Book Recommendation: Prepare to Board!

Prepare to Board! by Nancy Beiman is the main book we are recommending to our students of storyboarding here at Escape Studios. This is an excellent book from a master animator who now teaches at Sheridan College in Canada.

Nancy was a supervising animator at Disney (most notably on Hercules) and (like many 2D animators) she does storyboards and character design as well as animation.

Our 8 week storyboarding course here at Escape Studios started off two weeks ago and is already off to a flying start, with immediate and visible improvements being made in all our students' work in a very short time.

Meet Franklin!

Franklin

We're excited to get to know Franklin, a new free character rig from artella.com. Franklin is aimed at students learning animation and is offered for free download on a royalty-free license.

Franklin joins the growing ranks of free character Maya rigs available to students of animation, allowing them to practice their craft on a wide variety of different characters and creatures.

Franklin isn't fully road-tested yet (at least, not by us), but as with all character rigs it's a good idea to test him out first to see what he can (and cannot) do. To see a walk-through of what Franklin is capable of, watch the video below.

Character Walks by Houman Sorooshnia

Above is an excellent video of walk reference by animator Houman Sorooshnia, who has done a whole series of different live action character walks.  It's a great resource, and it looks like he had a lot of fun acting them all out.  Right now our student animators at Escape Studios are tackling character walks. Creating interesting walk cycles is a great way to learn the craft of animation and also a very good way to dig into character.  After all, how someone walks tells us a lot about who they are, and what kind of mood they are in.  If you can convey to an audience the personality and character of someone just by the way they are walking - then you are well on your way to becoming a professional animator.

What Kind of Sound Files Can You Use in Maya?

Maya has long been the leading 3D animation software, but it does have its limitations. In particular, Maya's audio tools are relatively unsophisticated. You only get one audio track, and it will only accept certain kinds of audio files.

So, how exactly should an animator approach the use of audio files in Maya? In theory the process is quite straightforward, but in practice there are quite a few pitfalls.

Below is a guide to many of the common problems - with some helpful solutions.

BB-8 From Star Wars - Now Available for Maya Animators!

BB-8. Copyright Walt Disney

We're excited to see what our students will do with this new Star Wars BB-8 rig - just recently released at Creative Crash.

Like any fan art, the creator of this rig obviously doesn't own the copyright - that is owned by the Disney corporation, who now own the Star Wars franchise. But that doesn't mean we can't use BB8 to do some great animation - it just means we have to respect the owners and not do anything silly with it (like, say, try to make a profit from it).

There are in fact two versions of this rig. The image to the left is an improved and updated version 3 (with extra lights and stuff) - which you can download here. 

Below are some tips on how to use the BB-8 rig:

Finding Dory Directors in London Monday 11 July!

Come and grab your free chance to meet Andrew Stanton and the rest of the team behind Finding Dory, Pixar's new sequel to the original Pixar classic - finding Nemo.

It's not that often that Pixar royalty make it to our shores - so don't miss this chance to meet some of the greatest animation film-makers of our age.

The event is at the Apple Store in Covent Garden on Monday 11 July at 6pm.

So what's stopping you? Book your place now!

Technical Briefing: How to Load 3DS Max Files into Maya

Visit a website like Turbosquid and you will find plenty of cool stuff, much of it free, to help you with your animation. You might want to download a set, or a prop, something to make your shot come alive, and quickly - you don't want to waste precious animation time modelling complex props and sets.

But what if the only available file type for download is a 3DS Max file? Max is a popular platform for learning animation and, while is it much less widely used in industry than Maya, there is lots of great free content out there in the 3DS Max format. So, what we need is a way to import 3DS Max files into Maya.  Fortunately, it's pretty easy when you know how.

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?

Our Next Webinar - Demo Reel Clinic! 13 July at 5pm

The Demo Reel Doctor is back!  Our next webinar at Escape Studios is on Wednesday 13 July at 5pm, and it's all about animation demo reels: how to make them, how to perfect them, and how to use them to land your first job in the industry.

If you're working on you animation demo reel (aren't we all?) and you'd like to make your reel the best it possibly can be - sign up now for our webinar.  Best of all - it's completely free!

Animation Short Course Starts on Tuesday!

Escape Studios, Shepherd's Bldg

It's still not too late! There is still time (just!) to grab a spot on our animation short course starting on Tuesday.  Our three month intensive animation course begins on Tuesday June 28 and runs until the end of September.

Below is a brief list of things to do to help get ready. You don't have to do all of it, but tick off a few of the things on this list and you will be a making a great start on your animation career. And remember that the animation business is booming. Here in London, our home town, business is up 300% over the past three years. Well trained animators are in demand.

2016 Student Showreel!

Check out latest student work! We've just cut our 2016 showreel, featuring a selection of the best shots done by our students here at Escape Studios. This new edit features some memorable VFX work and, most promisingly, a notable contribution from our students on the new Games MA, taught by games veteran Simon Fenton.  Feast your eyes on what our students have achieved in just three months of hard work.

Loop De Loop - The Bimonthly Animation Competition

Here at Escape Studios we're excited about Loop De Loop, a bi-monthly animation challenge that's a bit like The 11 Second Club, but with a loopy twist.

Loop De Loop seeks to create "a community of creative folks working together for the greater good of looping animation".

So, how do students get involved with Loop De Loop? And what's it for anyway?

Escape Studios at Kent and Medway UCAS Fair Tomorrow!

University of Greenwich, Medway Campus, Chatham

Come and meet us at the Escape Studios stand at the Kent and Medway UCAS convention tomorrow, Monday 20th June.

The event is being held at Chatham in Kent, in the University of Greenwich's Medway building - formerly Royal Navy officers' quarters.

Come and find us at the Pearson College London Stand. Got questions about how we can help you become a professional animator? We have the answers.

"Putting Your Best Foot Forward" - Animation Careers Advice at Annecy

Annecy Panel "Putting Your Best Foot Forward"

Yesterday I got the chance to speak on a superb panel discussion organised by the School of Visual Arts (SVA), talking about how animation graduates can best find work in the industry.

The panel discussion was titled:  Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Animation Talent Search. On the panel were recruiters from Pixar, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. It was fascinating to hear these representatives of top studios talk about what they are looking for in fresh talent.

So, what then are the secrets of breaking into the animation industry?

Escape Studios at Annecy

Raphael and Tom at the Escape Studios Annecy Stand

Escape Studios is at the Annecy animation festival this summer, attending the world's biggest animation festival.

One of the best things about being at festivals like this is to chance to show off our students' work - the quality of our demo reels speaks for itself.

The good news here is that animation industry is very busy, with a record number of attendees at Annecy (including many recruiters, looking for talent) and with a strong US presence as well.

Free Visibility Script for Maya Animators

Morpheus

Here is a very useful script for Maya animators, developed by animator Justin Barratt, and one which we are recommending for all our students here at Escape Studios. It's a super-useful tool, used to rapidly and easily toggle the visibility of your animation rigs' control curves on and off.

All you have to do is paste the lines of script below in your script editor in Maya (under the MEL tab) and then save save it to a shelf in the usual way. Once you've done this, it should help to speed up your workflow and make you a faster, and better, animator.

Do Animators Need a University Degree?

The TAAFI Education Panel

The Toronto Animation Art Festival International ("TAAFI") recently hosted a panel talk on the subject of  “An Animation Education”.

But the real substance of the talk was “do you need to go to university to learn animation?”. In other words, should animation students commit to the time and expense of a full undergraduate education?

Here at Escape Studios we think the answer is undoubtedly "yes". But it's important to understand why a full undergraduate degree still matters in a digital online world.

Get Ready For Annecy! Thursday, June 16 at 2pm

Lake Annecy, in the French Alps

We'll be at the Annecy animation festival this summer, attending the world's biggest animation festival to take a look at the current state of the animation industry and spot the latest trends.  What skills do animation graduates need in today's job market, and who is hiring?

I'll be speaking at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) panel on Thursday June 16 at 2pm, talking about  how we can help our students to find jobs and kick-start their careers in the global animation industry.
 

Beach Volleyball! Sunday 12 June in Wimbledon Park

Beach Volleyball - Yay! Escape Studios is organising a "Beach Volleyball and BBQ Bonanza" for our students on Sunday 12 June in Wimbledon Park from Noon until 5pm. All students of Escape Studios (and even ex-students!) are warmly invited to come along and join the fun.

Where: Wimbledon Park

When: Noon until 5pm, Sunday 12 June.

How much does it cost?  £10.

More information at our Facebook Group here.

Two Seats Left On Tomorrow's Animation Taster Day, Thursday 9 June!

We still have two seats left for tomorrow's Animation taster Day at Escape Studios on Thursday 9 June. Come and learn about character and creature animation!

We're running this animation taster day as part of our contribution to Hammersmith and Fulham Arts Fest, to help give future animators an idea of what it's like to work in the  industry.

You will work with Autodesk Maya and the Adobe Creative Suite, and you’ll get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques, all for just £5!  By the end of the day you'll have your own piece of animation uploaded to your YouTube channel.  So, how do you sign up?