Disney's "Illusion of Life" in The Animation Library

The original animation bible

Escape Studios Animation Library has acquired a new copy of the original "animation bible": The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnstone, two of Walt Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men" - his top team of animators.

The Illusion of Life was first published in the 1970s, and was the first book to reveal in print the secrets of the Disney studio.   

The 1970s were a lean time for animation; Walt Disney was dead and the revival that would come with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid (and, later, 3D animation) was still far in the future.

The Illusion of Life remains just as relevant today. The technology has changed, but the principles remain the same. 

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.  

Five Best Books To Learn Animation

The Animator's Survival Kit

What are the key books that our new animation students need to learn the craft of animation?

Books may be a bit old school these days, but a good book is still a great place to start learning about and exploring the world of character animation.

The best books will teach you, immerse you - and inspire you to do your very best work.  Books on animation can be found in the 11th Floor Animation & VFX Library. 

How Long Does It Take To Learn Autodesk Maya?

Many of our first year students at Escape Studios will never have opened Maya before.  Or, at least, they won't be very familiar with it.  Maya is a big, complex piece of software - the interface can look daunting at first.  But don't be discouraged, with time and practice - you will get there in the end. 

150 Animation Exercises to Boost Your Skill

150 Exercises to boost your skills

We're loving this list of 150 animation exercises created by Escapee David Mattock at his website Animator Artist Life. 

Escapee David Mattock took our short course in 3D animation at Escape Studios, and has now created a wide variety of exercises for any animator to tackle, from simple tasks like animating a vibrating telephone or a falling leaf, to complex character animation.  It's a great list, super useful for any animator who might need a little practice or inspiration for what to animate next. 

The Best Book to Learn Animation

The Animator's Survival Kit  is the core textbook we recommend to all our student animators at Escape Studios. The ASK is now the standard textbook for animators and easily the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.  We have two copies in the library at 190 High Holborn, and it can also be bought as an eBook download for the iPad. It's even better as an eBook since you can watch the videos as well, to illustrate the examples.  Watch the video above to find out why it's so useful.

Learning Resources at Escape Studios

What kind of learning resources do we have at Escape Studios?  How do students learn the art and craft of animation in the post-Covid era? Our courses still focus on traditional classroom delivery, giving students all the skills they need to become professional animators, and we will be starting up classroom teaching once again next week. But we also have many additional learning resources for our students, including a hugely-expanded Vimeo channel with hundreds of tutorials on animation techniques. Watch the short video to find out how we can help you to learn to become a professional animator.

How Feedback Works at Escape Studios

How does feedback work at Escape Studios?  Animation is an iterative process, and student animators learn by systematically correcting their mistakes and improving their technique through regular positive feedback. Feedback can often feel negative, but it's important to remember that everyone at Escape Studios is there to help all our students do their best work. When we push you to do better, it's because we want you to do the best work you possibly can. So how does feedback work? There are a number of ways in which students at Escape Studios can get regular feedback and positive criticism.

Six Ways To Get Started in Animation

Animation Studio by Helen Piercy

How do you get started in animation? Fortunately for would-be animators, there are today plenty of cheap (and even free) resources to get you started.

Today, animation is a mix of art and technology.  Animators work at the crossover point between creative skills and techie skills - a good animator has both.

Below are our best tips on how to get started in animation, and how to prepare yourself for a career in the animation industry.

12 Principles of Animation

We're recommending this introductory video outlining the 12 Principles of Animation.  If you're studying animation for the first time, and starting to learn the basics, then this video is a very helpful introduction to the medium.  Unlock the secrets of Squash and stretch, Anticipation, Staging, Straight ahead action & pose to pose, Follow through & overlapping action, Slow in and slow out, Arcs & Paths of Action, Secondary action, Timing, Exaggeration, Solid drawing and Appeal.  Sounds like a long list? You don't have to memorise them all. Just be aware of the principles, and then gradually start to apply them in your animation.

MA Animation Starts 5th July

Paddington - animated at Framestore in London

The summer intake of our new MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation starts on 5 July 2019, with an Autumn intake starting on30th September

The course will be taught at our mid-town campus in central London, and we look forward to welcoming our new cohort of students.

Advanced Animation Starts 14th January 2019

Advanced Animation - 18 weeks

What's in our Advanced Animation course? Advanced animation is a new course, an extension of the existing 12 week course in animation.

Advanced Animation is aimed at students who want to polish and further develop their 3D animation skills.

This 6 week intensive class builds on the lessons learned in the 12 Week Animation Short Course,  developing and enhancing existing skills and making sure that all our students are job-ready by the end of the course.

Escape Studios Module Descriptors Online

One of the most common questions asked by undergraduate students is "What's in the next module?". Many of our students aren't aware that all the module descriptors for our courses can be found online, giving everyone access to exactly what's in the course, for all three (or four, if you're doing the MArt) years of study at Escape Studios. To find the Module Descriptors, and get familiar with some of the course detail, follow this link:

UCAS Deadline - January 15th

UCAS - time to apply

Thinking of applying to Escape Studios to study the Art of 3D Animation, Games or Visual effects?  The UCAS deadline of January 15th is fast approaching.  We are welcoming applications for the third intake of our new integrated BA/MArt in Animation, Games and VFX - just launched in September 2016.

One of the most common questions I get asked at Open Days is "should I wait to apply until I have finished my portfolio?" - to which the answer is definitely "no".  Get your application in early, and worry about your portfolio later. You'll have plenty of time before attending one of our Creative Workshops to pull your portfolio together.

The Best Animation Course in the World?

Blue Zoo Animation

What would the Best Animation Course in the world look like?

The question was recently asked by Tom Box, co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio. Tom surveyed the artists and animators at Blue Zoo to find out what is right - and wrong - with university animation courses.

It's an important question, and one that colleges and universities need to keep asking, in order to make sure we're offering our students the right skills. So what is the answer?  How can universities design better courses that actually meet the needs of the industry?

Animation Course Starts 8th January 2018

Paddington Bear - animated at Framestore in London

We're currently taking applications for our next animation short course - three months of intensive training in 3D animation - starting on 8th January 2018.

This course is aimed at anyone who wants to learn the art and craft of 3D Animation in Maya. You might be a 2D animator wanting to break into 3D, or a graduate who didn’t get the right skills at university – or someone with no experience of animation who wants to make a career change. We teach all our students from scratch, and our goal is to make you job-ready by the end of the course.

How Do Animators Stop Feet Sliding in a Walk Cycle?

How do you stop the feet sliding when you animate a walk cycle? It's a question often asked by students starting out at Escape Studios. The answer is a little technical, so here is a video which explains how to tackle the problem. It's about 10 minutes long, and explains how to get it right first time, and stop those feet from slipping around.

Learn Gesture Drawing at YouTube with Proko

Gesture drawing is an important skill for animators - it helps us learn how to capture a pose, and to master the art of visual storytelling. After all, planning your animation with quick thumbnail sketches that tell a story is still one of the core skills of the 3D animator - it's why we still need to know how to draw - at least just a little bit.  Here at Escape Studios we're recommending this series of videos by Proko, all hosted for free at his YouTube channel. There are lots of great videos but the particular playlist we're interested in is titled "Figure Drawing - How to Draw People". You can find it here.

Free Chameleon & Leopard Rigs from Truong3D

Chameleon by Truong 3D. Animation by Dave Novis

Check out this great 3D artist's website - with some lovely rigs that we're recommending for student use here at Escape Studios.

Truong is a Vietnamese CG artist and short film maker, who has released a number of Maya rigs that are free for student use.

We're particularly enjoying seeing some very nice results from students using the chameleon and leopard rigs - both of which have great functionality.

Meet The Bouncing Ball!

Bouncin' Ball 1.0.0

It's week 1 of Animation Core here at Escape Studios for our undergraduate VFX students, and also the first week for our short course animation students. Both groups are tackling the infamous bouncing ball exercise.

Why start with a bouncing ball? Well, pretty much every animation course on the planet starts with a ball. It's where students first encounter the concepts of timing and spacing, and also how to use important tools such as the Graph Editor.