Live online learning

Please note that our daytime courses will be running in 2021 with options for both live online learning and face-to-face learning (when allowed by government guidelines), to allow us to accommodate for everyone's specific needs, and everyone's safety, as we apply social distancing measures in line with government guidance. For more information, please visit our live online learning page or contact our Admissions team.

Advanced Animation (18 weeks)

Craft, create and animate!

This 18 week course has been developed in response to popular demand! The course will teach you the advanced techniques required to jump straight in as an Animation Artist.

This course is suitable for anyone looking to learn advanced practices that realistically bring characters and creatures to life. Throughout your 18 weeks of online tuition you will master the software and skills such as creature interaction, dialogue and lipsync, required to make it in the industry. Following this, you’ll be set a project and submit weekly progress updates for feedback during an additional three month period.

Our head of Animation - Alex Williams designed this course with industry professionals to ensure the course is industry led and relevant. Alex’s film credits include Who framed Roger Rabbit?, The Lion King, The Iron Giant, Harry potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. He has worked for many studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, Warner Bros and Sony. Plus, we work with industry professionals on all of our daytime courses (full-time) so you'll hear directly from someone who's working in the industry and get feedback on your work from a pro.

Access to the internet
3 button mouse (or optionally a Wacom tablet or similar)
Wacom tablet/ Microsoft Ink
Desktop or laptop meeting the Autodesk requirements for Maya (https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Maya-2020.html)
A microphone
Webcam (not compulsory)
Materials to take notes, such as notebook and pen/pencil

Why choose this course

We partner with professionals who provide personalised industry feedback for all our daytime courses (full-time). On our previous Animation courses, we have partnered with top artists including Aaron Hartline from Pixar, known for his work on Up!, Toy Story 3 and Inside Out.

Fast track your career in just 18 weeks - working in the fast paced environment will equip you for industry and you can start applying for job roles as soon as you’ve completed the programme.

You’ll work on industry designed briefs that replicate the real workplace from the comfort of your home. We give you experience of real life scenarios, such as dealing with briefs with varying requirements, deadlines and resources.

You'll study in an environment that mirrors an animation studio, and will begin your introduction to the digital animation pipeline and will work with tools such as Autodesk Maya and Adobe Photoshop.

You’ll develop your very own demo reel in the final weeks of the course. This will become your visual CV for future employers and will help you stand out in this growing but ever competitive industry.

Industry feedback

We pride ourselves on our industry powered training, that's why we partner with some of the world's leading studios on all our Escape Studios daytime short courses (full-time). Royce Wesley from Pixar provided expert feedback for previous intake of the Animation course. Royce Wesley from Pixar provided expert feedback for previous intake of the Animation course. Royce's impressive list of film credits include Brave, Coco, Robots and Inside Out!

This is a great opportunity for our students to receive industry standard critique from an expert in their field, personalised feedback allows students to improve their work to guarantee it's studio ready.

Module information

Module 1 - Locomotion and Mechanics

Week 1 - General Introduction to Maya

Basic modelling
Texturing
Lighting

Week 2 - General Introduction to Maya

Lighting
Texturing
Rigging

Week 3 - General Principles of Animation and an Introduction to Locomotion

Week 4 - Advanced Locomotion

Runs
Hops
Jumps
Skips

Week 5 - Introduction to Character Animation

Week 6 - More on Character Animation

Building and blocking a shot
Parenting
Constraints

Module 2 - Character Performance

Week 1 - Weight and flexibility. Cartoon physics - animating a Box Lift creating characters

Week 2 - Animal locomotion, trots walks and runs

Week 3 - Animal locomotion continued

Week 4 - Acting, dialogue and lipsync

Week 5 - Final exercise

Week 6 - Demo reel

Module 3 (unit 13-18) - Animals and Creatures

Week 1 - Advanced character animation: dialogue and lipsync

Week 2 - Advanced character animation: acting and performance

Week 3 - Advanced motion capture and facial performance

Week 4 - Advanced creature animation: creature performance and acting

Week 5 - Advanced character and creature interactions

Week 6 - Demo reel and polish

Software

How to apply

Entry requirements

We welcome and encourage applications from students with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

To study an Escape Studios short course, you must:

Be over 18
Have a good understanding of written and spoken English
Feel comfortable using a computer

Apply

To apply, or if you have any questions about your application or our entry requirements, you can:

Call our Admissions Advisors on +44 (0)203 441 1303
Email us at admissions@escapestudios.com
Reach us on LiveChat Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Following your application, you will need to agree to our terms and conditions before your place on the course can be secured.

Where will this get me?

Our students go on to work in many areas of the industry including 3D animation for films, TV, games, and visual effects. After the classroom course is over we offer three months of online mentoring, so that our students can continue to refine and polish their skills. We take aftercare very seriously - since it can take time to put together a job-ready demo reel, we make sure our students get the time and practice that they need to refine their work to make them job-ready. Learn more about our Aftercare support.

See some of our Escape Studios animation success stories

See some of the work done by students at Escape

Some of the junior opportunities you will be able to consider on completion of the course include:

Runner
Junior Animator
3D Animator

As you develop more experience and your skills develop further, the pool of roles you will be suitable for will grow. Find more careers advice here.

Fees and funding

Fees

London campus: £15,950

Live online: £12,760

Payment plans

We offer a range of payment plan options for all courses, including up to five instalments following the initial deposit. Depending on the length of the course, we ask that the initial deposit be paid when registering for the course, and the final payment prior to the end date of the course.

Following the deposit, your chosen payment plan will break down your remaining instalments equally. Please speak to a member of our Admissions team on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or admissions@escapestudios.com to determine the dates of those payments.

Contact our Finance team to discuss your options on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or finance@escapestudios.com.

Funding for international students

We recommend you visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs website. The Council doesn’t provide funding directly, but it will give you all the information you need about studying and living in the UK, including visas and funding.

We do our best to find funding solutions for overseas students. For example:

If you’re from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Burma, you may be able to get funding from the Charles Wallace Trust, to help towards your living costs and educational development in the UK. Find out more at wallace-trusts.org.uk.

Get in touch

We can help with any problems or questions you have with course fees and funding. Speak to one of our Applicant Advisors via phone or email today! Call us on +44 (0)203 441 1303 or email admissions@escapestudios.com.

Next steps

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Open events

Find out more about our courses. Meet our tutors, admission advisors, alumni and current students.

Book my space

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Taster courses

Try before you buy and get a hands-on feel for what it's like to study with us.

Book my space

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Meet us

For a one-to-one chat or a personal tour of our industry-like studios, contact our Admissions team.

Get in touch

Meet our tutors

Alex is a cartoonist and animator whose film credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Lion King, The Iron Giant, the three latest Harry Potter films, and The Chronicles of Narnia. He has worked for many Studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, Warner Bros and Sony.

Alex is currently the Head of Animation at Escape Studios in London, and is the founder of the online animation school, animationapprentice.org. He also draws the weekly cartoon strip Queen's Counsel which appears on Thursdays in The Times.

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.

Industry-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 Unreal Engine, Autodesk or Houdini.
State-of-the-art 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.

Live online learning

Advanced Animation (18 weeks)

See also

Module 1 - Locomotion and Mechanics

Module 2 - Character Performance

Module 3 (unit 13-18) - Animals and Creatures

Fees

Payment plans

Funding for international students

Get in touch

Next steps

Open events

Taster courses

Meet us

Meet our tutors

Industry partners

Why Escape Studios?

Escape Studios prospectus

Pearson Business School prospectus

Contact us

Study with us

Stay in touch

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