Lights & Shadows in Maya with Michael Davies

We've uploaded more Maya tutorials to our expanding Vimeo Tutorial Channel.

These latest videos teach the art of Lighting and Shadows in Maya with Michael Davies.  This new series of videos is an introduction to the basics of lighting and shadows in Maya, including Gobos and Effects.

Finding Work in the Animation Industry Under Lockdown

Covid-19 has changed the jobs landscape, and not for the better; companies are shedding jobs around the globe. The good news is that animation continues to flourish; unlike live action filming, animation can be done remotely, and there is a large and growing demand for fresh animation content.

Here in the UK, many animation studios are still actively looking for talent.  Remote working is booming - consider the case of Escapee Daniel Baidoo who is working from home in Malta for an Italian Animation Studio on a British TV Series.  Truly, animation has become a global business.

"Flame" Wins Best Super Short Film in Prague

"Best Director" - Super Short Film

Many congratulations to the makers of the short film "Flame", which has won Best Director - Super Short Film at the Prague Film Festival.

"Flame" has won multiple awards in recent months, including Best Animation at the LISFF, Best Editor at the "We Make Films Festival" in London and a Five-Star Award at the British International Amateur Film Festival.  Flame was directed by Cherelle Owusu, produced by Carolina Xavier, and overseen by supervising tutor Amedeo Beretta.

Daniel Baidoo Animator at Maga Animation

Daniel Baidoo

Many congratulations to Escapee Daniel Baidoo, who has found work as an animator at Maga Animation, an animation company based in Monza, Italy.

Daniel is currently working remotely for Maga, animating "4-5 seconds of animation a day" on Ricky Zoom 2, a British CGI preschool series about a red motorbike named Ricky.

Prior to Ricky Zoom, Daniel worked at Animal Logic animation studio in Sydney, Australia.

Webinar with Escapee Evgenia Golubeva

On Thursday we hosted a webinar titled "From Escape Studios to Disney - How Escapee Evgenia Golubeva became a writer at Disney TV Animation".  In the webinar I asked Escapee Evgenia Golubeva about her remarkable career since leaving Escape Studios.  Evgenia is an award-winning animator, writer and director who is currently working as a writer at Walt Disney Animation.  Evgenia studied with us on our animation short course, and has since forged a career as a writer and independent film-maker, entering her animated films in festivals around the world and winning international prizes for her work. For anyone who missed the live event, watch the video above to find out more about Evgenia and her career.

Animate a Ball Throw with Alex Williams

We've added a new series of videos to our Vimeo Tutorial Channel, on how to animate a character throwing a ball.

The tutorial is important for any animator learning how to animate a physical action, and shows how to use live action reference in order to create a believable and technically accurate result.

Clearing Opens Today at Escape Studios

Today and tomorrow we are taking phone calls for the so-called "Clearing" process, during which UCAS matches up applicants with vacancies at Universities across the UK.

We still have a few spots available to study animation, games and VFX at Escape Studios, so if you'd like to to start your career in the creative industries - don't hesitate to get in touch.

"Seeker" Wins "Best Short" at Lisbon Film Fest

"Seeker" - Best Super Short 

Many congratulations to Escapee Rassoul Edji, whose short film "Seeker" has won "Best Super Short" at the Lisbon Film Festival.

This is the latest award for "Seeker", which recently won "Best Cinematography" at the European Film Festival, was a finalist in this year's Rookies competition, and was nominated for Best Director at the Prague Film Festival.

Flame Wins Best Animation at the LISFF

Best Animation LISFF

Many congratulations to the makers of the short film "Flame", which has won Best Animation at the London International Student Film Festival (LISFF).

"Flame" has won multiple festival awards including Best Editor at the "We Make Films Festival" in London and a Five-Star Award at the British International Amateur Film Festival. Flame was directed by Cherelle Owusu, produced by Carolina Xavier, and overseen by supervising tutor Amedeo Beretta.

How to Render Animation "On Twos"

We've recently uploaded a new video tutorial on how to render animation to look as if it was animated on twos, with UG Program leader Michael Davies.  You can find the video at our Vimeo Channel here.

Character Creation is Back on 26th October

3D art by Jonathan McFall

Character Creation is back; our 18 week evening class in Character Creation returns to Escape Studios on Monday 26th October 2020.

This evening course will teach students how to create their own character designs and bring them to life. Over 18 weeks you will design, model, texture, rig and animate your own character.

The course is taught by Jonathan McFall, an experienced 3D artist and veteran of many VFX hits including the Harry Potter series, Men in Black 3, and Immortals.

Texturing in Maya with Michael Davies

We've uploaded a new series of videos to our Vimeo channel, on Texturing in Maya, with our UG Program Leader Michael Davies.

The five videos are an introduction to the basics of materials and textures in Maya, and are a useful place to begin for anyone looking to understand the basics of texturing in Maya.

Last Call for Animation Evening Class 1st Sept

Dragon animation by Jamie Floodgate

Last call for our 20 week part-time Animation evening class in 3D animation, which returns on 1st September 2020.

This online class runs for 20 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7-10pm. The course starts with animation fundamentals and builds up to complex actions and performances, and a professional level demo reel.

The class is taught by veteran animator and animation tutor Michael Morgan. 

Story & Previs MA Demo Reel

We're proud to present our very first Story & Previs MA Demo Reel, a showcase of work done by students on our Master's Degree course in Previsualisation and Storyboarding, which first launched in September 2019.  Four student films: Street Ratz, Moon Rockz, Animal Lover and Hat Shop, were directed by our MA students, and have recently been entered in festivals, already winning selections and awards.  Developed in consultation with industry, and formally validated by the University of Kent, the MA in Story & Previs is a unique opportunity to learn industry-level skills and also earn an internationally recognised academic qualification.

Parkour Tutorial with Paloma Zhu

We've uploaded a new parkour animation tutorial to our expanding Vimeo channel; this time a parkour animation shot by Paloma Zhu; you can find it here.

The shot was originally animated by Paloma on the short film "Street Ratz", which was nominated for Best Trailer at the Assurdo Film Festival.  In this tutorial, Paloma shows how she created live action reference clips and edited them together to block out her animation, ensuring realism, accuracy and believability.

From Escape Studios to Disney - Webinar with Evgenia Golubeva on Thursday 13th August

Evgenia Golubeva

Join us on 13th August at Noon for an animation webinar titled "From Escape Studios to Disney - How Escapee Evgenia Golubeva became a writer at Disney TV Animation".

In this free webinar I'll be asking Escapee Evgenia Golubeva some questions about her remarkable career since leaving Escape Studios.

Evgenia is an award-winning animator, writer and director who is currently working as a writer at Walt Disney Animation in London.

Evgenia studied with us on our animation short course, and has since forged a career as a writer and independent film-maker, entering her animated films in festivals around the world and winning international prizes for her work. You can sign up for the webinar here.

Body Mechanics Tutorial with Amedeo Beretta

Body Mechanics Tutorial with Amedeo Beretta

We've uploaded a new Body Mechanics Tutorial to our Vimeo Tutorial Channel.

The tutorial was recorded by Escape Studios tutor Amedeo Beretta, who will teach our 2nd year undergraduate animators this September. 

You can find the new body mechanics tutorial, using the free "Ultimate Walker" rig, here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7400864

"Seeker" Wins Best Cinematography at EFF

Many congratulations to Escapee Matteo Balduzzi, Director of Photography on the short VFX film "Seeker", which has won "Best Cinematography" at the Europe Film Festival.

This is the latest award for "Seeker", which has picked up a number of trophies, having been selected as a finalist in this year's Rookies competition, and also nominated for Best Director at the Prague Film Festival.

Melissa Coarezza Animator at Milestone s.r.l.

Melissa Coarezza

Many congratulations to Escapee Melissa Coarezza, who has secured a position as a technical animator at the Italian video game company Milestone s.r.l.

After a year at MPC film in London working on the production of Maleficent 2 - Mistress of Evil, Melissa, who took our 12 week course in 3D Animation, has joined the TechArt team at Milestone, in her home town of Milan.

Technical animation is a growing area of the animation industry, one where opportunities and jobs are rapidly expanding. 

UV Unwrapping Tutorials at Vimeo

We've uploaded a new series of tutorials to our Vimeo channel, on the subject of UV Unwrapping.

The tutorials were recorded by our UG Program Leader Michael Davies, and form part of our large and growing Vimeo Tutorial Channel, which has hundreds of videos on animation, games and VFX.