Pop Paper City "Best Pre-School" Award Nomination

Many congratulations to all the Escapees who worked on Aardman Animation's "Pop Paper City" which has been nominated for "Best Pre-School Programme" at the 2024 Broadcast Awards, which will take place on 8 February 2024.

"Pop Paper City" is a new animated TV series being distributed by Aardman Animations and produced by Lovelove films.  

Pop Paper City is a preschool craft TV show; the series focuses on a group of paper friends as they find ways to have fun together by creating new parts of their paper world.  Around 10 Escapees worked on the show.

 

How to Fix Knee Pops in a Walk Cycle

In the video above, we show how to fix knee pops in a walk cycle. IK chains can "pop" if the leg on a character gets over extended, so the trick is not to completely extend the leg. Straighten the leg on the contact position, then slightly dial it back and relax it. That way, the leg won't "pop" on the bend. To find out more, watch the short video above.

Undergraduate Taster Day 2 December 2023

Undergraduate Taster Day 2 December 2023

Join us on Saturday for our next Undergraduate (UG) Taster Day for an introduction to our degrees in animation, games and visual effects.  

The next Undergraduate Taster Day takes place this Saturday 2nd December from 10am until 3pm at our new home at 6 Mitre Passage, North Greenwich. https://bit.ly/43fTl8B.

Escape Studios' Taster Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees in Animation, Games & Visual Effects.  

Compositing Evening Class Returns 23rd Jan 2024

Compositing Evening Class returns 23 January 2024

Our Compositing Evening Class returns  on 23 January 2024.  Taught by our industry experts, this course teaches the art and craft of 2D VFX compositing for the visual effects industry. 

Compositing is the art of combining different images to create a single, cohesive and believable image. 

Compositors are currently in high demand in the VFX industry, with high levels of employment among our Escapees.

Copy and Paste Curves in Autodesk Maya

In this brief video tutorial we show how to copy and paste curves in Autodesk Maya.  This is part of our series of beginners' tutorials, and shows how to perform a simple animation task - how to copy and paste curves in Autodesk Maya.  Maya is not especially good at copying and pasting curve - it's a slightly fiddly process - but it can be done.

Using Houdini to Generate an Animation Path

 

In this video tutorial and blog post, Escape Studios tutor Simon Browne explains how to use Houdini to generate an animation path.  One common computer animation technique is to use a path to control the motion of a subject, commonly a vehicle.  Many animators may not know that there is a tool in Houdini that can generate an animation path automatically from features and attributes present in the scene environment.  To find out more about Houdini, follow this link to the Houdini tutorials at our Vimeo Tutorial Channel.

History of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Got a spare hour this Sunday afternoon for a little animation history? We're recommending this documentary on the making of the 1988 live action/animated film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".  The documentary is based on a range of source material, including Ross Anderson's well-researched book Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat.   It's a thorough documentary that shows just how many twists and turns Who Framed Roger Rabbit took before finally making it (and even then only just) to the big screen. 

Using Cadmium AI to Colour 2D Animation

Cadmium App

Artificial intelligence offers new ways to speed up the animation pipeline and boost the productivity of animators. One new breakthrough comes from the Cadmium App, a new tool which automates the process of colouring 2D animation.

Cadmium is a creative tool for hand drawn animation. Using machine intelligence, animators can now colour their entire animation sequence from just a few keyframes.

2D Compositing Returns 19 February 2024

12 Week Short Course and MA In Compositing

Our 12 Week Short Course and MA In Compositing returns  on19 February 2024.  Taught by our industry experts, this course teaches the art and craft of 2D VFX compositing for the visual effects industry. 

Compositing is the art of combining different images to create a single, cohesive and believable image. 

Compositors are currently in high demand in the VFX industry, with high levels of employment among our Escapees.

Parkour Founder Sebastien Foucan is Back

Sebastien Foucan in Casino Royale 

We're delighted to welcome back Parkour founder Sebastien Foucan to Escape Studios tomorrow Friday 24 November.

Sebastien Foucan will talking to our third year animation students about what makes a great action scene. How does an animator go about choosing the right action for the right circumstance?

Sebastien Foucan is the founder of the Foucan Academy and also one of the founders of the Parkour Movement, the athletic training discipline in which practitioners move in the most fluid way possible.

Miguel Teixeira Works on "Bea's Block" TV Series

Miguel Teixeira

Congratulations to Escapee Escapee Miguel Teixeira who is celebrating his work as an animator at Keyframe Studios in London, which has just released the TV Series "Bea's Block" on HBO and Sky Kids.  You can see the trailer for Bea's Block below.

Bea's Block is a pre-school TV series from the world of "Sesame Street", in which viewers "join Bea as she and her friends spread kindness and build empathy through playful adventures in their community".

Studying the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, Miguel Teixeira contributed to a number of award-winning short films, including producing and editing the multi-award-winning short film Golden Acorn.   Miguel also worked on two more award-winning films: Reach and Over Under. 

Toonboom Offers Students 84% Harmony Discount

Calling all 2D Animators at Escape Studios - Toonboom is offering a "Black Friday" sale on student licenses of Toonboom Harmony. 

Of course, all our students can access Toonboom Harmony licenses at Escape Studios, and also (if working from home) remotely through the VPN, but with this Black Friday deal students can invest in their very own license for home use - without the need to log in to the VPN.

Today, Toonboom Harmony animators are much in demand, as 2D animation experiences a significant revival both in the UK and overseas.

"Roupell St" Wins "Best VFX" at HEI Film Fest

Curiosities of The Ruthless Roupell St" wins "Best VFX"

Congratulations to the makers of the short VFX film "Curiosities of The Ruthless Roupell St", which has won "Best VFX" at the Heart of Europe International Film Awards. 

Directed by Oliver Chenery and produced by Victoria Arraez, "Curiosities of The Ruthless Roupell St" was a collaboration between 2D and 3D VFX Students, working together to create a short film. 

This is its fifth festival award. 

Video Tutorials for Character & Creature Creation

Lizard Man by Paul Strachan

Escape Studios Head of Creative Technology Michael Davies has curated a list of online resources for our BSc/MSci in Character Creation, our MA in Character & Creature Creation, and our Evening Class in Character & Creature Creation. 

Our new BSc/MSci in Character Creation for Animation builds on our successful MA in Character & Creature Creation.  In both courses, students learn the character creation pipeline from concept to final implementation.  The video tutorials are intended to complement our classroom teaching. 

Tech Troubles Nominee at Animex Film Festival

"Tech Troubles" - Nominee for Best VFX at Animex

Many congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Tech Troubles", which was a Nominee in the category of Best Visual Effects at the Animex Film Festival.

Directed by David Akinyose and produced by Louis Gaffney,  Tech Troubles was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students, working together to create an original story.  The original score was composed by Ben Salwey. 

MoGraph Mixer in London Sat 9 Dec 2023

MoGraph Mixer at the Fitzroy Tavern on Sat 9 Dec 2023

Calling all Motion Graphics animators at Escape Studios - the London Motion Graphics community is hosting their quarterly get-together at the Fitzroy Tavern in Fitzrovia, London on Saturday 9th December. 

We recommend all our MoGraph students attend events like this - part of the so-called "soft skills" that make up networking and career building in the Creative Industries.

Come along and meet other Motion Graphics Animators and do some in-person networking.

Escape Studios 2016 VFX Reel

Occasionally at Escape Studios we get the chance to look back on some of the excellent work done over the years by our talented visual effects students.  Above is our VFX Demo Reel from 2016, also including a few games shots completed by our MA students studying the Art of Video Games.  What the 2016 VFX REel shows is the consistently high standards our students have been hitting for many years. 

"End of The Line" Wins Best Super Short in NYC

"End of The Line" wins "Best Super Short Film" in NYC

Congratulations to the makers of "End of The Line" - the short animated film created at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the New York Movie Awards.

Directed by Eren Arnold and produced by Zoe Walker,  End of The Line tells the story of an inebriated passenger who must confront his inner demons on a night train.  

"End of The Line" is the final film created by our graduating class of animation students at Escape Studios.  This is its fourth festival award. 

Maya Basics Tutorials From Escape Studios

Maya Basics Playlist

Welcome to Escape Studios' Playlist of Beginner-Level tutorials in Autodesk Maya. 

These Maya tutorials date from 2016, and are free for everyone to enjoy. 

Maya Basics by Escape Studios is a complete introduction to 3D Basics in Maya in a series of 36 short videos, recorded at Escape Studios in Maya 2016, including modelling, lighting, animation and rendering.

You can find the Maya Basics Playlist here. 

Creative Business for MArt Students with Chris Jones

Entrepreneur Tutor Chris Jones

This week our students studying on our Integrated Masters' Degree Course have been getting their first taste of the business side of the Creative Industries. 

The Integrated MArt  covers not only the craft of animation and vfx, and also the practical side of successfully working as a team to complete a project that creates value in the business world.

In this guest blog post, Escape Studios' business lecturer Chris Jones explains what students need to know about the business side of the creative industries.