Shimmer Wins "Best Creative" at Halicarnassus

Shimmer wins Best Creative at Halicarnassus Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Shimmer", a vfx short film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Creative" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.

"Shimmer" was directed by Will Moss and produced by Aidan Callaghan, and tells the story of two glass figurines which come to life.  

This is Shimmer's second festival award. 

Why Animators Need Grammelot

What is Grammelot? And why do animators need it? Sometimes you want your characters to speak, but what they are actually saying isn't really that important.  Much more significant is the tone, and what that tone tells us about the character doing the speaking.  Think of the adults in the old Charlie Brown feature films; they spoke in a dreary unintelligible monotone.  We didn't know what they were saying, but we didn't need to - their tone of voice told us everything we needed to know.  And the content of their speech was far less important than what the Peanuts' kids had to say.

Animation Taster Day Tuesday 1st March

Animate a cartoon truck with Lee Caller

We're running a free online Animation Taster at Escape Studios on Tuesday 1st March 2022 at 5pm, taught by short course animation tutor Lee Caller.

Taster Classes are a great chance to learn about character and creature animation, and find out what an animator's job is all about.

You will learn how to use Autodesk Maya and get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques. No prior knowledge of Maya - or any software - is required.

Escape Studios Games Animation Reel

We're proud to present our very first Escape Studios' Games Animation Demo Reel, focused on the art and craft of animation for the games industry.  This latest demo reel features the work of Escape Studios students Aaron Hopwood, Christopher Marsden-Carlton, Sebastian Kuder, Molly Babington, Wiktor Brodowska and Conall Ferguson. The video game "Novem" was a group project completed by Erin Harrison, Dutton Daniel, Piraveen Satkunam, Louise Kalyango, Maria Robertson, Callum Walters, Alex Budulan, and James Cooper.  "Novem" was overseen by supervising tutor Amedeo Beretta. The reel was cut by Escapee Miguel Teixera. 

Character Creation Taster on Monday 28 Feb

We're hosting a free taster for our MA in Character & Creature Creation, currently recruiting for September 2022. 

The taster is taught by industry veteran and CG Generalist Michael Davies and takes place on Monday 28 February at 5pm.

Taster Days are a chance to find out what the course is like, an opportunity to "try before you buy".

In this one hour demonstration, Michael will consider Facial Anatomy and how this can used to help create a character from original 2D concept art.

MA 3D Animation Returns on 26 Sept 2022

Award-winning "Alma"

Our MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation is back, with a new class starting on 26th September 2022.

The MA in animation will be taught both online and at our mid-town campus at 190 High Holborn in central London.

In recent years our MA animation students have created many award-winning film projects such as "Alma", "Flame", "Hat Shop", "Mafia Mix-Up" and "Moon Rockz". Many have also gone on to enjoy successful careers in industry. 

If you're looking for an animation course that teaches you how to animate to a professional level, and also leads to a formal qualification in the field, then this could be the right course for you.

Sweet Heart Wins Best First Time Director

Sweet Heart Wins Best 1st Time Director

Congratulations to the makers of "Sweet Heart", which has won an award for "Best First-Time Director" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.

Sweet Heart is a short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios.; it was directed by Liam Mann, co-directed by Shenaaz Suliman, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.   "Sweet Heart" tells the story of two cake figurines who fall in love.

Locksmith's Shelley Page Visits Escape Studios

Shelley Page

Locksmith Animation Key Talent and Artist Liaison Shelley Page will be at Escape Studios tomorrow to give our second year animation students industry feedback on their short film projects.

Shelley has been working in feature animation since 1986, with credits including "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "Shrek 1-4", "Shark Tale", "Madagascar", "Kung Fu Panda", and "How to Train Your Dragon".

As always, engagement with industry is very much at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios. 

Luis Marcillo-Coronado Animator at Blue Zoo

Luis M-C

Many congratulations to Escapee Luis David Marcillo-Coronado who has started work as a Junior Animator at Blue Zoo Animation in London.

Luis completed his Master's Degree in Animation at Escape Studios taught by veteran animator Lee Caller.

At Escape Studios, Luis contributed to the award-winning short film "Flame", a group project which has won multiple festival awards.

Sonya Ivanona Animation Lecturer at UAL

Sonya Ivanonva

Many congratulations to Escapee Sonya Ivanova who has started work as an animation lecturer at the University of the Arts, London.

Sonya took our short course in 3D animation at Escape Studios, taught by veteran animator Lee Caller.

Later Sonya became a Studio Assistant (SA) at Escape Studios, helping to train the next generation of animators.

Anim Short Course Starts 26 Sept 2022

Animation by Paloma Zhu

Our next animation short course - three months of intensive training in 3D animation - returns on 26 September 2022

Our 12 week animation course is aimed at anyone who wants to learn the art and craft of 3D Animation in Maya, and aims to take students to a professional level of skill, making them studio-ready talent.

Taught by veteran animation tutor Lee Caller, our animation is designed to help our students find employment in the expanding animation and VFX industry.

What Studio Assistants Do at Escape Studios

Studio Assistants at Escape Studios

What do our Studio Assistants ("SAs") do at Escape Studios? Our Studio Assistants are a key part of the team at Escape Studios, one of the principal resources for our students, making sure that they get regular timely feedback on their work. 

Studio Assistants are recruited on a regular basis from our graduating student body, offering talented students a chance to develop their skills further, work on their demo reels, and also to help new students progress their skills.

Escape Studios 2022 2D Animation Reel

We're proud to present our very first 2D Animation Reel. Here at Escape Studios we've been expanding our 2D animation capacity for some years, starting with our evening classes in Toonboom Harmony, and now offering our undergraduate animation students a new 2D Animation Pathway, focusing on digital tools such as Toonboom Harmony, Adobe Animate and Blender.  The 2D Animation industry is going through a renaissance, and we're proud to offer our students a chance to be a part of it.  The reel was cut by Escapee Miguel Teixeira. 

Evgenia Golubeva's "Millie and Lou" Trailer

 

Above is the just-released trailer for "Millie & Lou", the new animated series directed by Escapee Evgenia Golubeva, currently in production at Blue Zoo animation in London.  "Millie & Lou" is a Blue Zoo Original production for YouTube.  The show stemmed from a BZ "in-house initiative", creating in-house content by developing concepts into full series productions.  Many congratulations to Evgenia on directing her first web series. 

PR5001 Students - Get Ready to Pitch

Time to Pitch!

On Monday 21st February at 9.30am we will be hearing  pitches from our 2nd year animation students for PR5001 Studio Project Module.

This pitch presentation is where our students first present their idea for a short film, documentary or teaser/trailer. What sort of story do you want to tell? Who are the characters, and why do we care about them? Why does the audience want to see this film? 

Your eight minute pitch is your chance to capture your audience's attention, intrigue them, and make them want more.

Iliana Franklin "Toon Boom Ambassador"

Iliana Franklin Joins Toonboom Ambassador Program

We're delighted to announce that Escape Studios tutor Iliana Franklin has been appointed "Toon Boom Ambassador" for 2022. 

This is the third year of Toon Boom's Ambassador Program, an annual initiative intended to highlight artists and animators who are developing original content using Toon Boom Harmony and Toon Boom Storyboard Pro.

Animators Need Wide & Narrow Mouth Shapes

Mouth shapes by Cliff Nordberg

When animating dialogue and Lipsync, animators should always look for a strong contrast between the wide and narrow mouth shapes.

Without this, lipsync can tend to feel a bit like a dustbin lid opening and shutting.

The key is to find flexibility, especially between the wide shapes, such as "ee" shapes, and narrow shapes, such as "oo" or "w" shapes. 

2D Animation Webinar on 16 Feb 2022

Free webinar on Wednesday 16 February

We're hosting a free webinar on the subject of 2d Animation on Wednesday 16th February at 5pm on the subject of "Modern Methodology in 2D Animation". 

Join tutor Iliana Franklin to find out how the 2D animation industry is reviving and re-inventing itself, as a new generation of animators pushes the limits of the medium.

VFX Festival is Back 9-10 March 2022

VFX Festival 2022

The VFX Festival is back!  This year the 2022 VFX Festival will take place as hybrid event, both online and also in person.

We're hosting the event at Escape Studios at our midTown Campus at 190 High Holborn, and streaming the events for a live online audience.

To book your tickets, follow this link to thevfxfestival.com.

Crash Wins Best Trailer at Onyko Film Fest

The Crash wins Best Trailer at the Onyko Awards

Many congratulations to the makers of "The Crash", a short film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won Best Trailer at the Onyko Film Festival. 

"The Crash" is a sci-fi VFX short written and directed by Lewys Rhodes, and produced by Daniel Rowe.  The Crash has won many festival awards.