An introduction to Compositing and Finishing for VFX

What you need to know about your dream career in Visual Effects

Compositing and Finishing (sometimes called 2D or 2D VFX) is a crucial part of any VFX project and is used across films, TV and commercials. It is the final step of the visual effects pipeline which consists in putting all the CGI elements together in order to present a complete and finished product. Also, with TV productions being at an all-time high with the rise of online streaming platforms, demand is ever-growing, and this really is the place to be.

If you’ve recently joined the world of VFX or just want to learn more about the VFX discipline that matches your talents, read on to find out more information about the importance of the compositing and finishing departments in visual effects and how it may be the right career choice for you. Explore further to find career information in the form of webinars and articles, industry advice from creative professionals and our experienced tutors, and how Escape Studios can help you take your first step into your dream career.

Events and webinars

Tune into our free webinars and online events to find out more about the world of compositing and shot finalising.

Next dates to be confirmed! We don't have any webinars in the pipeline just now but watch this space for udpates or check out some recordings of past webinars below.

Picture of Loki, Valkyrie, Thor and Hulk standing on the Rainbow bridge, from the movie "Thor Ragnarok". — What is Compositing?

**What is 2D? What do compositors do?** In this webinar, our Senior VFX tutor, Allar Kaasik, will introduce the wonderful world of compositing and you will **learn the basic principles behind compositing** and how the modern VFX industry cannot exist without 2D departments.

Watch webinar recording

Compositing image of a car in a tunnel — Compositing in TV

Our compositing tutors, Sokratis Synitos and Klaudija Cermak, tell us about their experiences of **creating high-end Visual Effects for TV.** Hear from our industry veteran tutors on **how the work on TV differs from film and what makes it exciting!**

Watch webinar recording

The future is yours to create — 2D relighting hacks

In this specialist webinar our Senior VFX Tutor, Allar Kaasik, will demonstrate **how to add extra realism to compositing shots by improving lighting in 2D.** You will learn the principles of **how lighting and shading are calculated in 3D.**

Watch webinar recording

2D vs 3D VFX - What is the difference and how they work together?

Read on to find information on the differences between 2D (Comp or Finishing) for visual effects or 3D for visual effects and which one is for you!

Intro to VFX: 2D vs 3D webinar

VFX Games - The Art of Compositing

2D VFX Student Showcase

Feast your eyes on these incredible showreels from our students.

Escape Studios VFX Showreel

Escape Studios VFX Breakdown Reel

Francesca Piergiovanni

Paola Maiorama

Alumni Success Stories

Find out what our Escapees have been up to since studying at Escape Studios

Guilio Spatola

Compositor at Jellyfish Pictures

Guilio Spatola has worked as a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios, taking up freelancing gigs during that time, and has now gone on to work at **Jellyfish Pictures.**

Read more about Guilio Spatola

Kajsa Christiansson

Prep and Roto Artist at One Of Us

Kasja Christiansson has worked as a compositor, roto and prep artist for **MPC, DNeg, Cinesite** and **One Of Us.**

Read more about Kajsa Christiansson

Picture of woman named Mary Lapena. — Mary Lapena

Compositor at Mr.X, Australia

Compositor at Mr.X, AustraliaMary Lapena has worked as a Compositor for **MPC, Luma Pictures, Mr. X, Zoice Studios** and **The Senate VFX.**

Read more about Mary Lapena

William Jones

Compositor at Milk VFX

William Jones has worked as a compositor for Peerless VFX, Lipsync and **Milk VFX.**

Read more about William Jones

Articles

Take a read through these articles and blogs to be up to date on the world of Visual Effects.

Tips for a new VFX future

Read Escape Studio's feature article on Before and Afters blog for **tips on jumping in the industry post Covid by Klaudija Cermak**, VFX Compositing tutor and Compositor who has worked on Black Mirror, Britannia, Captain America, and Jason Bourne.

Read the article

Escape Studios' Blog

Discover top tips and tricks from our tutors, stay up to date with all of our news and events and learn more about what it’s like to study with us.

Read the blog

Visual Effects Blog

Get your regular dose of Visual Effects industry news and tips.

Read the blog

Career Resources

Download our course Prospectus and helpful guides or take our Careers Quiz - we’ve got plenty of online content that will help you learn about the VFX, animation, games and motion graphics industries and how to start your creative career.