Animation - courses, degrees and events

Why should I get into Animation?

The UK has some of the best animation studios in the world, some of which are our industry partners, including Blue Zoo, MPC and Passion Pictures, who compete globally to produce some of the finest character and creature animations in the world. There are a variety of departments in the Animation industry, including Storyboarding, Previsualisation, 3D Animation and more. 

Choose to bring your characters to life with our Animation courses. You'll study using professional software, such as Autodesk Maya, with industry-focused training, giving you the skills you need to graduate job-ready.

Explore our free Industry Beginner's Guide to find out why there has never been a better time to enter the animation industry! 

Animation courses

Webinars and events

Taster sessions

Visit us

Prospectus

Contact us

What Animation courses and degrees do we offer?

Animation at Escape Studios includes courses to get you skilled in the various departments within the animation pipeline, from pre-production to post-production, including 2D Animation and 3D Animation, but also Storyboarding and Previsualisation.

UNDERGRADUATE

BA/MArt The Art of Computer Animation (Integrated Masters)

POSTGRADUATE

MA 3D Animation (full time)

MA Character & Creature Creation (full time)

MA Storyboarding and Previsualisation (full time)

SHORT COURSES - DAYTIME (FULL TIME)

2D Animation with Toon Boom Harmony (12 weeks)

Animation (12 weeks)

Advanced Animation (18 weeks)

Character and Creature Creation (12 weeks)

Character and Creature Creation (18 weeks)

Storyboarding & Previsualisation (12 weeks)

Storyboarding & Previsualisation (18 weeks)

SHORT COURSES - EVENING (PART TIME)

2D Animation with Toon Boom Harmony (Evening - 10 weeks)

3D Animation (Evening - 20 weeks)

2D Character Design (Evening - 8 weeks)

Character Creation for Games and VFX (Evening - 18 weeks)

Concept Art (Evening - 8 weeks)

Storyboarding (Evening - 8 weeks)

Get studio ready for jobs in Storyboarding, Previsualisation, 3D Animation, Rigging and more! Check out the different career options in our free, downloadable Careers Guide.

View our full list of short courses

Animation webinars and events

Tune into our free webinars and online events to get the latest industry updates, software tips and tricks and hear from special guests.

Check out our E_scape Hub for events about other disciplines, recordings of past webinars and plenty of other resources!

The VFX Festival Virtual Series

Creating amazing Worlds and Characters and bringing them to life - Toon Boom Harmony 2D Animation Webinar

Join our tutor Iliana Franklin in this free webinar as she speaks about the 2D techniques behind some landmark feature films, TV shows, and Games shows.

Wednesday 26th January at 5pm

Register here

The VFX Festival Virtual Series

Creating Story-Telling Characters - webinar

Join our Animation tutor, Lee Caller, in our free webinar to learn how to turn creatures, animals and everyday objects into on-screen personalities.

Tuesday 1st February at 5pm

Register here

The VFX Festival Virtual Series

Adding a Performance to Animation in Maya - webinar

In this webinar with our tutor, Lee Caller, you will learn animation principles to create short, repeating sequences of characters and creatures in motion in Autodesk Maya.

Thursday 3rd February at 5pm

Register here

The VFX Festival Virtual Series

Animation & Storyboarding and Previsualisation Open Event

Find out more about what courses we offer and how we can help with your career!

Wednesday 9th February at 6pm

Register here

Taster Sessions

At Escape Studios, we offer a number of classroom-based and online Taster courses throughout the year, so you can 'try before you buy' and get a hands-on feel for what it's like to study with us.

A blue dragonfly is flying over a purple flower

Animation

Tuesday 1st March at 5pm

Book now

A painting of a boy hugging a dog whilst smiling with his eyes closed

Storyboarding & Previsualisation

Thursday 3rd March at 5pm

Book now

Cartoon country house bathed in orange sunlight

2D Animation

Coming soon

What does Animation at Escape Studios look like?

Get an insight of our animation student projects in our student showreel. Also check out previous events and webinars on our YouTube channel.

See more student showreels and films

What makes our Animation courses and degrees unique?

  • Our Animation courses cover training with industry-professional software such as Maya, Toon Boom Harmony and more. 
  • Our classrooms and lessons mirror a standard industry animation studio, to give you a true taste of life in the workplace.
  • You'll benefit from industry feedback sessions with our industry partners, individual professionals working in the industry and our alumni, who have gone to work on some of the biggest projects in the world, including Star Wars, Avengers and Harry Potter.
  • Our tutors are all experts in their field. Alex Williams, our Head of Animation, has worked for industry giants including Disney, Dreamworks, Fox and Warner Bros.
  • You'll also learn the latest tips and techniques used in industry today and find out more about the skills that helped Alex succeed in his career, so you'll benefit from his expertise. 
  • All our courses are developed with our industry partners, some of the biggest studios in the world, including Framestore, Cinesite and PlayStation Studio London, that not only input into our course modules, but regularly visit us and partake in events such as our annual VFX Festival and online webinars. Learn more about our industry partners.
Animation image of an orange flame with cartoony eyes looking scared
Orange speechmarks

Escape Studios was great at helping us build networking skills. They hosted lots of events and opportunities to meet and be taught by industry experts, which was amazing.

Maria Robertson, Junior Animator at Factory 42, Undergraduate Animation Alumna

Who will teach me?

Our tutors are experts in their discipline, covering Animation, Storyboarding, Previsualisation, Character and Creature Creation and Character Design.

Check out our tutor profiles

Animation Escapee success stories

Image of Escapee

Sebastian Kuder

Visualisation Artist at The Third Floor

Image of Escapee

Evgenia Golubeva

Director, Head Writer at Blue Zoo Animation Studios

Image of Escapee

Chan Sagoo

Animation Artist at MPC

Image of Escapee

Harry Pearson

Shot Creator at The Third Floor

Read more success stories

Career resources

Delve into our helpful guides, read our exciting blogs and check out our E_Hub to stay up to date with everything Escape!

Careers Guide front cover

Download your Careers Guide

Industry Beginners Guide

Download your Industry Beginner's Guide

REEL Talk Guide

Download your Showreel Guide

Software Handbook front cover

Download your Software Handbook

Image of four sweet animations

Animation blog

Visit our Head of Animation, Alex Williams' blog to pick up portfolio tips, watch tutorials by our Animation Tutors and see some of our award-winning student work. 

Video games diorama of a moroccan house with E_scape hub title

E_SCAPE hub

Packed with essential online learning resources and opportunities for professional development, you can continue to learn from the comfort of your own home!