AnimBot Licenses for Escape Studios Animators

AnimBot for 3rd Yr UG Animators at Escape

Escape Studios has acquired a number of "animbot" licenses.  animbot is a plugin for Maya, formerly known as "aTools", described as a "utility belt" for animators; it helps to speed up the animation workflow with a number of clever tools. 

The animbot licenses are intended for our third year undergraduate animators, helping them to complete their graduation films swiftly and efficiently.

Meet Will Hughes - Talent Development Manager

Will Hughes (4th from right) with Escapees at BlueBolt VFX

Will Hughes is the Talent Development Manager at Escape Studios.  One of Will's key roles is to meet with our students, recent graduates and Escapees to help them to establish their careers in the animation, games and vfx industries. 

At a time of anxiety about opportunities in the creative industries, we asked Will to tell us about his work and what, exactly, he does to support our students and Escapees. 

"Prepare To Board" for the Animation Library

We've acquired new copies of the storyboarding classic Prepare to Board! by Nancy Beiman  - the main book we recommend to our students studying the art of storyboarding here at Escape Studios.  

Prepare to Board! is an excellent book from a master animator and Disney Animation veteran.  We now have several copies in the Animation and VFX Library at Escape Studios. 

Nancy Beiman 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.

Storyboarding is the vital starting point for all our students' short films; without a solid story few films will enjoy a successful festival career.  

Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards

Young Cartoonists Awards at the Cartoon Museum

Thursday March 26th was awards night for the Young Cartoonists of the Year Awards, the annual competition hosted by the Cartoon Museum and the British Cartoonists' Association. 

This year the YCOTY Awards were presented by cartoonist and BCA Chair Nicola Jennings.  The awards were sponsored by Léonie Wykes-Mahood in memory of her late husband, the cartoonist Ken Mahood. 

"Night Terrors" Wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran

"Night Terrors" wins "Best VFX" in Makizhmithran  

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Film Festival.  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

The Art Director was Ruby Ebbs, Yusuf Saddique was the 2D VFX Lead, and Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead.  This is its third festival award. 

Escape Studios 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus

Our brand-new Undergraduate Prospectus for 2027 is here.  Download your copy of interactive guide or grab a physical copy at our upcoming fairs and events. 

The Escape Studios Undergraduate Prospectus explores our courses, outlines careers in the creative industries, and shows the pathways into those careers. 

The Escape Studios Undergraduate Prospectus is free to download. You can find it here:  https://bit.ly/4ui1vw1

Escapee Giovanni Nuzzo Joins Outpost VFX

Giovanni Nuzzo joins Outpost VFX.

Many congratulations to Escapee Giovanni Nuzzo who has joined the London VFX house Outpost VFX.

Giovanni Nuzzo studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, and worked on two award-winning short films: "Cursed Bond" and "AFK".

"Shapla" Finalist at The 2025 Rookies

Shapla was a finalist at the 2025 Rookies

Many congratulations to the makers of "Shapla", which was a Finalist at the 2025 Rookie Awards.

"Shapla" was created by our graduating class of animation students. "Shapla" was directed by Ruksar Rowza Aziz and produced by Charlie Seeviour.  Erica Sanches was the art director and Tom Price composed the original score.   Shapla has won many festival awards. 

"Night Terrors" wins "Best VFX" Award at the CEFF

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Night Terrors", which has won "Best VFX" at the Cinematic European Film Festival (CEFF).  

Directed by Erminas Surgautas and produced by Xhoana Tola, "Night Terrors" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  The Art Director was Ruby Ebbs, Yusuf Saddique was the 2D VFX Lead, and Samuel Greer was the 3D VFX Lead.  This is its second festival award. 

Escape Studios' Jobs & Careers Playlist at YouTube

Jobs & Careers at our Animation & VFX YouTube Channel

Calling all Escapees: Don't forget our Our Jobs & Careers Playlist at our Animation & VFX YouTube Channel - a key resource for Escapees and graduates seeking their first job in the industry. 

Some of the videos are long form but most are shorts - around one minute long - exploring themes like how to cut a great demo reel, how to manage a job interview, and how to apply for jobs at animation and vfx houses.  It's a useful resource and one that is constantly growing as the needs of industry shifts and changes over time.   

Aardman Workshop at the Cartoon Museum 1 April

Aardman model-making workshop 1st April

The Cartoon Museum in Fitzrovia is hosting an Aardman Animation model-making workshop on April 1st, demonstrating how to make your very own "Sean the Sheep" plasticene model.  

For animation students at Escape Studios this is a rare opportunity to engage with the stop-motion pipeline, learning to make a physical maquette suitable for animation. 

Get yourself a tripod and a smart phone - now you're ready to animate.  You can sign up for the workshop here - it costs just £18.86. 

New Copies of the Animator's Survival Kit

Animator's Survival Kit

We have three new copies of Animator's Survival Kit - our most popular book on animation - for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Animator's Survival Kit is now the standard textbook for animators and the most comprehensive book available for learning animation.  

We have many copies of the Animator's Survival Kit in the 11th Floor Animation & VFX Library at 6 Mitre Passage.  The ASK can also be bought as an eBook download for the iPad.  

For all our students learning animation, we recommend this book as the principal animation textbook.  And don't forget to make use of our Tutorial Channel - with many hundreds of video tutorials on animation and VFX.

Cintiq: New Hardware for Our 2D Animators

Wacom Cintiq tablets

Escape Studios has recently acquired new Wacom Cintiq tablets for our 2D animation students, enabling them to draw directly onto the screen rather than onto a traditional tablet. 

The new Wacom Cintiq drawing pads are available to our 2D animation students in the main 2D animation studio, "PalletTown", on the 11th floor at 6 Mitre Passage.

The Wacom Cintiq tablets enable our students to draw directly onto the screen, as is now standard practice across the industry.  

Escapee Federico Guzzardo Joins ILM

Federico Guzzardo joins Industrial Light & Magic

Many congratulations to Escapee Federico Guzzardo who has joined Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) as a Senior Generalist (Environments).  

Federico Guzzardo studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in 3D VFX.

Industrial Light & Magic is a global visual effects house, setting the standard for VFX internationally and responsible for multiple blockbuster movies.

Industry Feedback with George Caton-Coult 30 April

George Caton-Coult

Escape Studios is delighted to welcome back Love Love Films Studio Manager George Caton-Coult to review our second-year animation students' film projects on 30 April 2026.

George Caton-Coult is the Studio Manager at Love Love Films, responsible for the TV hit "Pop Paper City"  developed in partnership with Aardman Animation.  

Many Escapees worked on and helped to contribute to the success of "Pop Paper City". 

Escapee Laraib Shaikh Joins Milk FX

Escapee Laraib Shaikh Studio Assistant at Milk FX

Many congratulations to Escapee Laraib Shaikh who has joined London VFX house Milk FX as a Studio Assistant.

Laraib Shaikh studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, specialising in roto/prep and 2D compositing in Nuke. 

Escape Studios' Motion Graphics Showcase

We're celebrating some of the latest motion graphics work completed at Escape Studios.  Above is the short film "Mochi World" - a Motion Graphics group project created by our MA MoGraph students at Escape Studios.  This was a collaborative studio project - with the contributions of Ayesha Said, Joel Lang, Kim Chi Nguyen, Oliver Auld, Sadaf Abd Ar-Rauf and Omar Ramadan.  "Mochi World" was supervised by Escape Studios' Motion Graphics tutor Daniel Amor.  Scroll down to see more excellent work completed by individual artists from our graduating class of MA students.

Introducing "Spark" by Nimisha Manjunathan

Introducing "Spark", a new animated short created at Escape Studios by MA animation student Nimisha Manjunathan.  "Spark" was written and animated by Nimisha Manjunathan who is studying for her MA in Animation with Escape Studios' animation tutor Lee Caller.  "Spark" tells the story of a girl who dreams of athletic success; the short film is currently being entered into animation film festivals. 

Motion Graphics Evening Class Starts 24 March 2026

Motion Graphics Evening Class returns on 20 Jan 2026

Our Motion Graphics 12 Week Evening Class returns on 24 March 2026.  The course is taught by experienced industry professionals, and aims to prepare students for careers in the motion graphic and motion design industries.

The market for skilled motion designers has never been bigger, and London is host to the world’s largest motion design community.   To find out more, visit the official course page here.

"Sea Of Madness" wins "Best Short" in Florence

Sea Of Madness wins "Best Super Short Film" in Florence 

Congratulations to the makers of Sea Of Madness, which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the Florence Film Awards. 

Sea Of Madness was directed by Maria Freitas  and produced by Ivy Wang.  

Jake Hines was the editor and 2D Lead, and Sebastian McKernan was the 3D Lead.  Ian Chavez Zarate stars as The Pirate.   This is the latest of many festival awards.