Visual Effects - courses, degrees and events

Why should I get into VFX?

The UK has some of the best visual effects studios in the world, some of which are our industry partners, including DNEG, Industrial Light & Magic and Framestore. There are a variety of departments in the VFX industry, including 3D modelling, simulations, compositing and more. Did you know... More than 90% of the UK VFX work force is based in London?

Our alumni (dubbed 'Escapees') have gone on to work for some of the biggest studios in the world and on projects such as Oscar-winning The Jungle Book, Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ex Machina, The Revenant, Spectre, Interstellar, Gravity and Harry Potter.

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

VFX courses

2D for VFX

Webinars and events

Taster sessions

Visit us

Prospectus

Contact us

What visual effects courses do we offer?

Our courses aim to get you skilled in various departments within post-production in the visual effects industry, from 3D to compositing and finishing (2D). Our courses cover software such as Autodesk Maya, The Foundry's Nuke, SideFX Houdini and more.

Undergraduate

BA/MArt The Art of Visual Effects (Integrated Masters)

Postgraduate

MA Visual Effects Production (3D) - (full time)

MA Visual Effects Production (Compositing/2D) - (full time)

MA Character & Creature Creation (full time)

Short courses - Daytime (full-time)

3D for Visual Effects (12 weeks)

Advanced 3D for Visual Effects (18 weeks)

Compositing (2D) for Visual Effects (12 weeks)

Advanced Compositing (2D) for Visual Effects (18 weeks)

Character and Creature Creation (12 weeks)

Character and Creature Creation (18 weeks)

Houdini (6 weeks)

Short courses - Evening (part-time)

3D Foundation (Evening - 20 weeks)

3D Intermediate (Evening - 20 weeks)

Compositing (2D) for Visual Effects (Evening - 20 weeks)

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

Houdini (Evening - 20 weeks)

Are you not sure whether 2D or 3D is for you? Read our Careers Guide and take a quick Careers Quiz!

View our full list of short courses

VFX webinars and events

Tune into our free webinars and online events to find out more about the world of VFX. Take a look at our Compositing and Finishing for VFX hub for more information about 2D in VFX.

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

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.

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3D Visual Effects

Coming soon

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Compositing

Coming soon

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Houdini

Coming soon

What does visual effects at Escape Studios look like?

Get an insight of our VFX 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 VFX courses and degrees unique?

  • Our VFX courses cover training with industry-professional software such as Maya, Nuke, Houdini and more. 
  • Our classrooms and lessons mirror a standard industry VFX 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 and have been hand-picked from some of the most successful studios; in their lessons they share tips and tricks that they've learnt during their time in industry, so you'll be taught by some of the best in the business!
  • All our courses are developed with our industry partners, some of the biggest studio’s in the world - Framestore, Cinesite and Axis Studios are just a few studios that not only input into our courses, but regularly visit us and partake in events such as our annual VFX Festival. 
    Learn more about our Industry partners.

Escape was the spark that started the fire, with an amazing selection of tutors, extremely talented and with huge experience. The Escape Studios experience is your best opportunity to get inside the industry in a short period of time.

Carlos Conção‎, Digital Compositor at Industrial Light & Magic & Escapee

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Who will teach me?

Get taught by global expert tutors. They have worked at studios including DNEG, Walt Disney Animation, EA and Framestore and their credits include Captain America, Black Mirror and Thor: Ragnarok. 

They speak at international conferences, like B’Ars (Spain) and VIEW Conference (Italy), write for an industry-recognised blog, Befores&Afters, and are authorised trainers for software like Unreal Engine, Autodesk or Houdini.

Check out our tutor profiles

VFX Escapee success stories

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Kajsa Christiansson

Prep and Roto Artist at One of Us

Studied Advanced Compositing for VFX

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Andrea Lacedelli

Crowd Artist at MPC Episodic

Studied 3D for VFX

Headshot of Rafael Martins holding a Bafta statue

Rafael Martins

Lead Layout Artist at Axis Studios

Studied Advanced 3D for VFX

Headshot of Laraib Atta with a house wall and window in the background

Laraib Atta

Digital Compositor at Industrial Light & Magic

Studied 2D and 3D for VFX

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

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VFX blog

Visit our Visual Effects blog to get your regular dose of Visual Effects industry news and tips. Plus, view our students' showreels to see what we get up to at Escape Studios.

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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!