Rathod explains how the previsualisation ("previs") process works in vfx film-making.  What is previs? What is it for, and how do digital artists use it to solve practical film-making problems? This video forms a part of our growing library of video tutorials on Cinematography, 3D Layout, and Previs, which you can find at our Vimeo Tutorial Channel here. 

Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw

For all our students storyboarding their short films we're recommending the video above by Russell Hasenauer titled "Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw". It's a useful video because it helps to explain how the storyboarding process can be achieved even by students who don't draw well, or lack confidence in their drawing. Storyboarding is not chiefly about drawing - it's about how you juxtapose shots to tell a story, ideally clearly and simply.  Storyboarding is a vital part of the film-making process, and one which all our students need to learn. 

Why Animators Need Mood Boards

Mood Board for "Animal Lover" 

Mood Boards are an important part of the process of making an animated film.

Mood Boards, such as the one on the left for the award-winning short film "Animal Lover", allow the director and art director to get a feel for what a film will look like, long before the animation and lighting is complete.

The Art of the Pitch

The Art of the Pitch

Here at Escape Studios we don't just teach the mechanics of animation, we also teach the art and craft of creativity and film-making.

Every great animation series began its life as a humble concept - even mighty Peppa Pig started out as a pitch. 

There is nothing to stop our students creating the next Bob The Builder or Mr Bean.

Animation Producer Steve Burch to Visit Escape

Animation Producer Steve Burch

Escape Studios is welcoming Animation Producer Steve Burch to our High Holborn campus on wednesday 28 February to deliver a workshop on Producing Animation.

Our second year animators are working on their first group project, a short film - and one which simulates as closely as possible a live client brief.

Steve will be helping our students to navigate some of the challenges involved in successfully completely their first animation production. After all, 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.

Cenay Oekmen Talks Concept Art

Creature Concept Art by Cenay Oekmen

Cenay Oekmen is leading a new evening class in Concept Art, starting in March 2018 and digging into the skillset that allows digital artists to create stunning artwork and help shape the style and design of a project.

Concept Art sits alongside a number of other evening classes that we are now running, such as Storyboarding and Character Design, where we teach the skills that make up the pre-production part of our industry.

Production may get shipped to cheaper shores, but pre-production work tends to stay at home, and producers regularly complain of skills shortages in this area. We asked Cenay to talk a little about how he got into Concept Art, and how students can follow in his footsteps, and break into the industry.

Character Design is Back! 14th May 2018

Illustration by Andrea Torrejon

Our new evening class in Character Design has proved so popular that it is returning to Escape Studios on Monday 14 May, running until Monday 9th July 2018.

The course is an 8 week introduction to the art and craft of character design and, as with most of our evening classes, it's a part-time course, designed to fit around jobs and families, and taught by seasoned industry professionals.

Character Design is one of the most rewarding parts of our industry - and also one of the most competitive. As with everything we do here at Escape, the class will build up to a live industry brief, with the final project mapping as closely as possible to the experience of working in an industry environment.