3D Animation (Evening - 20 weeks)
Spend your evenings learning a new skill with our new 3D Animation evening course.
This online evening course has been developed by Alex Williams, whose film credits include Who framed Roger Rabbit, The Lion King (1994), The Iron Giant, Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. You'll be taught by one of our industry-trained tutors who’ll share their wealth of experience with the class.
This course is suitable for anyone looking to break into the industry or enhance their skills. You'll cover essentials, such as locomotion, mechanics, character and creature animation so you can start to create work for your own animation showreel.
- Location: Live online
- Start dates: 7th March 2023
- Tuition fees: £3,196
- Mode of study: Part time (Tuesday and Thursday evenings: 7pm-10pm)
- Programme duration: 20 weeks
- Entry requirements: Aged 18 or over, a good understanding of written and spoken English.
- A laptop
- Access to the internet
- 3 button mouse
- A non-commercial version of Maya
- A microphone
- Webcam (not compulsory)
- Materials to take notes, such as notebook and pen/pencil
- Evening studies - study in the evening for more flexibility to get your study/work/life balance right.
- You'll get hands on experience with 3D Animation techniques, such as creating simple geometry, basic texturing, dynamics, reaction shots, dialogue shots, lipsync, trot walks and runs.
- Learn from award-winning tutors - our tutors have not only been behind some of the best new talent in their field, but have an impressive array of achievements from their time practicing what they preach.
- Week 1: General introduction to Maya - animation basics
- Bouncing ball
- Lamp hop
- Week 2: Animation locomotion - walks and character walks
- Basic walk cycle with basic biped
- Basic human walk
- Week 3: Advanced locomotion - runs, hops, jumps and skips
- Basic run cycle
- Human biped run cycle
- Week 4: Advanced locomotion - jumps
- Basic jumps
- Human biped jump
- Week 5: Flexibility and overlapping action
- Foxy bouncing ball with tail
- Helicopter overlapWeek 6: Weight and balance
- Weight shiftWeight lift
- Week 7: Animation mechanics - physical actions
- Person throwing a ball - use of live action reference
- Person throwing a ball - develop and recap
- Week 8: Animation mechanics - physical actions
- Lifting a heavy object - develop
- Lifting a heavy object - refine
- Week 9: Character poses
- Creating thumbnail sketches
- Creating character poses
- Week 10: Pantomime animation
- Thumbnail sketches for pantomime animation
- Pantomime animation
- Week 11: Introduction to character animation
- “Phone Booth Man” - key poses for character on stepped curves
- Add breakdowns to “Phone Booth Man” using Tween Machine
- Week 12: Introduction to Character Animation
- Reaction shots - animate a “take” with Monty
- Reactions - animate a “take” with a human biped
- Week 13: More on character animation - building and blocking a shot; parenting and constraints
- Very short dialogue shot with Monty
- Very short dialogue shot with human biped – Norman, Morpheus or Eleven
- Week 14: Character animation - dialogue
- Block medium dialogue shot
- Refine medium dialogue shot
- Week 15: Character animation - dialogue and lipsync
- Block advanced dialogue shot
- Refine advanced dialogue shot
- Week 16: Animal locomotion, trots walks and runs
- Quadruped walk
- Quadruped trot
- Week 17: Animal locomotion continued
- Quadruped run
- Birds Week 18: Animals and creatures - using live action
- Animal locomotion using live action reference
- Animal locomotion using live action reference
- Week 19: Animals and creatures
- Spiders and scorpions
- Vehicles and machinery
- Week 20: Demo reel, website/blog, jobs and careers
- Assemble the first draft of demo reel.
- Create a blog to host it
- Demo reel review, recap
We welcome and encourage applications from students with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
To study this short course, you must:
- Be over 18
- Have a good understanding of written and spoken English
- Feel comfortable using a computer
For questions regarding international applications and visas, check our admissions page for further information or contact our Admissions team on admission@escapestudios.com.
Evening (part-time) courses can be purchased directly via our online shop - just click the Buy Now button at the top of the page.
Alternatively, you can:
- Call our Admissions Advisors on +44 (0)203 441 1303
- Email us at admissions@escapestudios.com
- Reach us on LiveChat on Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Following your application, you will need to agree to our terms and conditions before your place on the course can be secured.
All students will graduate with an Escape Studios Certificate of Achievement, a well-respected qualification within the industry, demonstrating you've studied an industry-based course and have the practical, hands-on skills studios are looking for.
Our animation students go on to work in many areas of the industry including 3D animation for films, TV, games, and visual effects. See some of their success stories.
Junior animation roles include:
- Runner
- Junior Animator
- 3D Animator
Fees
£3,196
Payment plans
We offer a range of payment plan options for all courses. Following an initial deposit at registration stage, your chosen payment plan will break down your remaining fees into up to five equal instalments, to be paid before the end of the course.
Contact our Admissions Team on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or admissions@escapestudios.com or visit our admissions page for any questions about fees, funding and payment plans.
Next steps

Open Events
Meet our team, hear about our postgraduate and short courses and get all your burning questions answered.

Taster sessions
Get a hands-on feel for what it's like to study with us by joining one of our online or on-campus practical sessions.

Meet the team
Book a one-to-one on the phone or on campus if you want to know more about our courses.
Meet our tutors
Our tutors have all sculpted their own careers in successful studios in the industry and are now sharing their expertise in the classroom. Packed with everything from Thor: Ragnarok, Black Mirror and Black Panther to the original Lion King and multiple PlayStation titles, their CVs don't get much cooler! They know exactly what skills you need – teaching you real-world tips and tricks, as well as the latest industry software and techniques to kick-start your career.

Industry Partners
Industry partners and advisors influence everything we do, from the curriculum we teach and how it's delivered to our webinars and events.
We work alongside an impressive list of VFX, Games and Animation studios including Industrial Light & Magic, Framestore, Blue Zoo, MPC, Jellyfish Pictures, PlayStation London Studio and Creative Assembly and many more across all our courses at Escape Studios.
With exclusive professional feedback, intensive software training and much more, our industry-led courses give you up-to-the-minute, inspirational knowledge and experience, tailored to the work you’re passionate about. Our Escape Studios alumni (Escapees) can be found working at a variety of studios including Pixar, MPC, Industrial Light & Magic, DNEG, Rockstar Games and Electric Theatre Collective.
Find out more about our industry partners.

Why Escape Studios?
Learn industry-relevant techniques from the experts, in a studio-like environment.
- Studio-experienced tutors. Our tutors have worked at studios including DNEG, Walt Disney Animation, EA, Rebellion and Framestore and their credits include Captain America, Black Mirror and Bond: Spectre. They speak at international conferences, like B’Ars (Spain) and VIEW Conference (Italy), write for industry-recognised blog Befores&Afters, and are authorised trainers for software like UnrealEngine, Autodesk or Houdini.
- Industry-standard facilities. Our central London campus is surrounded by world-leading studios and fully equipped with high-end hardware and the latest software.
- Industry partners. Our studio partners, including DNEG, Framestore and PlayStation London Studio, help design and develop our courses to make sure that what we teach is relevant to the current industry practices. You’ll also have access to events and webinars ran by our Student Experience team with industry speakers.

Doing the animation course helped fast track my Maya skill set to allow me to apply for a greater variation of jobs. I now regularly work in both 2D and 3D allowing me to be more versatile.
Richard Jeffery, 3D Animation alumnus