Why Animators Should Keep a SketchBook

Alex Williams sketchbook 1989

Here at Escape Studios we recommend that all our students keep a sketchbook.

  

Especially for animators, keeping a sketchbook is an important tool for creative growth - it's a place to practice drawing, create ideas - and keep a record of your own development.  

Here's why every animator should make drawing and scribbling in a sketchbook part of their daily practice:

Portfolio Tips for Motion Graphics MA

MA in Motion Graphics - Portfolio Tips

Thinking of applying for our new MA in Motion Graphics?  One of the most common questions we get asked by prospective students is: What should go into my portfolio? The short answer is - a bit of everything: design, drawings, painting, life drawing, sketches, scribbles, 3D digital artwork - ideally uploaded to your own website or blog.  

In particular, we're looking for a good sense of design and visual composition.

Show Pointer Location Tool for Windows

Show Pointer Location Tool

A handy teaching tool that we recommend for all our tutors at Escape Studios is the "Show Pointer Location Tool" in Windows (see image left). 

The Show Pointer Location Tool creates a little animated target for your audience. When you press the control ("CTRL") button on your keyboard, the target shows your audience exactly where your pointer is and what you are clicking on. 

When you are demonstrating how to use software, this tool helps our students keep track of what you are doing.  To see how to activate Show Pointer Location Tool, follow the steps below.

Why Animators Should Avoid a Flat Horizon

Flat horizons are one of the curses of 3D animation - nothing gives the game away faster than a blank, flat ground plane extending into infinity. One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is to animate a character on a flat ground plane - the sort of situation that occurs only in 3D - never in nature. After all, in life, our horizon lines are broken up by landscapes, buildings, trees - the jumble of modern urban and rural life.  Watch the short video above for some tips on how to avoid the curse of the flat horizon. 

2023 New Years Resolutions for Animators

Here's to a shiny new 2023

Happy New Year to all our staff and students!  The New Year brings new challenges but also opportunities - the animation and VFX industries continue to thrive, with remote working now fully established as an alternative to the traditional in-house model. 

This year, top of our list of New Year's Resolutions, is to experiment with the new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as OpenAI and MidJourney.  AI is changing the face of the animation and vfx industries, offering fresh challenges - but also new opportunities.

How to Make Maya Run Faster

Tip Number 6 - stay low poly

One of the most common problems students encounter, especially when working from home, is their Maya scene slowing down so much that they can't animate anymore.

Or, not quite as drastic but almost as frustrating, their scene becomes so slow that animation becomes a burden. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to speed up your scene and make it run faster.  Below are our Six Tips to make Maya work at optimal speed.

Hang on to Your Character's Eyes

Characters must look at one another

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is to animate characters who aren't looking at each other.

When we speak, most people tend to look at each other when they are in conversation. Actors know this, and when another actor is talking, they listen - and react.

Undergraduate Portfolio Tips & Advice

Thinking of applying for our BA/MArt in The Art of Computer Animation? One of the most common questions we get asked by prospective students is: What should go into my portfolio? The short answer is - a bit of everything: drawings, painting, life drawing, sketches, scribbles, 3D digital artwork - whatever you have to hand - ideally uploaded to your own website or blog. 

Why Animators Should Be the Rhino

Durer's Rhino

Animators need thick hide - rhinoceros hide -  because applying for work in the animation industry can be daunting.

Even though the animation industry is booming, and there are many opportunities, searching for work can be a dispiriting process.

Once upon a time you'd get a rejection letter; nowadays the most common outcome is silence - just being (and feeling) ignored.

But it remains true that the success in our industry doesn't necessarily go to the most talented - it goes to the most determined.

How to Make a Short Animated Documentary

How do you make a short animated documentary film? Our second year undergraduate animators at Escape Studios are currently working in teams on their second studio project - a short animal or creature documentary. Making a documentary is the same process as making any short film. There are many elements to consider, from concept to script through storyboard, design, 3D layout, cinematography, animation, lighting and final render. So, how do our students go about successfully making a animated documentary short?

Character Walks Tutorial with Monty

Character Walk with Monty

We've added to our growing series of animation tutorials, hosted at Vimeo, with a tutorial/webinar on character walks.

The tutorial uses the free Monty rig, one of the rigs that we recommend for student use in the early stages of learning animation is the Monty Rig.

Monty was created back in 2007 by Raveen Rajadorai, and is free for download at Highend3D.com.

Storyboard Tips by Jim Mortensen at Gumroad

storyboard tips and tricks by Jim Mortensen

We're loving these free Storyboard Tips, hosted at at Gumroad, created by DreamWorks storyboard artist and director Jim Mortensen.

It's a great introduction to the art and craft of storyboarding, highlighting some of the common pitfalls experienced by junior board artists.

Demo Reel Advice at Skwigly

This week we're at Skwigly, the online animation magazine, with our top 12 tips on how to make a great animation Demo Reel.

 "What should go in my demo reel?" is one of the most common questions asked by students.

Anchor Transform Plugin Stops Feet Sliding

Anchor Transform by Robert Joosten stops feet sliding

Sliding feet can be a problem when animating a character walking.

You start off by animating a character walking on the spot, and everything looks fine. But, once you add a forward translation, to have the character move through its environment, the feet slip around and everything starts to go wrong.

Fortunately for Maya animators, Robert Joosten’s new Anchor Transform Maya plugin offers animators a simple solution.

Framestore's Oz Gani and Ross Burgess Reveal Animation Workflow Secrets

Ross Burgess and Oz Gani acting out some dinosaur action

Think of Framestore and you think of high-end animal and creature animation. Paddington, for example, was animated at Framestore, raising the bar for the whole industry in terms of the quality and believability of the animated performance.

Today we were lucky enough to have two senior Framestore animators (and the head of talent development) visit us at Escape Studios, to check out our students' work and give us some insights into the Framestore animation workflow.

Introducing The Eleven Rig

Meet the Eleven Rig, available for free download at the Resources page of the Eleven Second Club.  Eleven is one of the most popular rigs used by our students, and can be used to create some great character animation.

Eleven is also very good for lipsync, body poses, and facial expressions, and is also relatively easy to learn.

Eleven does, however, have a few quirks. So, what are they and how can we navigate around them?

New Year's Resolutions For Animators

Happy 2018

What should an animator's new year's resolutions be? Animation is a growing business with many opportunities, especially in our home town of London where VFX, film and animated TV series continue to expand. My inbox is full of requests for skilled animators, so the future is bright for those with the right training.

That said, the world of animation and vfx is a competitive one, and good animators need to be smart to stay on top of their game.  So, apart from eating less, or going on a post-Christmas diet,  what are some simple ways to maintain your edge in 2018?

Animation Insiders - Free eBook for Animators

Animation Insider's Ebook - free from Squeeze!

Animation students can now get a free copy of the Animation Insider's eBook, downloadable at no charge from Squeeze animation studio in Quebec.

This free digital download describes the workflow of talented animators like Mike Nguyen, Victor Navone and Jason Ryan.

It is a hugely useful resource for animation students - an insight into how experienced animators approach their work.

Escape Studios at VIEW - Secrets of TV Animation

Dan Sarto, Byron Howard, Simone Giampaulo and Conrad Vernon

Escape Studios is in Italy this week participaing in VIEW, the 17th International VFX & Computer Graphics Conference.

VIEW takes place every year in the beautiful Italian town of Torino (Turin), and yesterday I was there running a one-day workshop in Maya, demonstrating some cool creature animation techniques.

Meanwhile, plenty of big hitters in the animation and VFX industries were giving talks and sitting on panels, including my old DreamWorks colleague Conrad Vernon (Sausage Party) and Byron Howard (Zootopia).

When Should Maya Animators Use File Referencing?

What is referencing, and when should animators use it? File referencing ("referencing", for short) is the process in Autodesk Maya which allows the animator to make changes to an animation rig in the course of production and have the new rig automatically update itself to all your existing animation files. It's pretty much what most studios use to manage their animation pipeline, one way or another, as most production rigs are a work in progress.

The question for animators working and studying from home is, should you import the rig directly into your shot, or should you use referencing? Here are the pros and cons.