Bring Your Own Animation 24 September 2026

BYOA 24 Sept 2026 at Cinesite in Soho

Calling all Escape Studios animation students -BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation)  returns on 24 September 2026 for a "Rainbow Spotlight" event hosted by Cinesite in Soho. 

BYOA is a free monthly animation event that takes place in London, usually every 3rd Monday of the month at a pub in London.

The next BYOA is hosted by Siggraph and takes place on 24 September 2026 at Cinesite in London from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.  Cinesite's address is 10 Little Portland Street London W1W 7JG.  To sign up, follow this Eventbrite link. 

"Held Back" Wins "Best Animation" in Roshani

"Held Back" wins "Best Animation" at Roshani Film Fest  

Congratulations to the makers of the animated short film "Held Back" which has won "Best Animation" at the Roshani Film Festival.  

Held Back was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.   Held Back was directed by Lewis Sims and produced by Hassan Mahdi.  

This its second festival award. 

Animator Giacomo Autili Joins Escape Studios

Giacomo Autili joins Escape Studios

We're extending a warm welcome to veteran animator and character designer Giacomo Autili who joins us in September to teach the 3rd year animation students at Escape Studios, studying the Art of 2D Computer Animation.  

Giacomo Autili joins us from Studio AKA where he has worked on hit series such as "Hey Dugee".

Giacomo is proficient in 2D animation software such as TV Paint and Toonboom Harmony, as well as Unity, Adobe Animate, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, InDesign and Illustrator.   Giacomo also has extensive experience working as a character designer.

Marc Stevenson 3D Animation Programme Leader

Marc Stevenson 3D Animation Programme Leader

Many congratulations to Escape Studios animation tutor Marc Stevenson, who has been appointed 3D Animation Programme Leader at Escape Studios.  

Marc teaches our Third Year Animation Students this year as they start their Specialism Module CR6001 and the other Third Year animation modules. 

Marc Stevenson is a veteran animator with multiple credits on Hollywood VFX hits including Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Fast & Furious 6, Avengers, Age of Ultron, Moon, and Victor Frankenstein. 

Rebecca Perrone 2D Animation Programme Leader

Rebecca Perrone 2D Animation Programme Leader

We're delighted to congratulation veteran animator Rebecca Perrone who has been promoted to 2D Animation Programme Leader at Escape Studios.  

Rebecca Perrone is an experienced 2D animator who has been teaching our "Level Six" 2D animation students in their third and final year of undergraduate studies at Escape Studios.

From Sept 2026 Rebecca Perrone 

will teach our Second Year Animation Students the art of 2D Animation. 

Prof Practice Module PS6003 Starts Sept 2026

Prof Practice Module PS6003

Our Professional Practice Module (PS6003) forms part of the Third Year of Studies at Escape Studios and returns in September 2026 (for our 2026-27 Term Dates, follow this link). 

PS6003 aims to prepare our third year animation, games and VFX students for the workplace as they approach the end of their studies.  Professional Practice focuses on employability, so that students understand well before they graduate what it takes to succeed in the creative industries. 

Industry jobs remain competitive, and graduates must ensure they have the right skills to compete successfully. 

Introducing "Sweet & Salty"

Introducing "Sweet & Salty", the latest short film created by our second year animation students.  "Sweet & Salty" tells the story of two rival restaurants in a busy town. The film was directed by Oleksandra Zakorodon and produced by Sarina Musab.  You can find "Sweet & Salty" here at The Rookies

Escape Studios at Annecy Animation Festival 2026

Escapees at Annecy 2026 

A group of intrepid Escapees and current students, as well as some of our some of our recent graduates, travelled to the 2026 Annecy Animation Festival last week.

Braving the heatwave, they spent a week at the world's leading animation event, going to screenings, attending events and talks, and making contacts in the global animation industry.

Escape Studios Animators Visit Framestore

Escape Animators visit Framestore

Friday 22nd May was the last day of term for our Second Year Undergraduate Animation Students, and the term ended with a visit to London VFX house Framestore, led by Escapee Ana Erbasu, and Ian Landman, Framestore's Head of Recruitment. 

Our students visited Framestore's Chancery Lane HQ, and saw some of the impressive work done by Framestore across its many divisions.  Kevin Richards reports.

Blue Zoo's Jamie Floodgate Visits Escape Studios

Jamie Floodgate from Blue Zoo visits Escape Studios

On Thursday 21st May we welcomed Escapee Jamie Floodgate, now a lead animator at Blue Zoo animation, to give feedback to our second year animation students. 

Jamie Floodgate gave up his time to review all twelve of the Year Two Animation Studio Projects.  

Escape Studios' tutor Kevin Richards reports on a great day of industry feedback. 

Kevin Richards Joins "Bring Your Own Animation"

Kevin Richards (on right) joins Bring Your Own Animation

Escape Studios' animation tutor Kevin Richards has become a mentor at Bring Your Own Animation, helping to review animation portfolios at the monthly London animation meetup.

BYOA is a monthly animation event taking place upstairs in a London pub - if you're a current student or a recent Escapee who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive (best not to rely on the WiFi) and get feedback from professional animators - including Kevin.  

Studio AKA's Phil Hunt Visits Escape Studios

Philip Hunt, Marcus Armitage and Kevin Richards

On Tuesday we were joined by 

animator and director Philip Hunt, the creative director and founder of the Emmy and BAFTA-winning Studio AKA, and Marcus Armitage, animation director at Studio AKA. 

Studio AKA is one of London's most innovative animation studios, and one of our long-standing industry partners.   Philip Hunt and Marcus Armitage talked about the work of Studio AKA, the current state of UK animation - and how Escapees can flourish in a rapidly-changing industry. 

Mock Interviews at Escape Studios 23-24 April

Interview, by Mikkel Okholm and Mikkel Brons-Frandsen

On Thursday 23 April and Friday 24th April we're hosting a series of mock interviews for our animation students at Escape Studios.  

The purpose of mock interviews is to prepare our students for a real-life job interview.  What questions will you be asked? And how should you answer them? What should you say (and also not say)?  Interviews will be held with our industry partners both online over Teams and in person at Escape Studios. 

Industry Feedback with George Caton-Coult 30 April

George Caton-Coult

Escape Studios is delighted to welcome back Love Love Films Studio Manager George Caton-Coult to review our second-year animation students' film projects on 30 April 2026.

George Caton-Coult is the Studio Manager at Love Love Films, responsible for the TV hit "Pop Paper City"  developed in partnership with Aardman Animation.  

Many Escapees worked on and helped to contribute to the success of "Pop Paper City". 

"Sea Of Madness" wins "Best Short" in Florence

Sea Of Madness wins "Best Super Short Film" in Florence 

Congratulations to the makers of Sea Of Madness, which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the Florence Film Awards. 

Sea Of Madness was directed by Maria Freitas  and produced by Ivy Wang.  

Jake Hines was the editor and 2D Lead, and Sebastian McKernan was the 3D Lead.  Ian Chavez Zarate stars as The Pirate.   This is the latest of many festival awards.

Animal & Creature Animation Reel

We're delighted to share the latest edit of Animal & Creature Animation from Escape Studios. This animation reel includes a selection of shots from Module AN5002 - a second year undergraduate module in which students tackle animal and creature animation. The module is supervised by Escape Studios' tutor Kevin Richards. To see more about what happens in the Second Year of Animation at Escape Studios, follow this link. 

BA/MArt 3D Computer Animation Returns Sept 2026

Spiderman animation by Escapee Giorgos Konstantinou

Escape Studios is accepting applications for our BA/MArt in The Art of 3D Computer Animation; teaching starts in September 2026.

Applications are through UCAS, and you can find out more about our undergraduate 2D & 3D Computer Animation courses at the official site.

Our  BA/MArt in The Art of Computer Animation was first launched in 2015, and our first group of animation students graduated in 2019, going on to find jobs and success in the industry.  

"Hubris" Wins "Best Animation" in Makizhmithran

"Hubris" wins "Best Animation" at the Makizhmithran Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Hubris" which has won "Best Animation" at the Makizhmithran Film Awards.  

"Hubris" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "Hubris" was written and directed by Sohaib Mehar and produced by Secander Sadat.  The editor was Gleb Migas, and the art director was Leona Lu.  This is its fifth festival award. 

"Meet The Masters" with Kevin Richards 16 Dec 2025

"Meet The Masters" with Kevin Richards 16 Dec at 6pm

Join us on Tuesday 16 December at 6pm for our next "Meet The Masters" events with Escape Studios' animation tutor Kevin Richards.  To sign up for this free event, follow this link. 

Alex Williams 2D Animation Demo Reel

2D Animation has been expanding at Escape Studios, with a growing student body, many new short films - and many festival awards.  Our 2D animation tutors include Shane Woodson, Rebecca Perrone, Kevin Richards, Steve Lall and Iliana Franklin - all have many years of experience working on 2D animated projects.  Above is a selection of 2D animation on various films by our Dean of Animation & VFX Alexander Williams.  Edit by Escapee Miguel Teixeira, music by Pixabay.