Nuke "Indie License" For VFX Freelancers

For all our VFX artists working on indie projects (which we strongly encourage), The Foundry have an indie version of their compositing package Nuke.  

The "Nuke Indie" is ideal for Escapees who do freelance gigs and work on small budgets.

Autodesk Launches "Maya Indie License"

Autodesk, the folks who make Maya, for many years now the industry-standard software for 3D Animation, has launched the "Maya Indie License".

This new low-cost commercial license costs just £275 for a single seat, and allows students who have learned to animate using the free student version of the software to enter the marketplace at a much-reduced price.

This is great news for our students and graduates; Autodesk now offers junior animators the chance to "become a pro at a price you can afford". This means that our students can take on small freelance jobs and be able to pay for commercial software at a reasonable price.

7 Rules to Start Your Own Animation Business

How do you start a small animation business? At Escape Studios we don't just train animators to do excellent work, we help them to turn that knowledge into a successful career. And one way of dealing with the uncertainty of being an employee in the creative industries is to start up your own business.

Don't forget that today's big companies like Pixar and Blue Zoo all began life as small start-ups. But how, exactly, might you go about starting one up from scratch?  Below are the 7 Key Rules to start your own animation business.

16 Rules of Animation Freelancing

If you work in the animation industry, the chances are that at some point you will be self-employed, either running your own small business or working as a freelancer. 

Even if you do land a job as an employee of a company, our industry tends to be project-driven, and most companies tend to expand and contract according to the size of their order book. 

So what’s an animator to do to stay afloat? First, you must understand the 16 Rules of Animation Freelancing. 

Daniel Baidoo Animator at King Bee

Congratulations to first year animation undergraduate Daniel Baidoo who has just landed a position as a freelance junior animator with King Bee animation, located in Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, just outside of London. 

Daniel started off as an animation intern, a great start to his career in the animation industry.

We asked Daniel a few questions about how he got the initial internship, and how he got his animation career off the ground so quickly. 

Business Skills For Animators - How To Invoice a Client

One of the essential business skills that animators and digital artists need to learn is the ability to get paid.  When you are first starting out, cash flow is likely to be one of your biggest challenges.  So, as a freelancer, you need to know how to invoice a client.

Invoicing, like many life skills, may seem obvious to those of us who have been doing it for years.  But it's only obvious when you know how.  So how do you draft your very first invoice, and what should go in it?

How To Be a Freelance Animator - Top Eight Rules For Survival

Lots of animators do freelance jobs. Even if you are working at a studio, you still have your evenings and weekends free, so why not expand your skillset by taking on freelance work?  Working with clients is not like working for an employer.  Things tend to be much less clearly defined, and you have to be much more proactive about giving the client what they want. Often, clients don't know themselves what they want. You have to lead, and also be led, which can be a tricky balance to strike.

But, when you're starting out on your animation career, taking on small freelance jobs can be a great way to get experience, build a client base, and earn some money doing what you love. Below are our Eight Rules for Freelance Success.

Should Freelance Animators Be Sole Traders or Limited Companies?

Part of the experience of studying 3D Animation on our new undergraduate courses will be learning not just about animation but about the business of animation. We want our graduates tohave a proper understanding of how the industry works, so that they can set up their own businesses, be entrepreneurs, and help engineer the future of the industry.

As a freelance animator, considering whether to set up a Limited Company or become a Sole Trader can be a tricky decision. There are many things to think about when identifying which route would be right for you.  So, what is the difference, and which route is best?

Your First Freelance Job - What Questions Should You Ask The Client?

Here at Escape Studios we want all our animators to be fully prepared not just for employment but also to be able to create their own companies in digital media: in other words, to be successful entrepreneurs. 

Big companies like Frame Store, MPC, Blue Zoo and Double Negative all began as tiny start-ups - why can't our students do the same?

So, as part of a series of posts on new media entrepreneurship, we ask - what questions should you ask the client when you start work on your very first animation freelance job?