Blue Zoo and the Making of Q Pootle 5

Q Pootle 5 by Blue Zoo

Blue Zoo are one of the UK's leading animation companies, making world-beating TV series - sold and distributed around the globe.

So how do they do it? In a recent talk at Blue GFX, Adam Shaw (one of the co-founders of Blue Zoo) explained how he created the hit animated TV series Q Pootle 5. His lecture was a fully-fledged masterclass in how to put a TV series together.

So, if you have ever wondered - how do you get your own TV series off the ground? - here's how it works.

Free Virtual Reality Showcase at BFI IMAX until 18 October

"Virtual Stories" is a Virtual Reality Showcase currently exhibiting at London's BFI IMAX until 18 October.  Sixteen projects from some of the world’s greatest VR creators are on display.

Is VR the next big thing? It's been around for a while, but the technology has never quite been there to make the dream a reality. Now, perhaps, things are changing.  Come and see the very latest in virtual reality and immersive storytelling at this free exhibition at BFI IMAX.

Disney Create Virtual Colouring Book

In this superb video from Disney, you can see children colouring a virtual colouring book - bringing characters to life in virtual reality - or "augmented reality" - even as they colour in the pages of the book in the traditional way.  It's a remarkable piece of technology, which shows just how fast the world is changing in terms of the way that children learn traditional skills. Hats off to Disney for re-inventing the colouring book - and making it better than ever.

Who Are Blue Zoo?

Here at Escape Studios we want to nurture a generation of animators who understand not just the tools of their job but the skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. 

And why not? At a recent BlueGFX Expo event, Blue Zoo founders Tom Box and Adam Shaw explained how they went from being university graduates to owning and running the biggest TV animation co in the UK.  They also offered some excellent insights into the biggest question for our own animation graduates - how can aspiring animators get a job with Blue Zoo?

Meet Mathilda! - An Excellent Free Animation Rig

Mathilda, courtesy of SCAD

After a long period of development, Mathilda is here! This excellent free rig, now available for use by Maya animators all around the world, was designed and built by students at SCAD - The Savannah College of Art and Design.

The Mathilda rig has a very strong range of facial expressions, and uses a new plugin from AnimSchool to help you select the controls.  If she looks strangely familar, it's because she's modeled after the actress Natalie Portman.

We're excited to see what our students can do with this latest addition to the growing range of freeware available to those learning to animate in Maya.

How Do Animators Break into Character Design?

BoxTrolls - designs by Luis Grane

How do animators break into character design? Character design is one of the most fun and challenging jobs on an animated film, entitling the artist to give free rein to their imagination, come up with great ideas - and even get paid to do it.

We asked Luis Grane, an animator and character designer whose work can be seen on dozens of animated films including Prince of Eqypt,  Hotel Transylvania, Ratatouille, and Open Season, to talk about this work and how he broke into the industry.  Last year Luis did character design work for The Box Trolls. So what is involved in working as a character designer at a big studio - and how do you get there in the first place?

How to Get a Job as an Animator - by Tom and Tony Bancroft

Check out Tom and Tony Bancroft's podcast on How to Get a Job as an Animator.

I worked with both Tom and Tony Bancroft back in the days when the Disney Studio in Orlando, Florida was just a feldgling startup - long before it produced movies like Brother Bear and Mulan. We worked together as animation rookies on the short film "Rollercoaster Rabbit".

Both Tom and Tony are excellent animators who went on to have a great career at Disney - and beyond.  So what, exactly, do they say is the secret of getting a job?

How Do You Become an Animator? BFI Explains

BFI has a remit to promote film in the UK, and the BFI Film Academy have put together a short five minute video titled "How Do You Become an Animator?", which includes interviews with leading animators in the UK on how they got started, and how they made it in the business.

Interviewees include Aardman's Peter Lord, who created "Morph", and indie animator Joanna Quinn, whose unique animation style has won her dozens of awards.  So what can our students learn from their success?

Which is Best for 3D Animation - a PC or a Mac?

 

Anyone thinking of embarking on a career in computer animation might be asking themselves - What platform is best for animation in Maya - a PC or a Mac?

The good news is - you can use both.  The bad news (for Mac users anyway) is - the PC is probably better.

How Do You Create The Perfect Animation Workstation?

A student watches a tutorial on his iPad
and does the exercise on a separate screen

In our industry, a good workstation is not a luxury - it's a necessity. The dirty secrets of the VFX business are carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injuries (RSI).

These are potentially serious health problems which affect many people working in our business.  No-one talks about it much - but it's there all the same.

So how can our students make sure they have a long, successful career, and a healthy workstation? Step one - get rid of the mouse.

Rich Jeffrey Animator at Studio Joho

Check out the excellent animation demo reel of Rich Jeffrey, an animation student at Escape Studios who took our three month intensive character animation course.  Rich had never done 3D animation before he started studying at Escape, and he built an excellent demo reel, impressing everyone with his swift grasp of the software, and the excellent character performances that he created.  If Rich can do this in just three months of study at Escape Studios, imagine what our students can achieve in three years on the new BA/MA in the Art of Computer Animation.

Glen Keene and The Secret of Animation - It's All in the Planning

Glen Keane. Wikimedia

The secret of great animation is in the planning. Open up a copy of Autodesk Maya, the leading 3D software, and you just get a blank screen.  With CG animation (or indeed any animation) you get nothing for free. So how do you fill this blank space with creative, entertaining animation?

The answer is - you need to learn to thumbnail. That is to say, you must learn to plan out your work with sketches and scribbles, which create a kind of visual road map of where you want to go.

In the video below, animation tutor Alex Williams analyses Glen Keane's approach to thumbnail skteches and shows how Glen uses them to create beautiful animation. 

Peppa Pig Sells for £140m

Peppa Pig - global hit

The three animators who created Peppa Pig have sold a 70% stake in their company to Entertainment One (better known as "E1") for £140m.

Peppa Pig is a very British success story - a piece of home-grown animation that has been sold successfully all over the world.  The creators of Peppa, Mark Baker, Neville Astley and Phil Davies, are now very rich indeed.

The trio, who graduated from Middlesex Poly in the 1980s, are living proof that if an animator can create a hit character, and hang on to the rights for long enough - the world is their oyster.

What Was It Like To Work on The Iron Giant?

Brad Bird's animation classic The Iron Giant has just been re-released in theatres in the USA, a fitting tribute to a film which, though critically acclaimed, seriously under-performed at the box office when it was first released in the summer of 1999.

In this excellent blog post, animator Stefan Franck reflects on  what it was like to work on The Iron Giant under the leadership of the supremely talented Brad Bird.

For all of us who worked on the film, its box-office failure was a massive shock.  We were devastated.  How could such a great film perform so poorly? Why did no-one want to see it?

Inevitably, conspiracy theories grew. The studio wanted to kill it (because corporations love losing money!).  It was a deliberate tax write-off. The marketing department screwed up.  "They" wanted to close down Warner Bros Feature Animation. "They" wanted to teach Brad Bird a lesson.

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?

aTools - The Free Utility Belt for Maya Animators

aTools - "The ultimate free utility belt for Maya Animators"

aTools is a new free download for Maya that describes itself as "The ultimate free utility belt for Maya animators."  It was created by Portuguese animator Alan Camilo, and is extremely useful for all kinds of tasks in Maya.

aTools is completely free, it makes your work flow faster, and is very easy to install - just drag and drop aTools into your Maya viewport.  Here at Escape Studios we are always on the lookout for tools and plugins that make the animator's workflow faster and more efficient. After all, to succeed in our industry, animators need to be both good and fast.

How Do Animators Use Live Action Reference To Create Believable Animation?

Horse in Motion by Edward Muybridge

How can animators use live action reference to create believable animation?  Back in the old 2D days of hand-drawn animation, rotoscoping (as it was called) was a legitimate, if much criticised, method of achieving a realistic look and feel to your animation.

Today, the technology has changed, but 3D animators still need to study live action to help inform their animation.  This is especially the case when doing complex animal or creature animation, of the kind that is much in demand in VFX movies.  So how, in practice, does a MAYA animator use live action reference to get a great result? Below are some techniques for making it work.

Escape Studios VFX Festival: 23 - 25 February 2016

Mark your calendar for next year's annual Escape Studios VFX Festival. The Festival takes place from February 23rd - 25th 2016, and brings you the very best in VFX, games, animation and motion graphics.

Escape Studios is London's leading provider of world-class, studio-ready talent for the VFX, Games and Animation industries.  To sign up for the mailing list (and benefit from an early-bird discount when tickets go on sale), go to the official site here.  So what exactly is in the festival, and what can you expect to see?

Marc Godfrey Animator at Blue Zoo

Blue Zoo - World Class Animation

Marc Godfrey is a very talented animator and a graduate of our short courses at Escape Studios.

We are proud that his dedication and commitment to the craft of animation has been recognised by the industry in the form of a job Blue Zoo, now the UK's largest independent TV animation studio.

What Does a Visual Effects Supervisor Do, Exactly? VFX Supe Matt Johnson Explains

Matt Johnson (left) in Los Angeles on Beverly Hills Chihuahua

What does a Visual Effects Supervisor actually do on a movie? Well, D'Oh! They supervise the VFX! But really, what do they do, and what contribution do they make to a film?

Matt Johnson, veteran VFX supervisor on dozens of Hollywood hits, including World War Z, Into The Woods, V for Vendetta, X Men, and Chronicles of Narnia, explains what a Visual Effects Supervisor actually does for a living, and how an aspiring film-maker might become one.

Do animators need to know this stuff? Of course! here at Escape we teach our animators to understand the whole VFX pipeline, so you are properly educated in the deep magic of modern film-making.  Being a successful animator isn't just about bringing characters to life - it's about understanding how the whole process works.