Michael Morgan at Escape Studios on 4th May

Meet the man behind "Guardians"

London's Escape Studios is hosting a free animation event on Thursday 4th May at their Shepherd's Bush studio, with animator Michael Morgan.

Michael is an animator with extensive experience in video games, TV Commercials and Feature films, including VFX blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

This will be a superb event for everyone who would like to find out more about careers in animation.

And if that isn't enough for you, there will - as ever - be free pizza and beer.

Blue Zoo Summer Internships

Applications for Blue Zoo's summer internship roles are now open. The 6-8 week paid placements are "like a real job but without the demands & expectations, allowing participants to develop and learn how a big animation studio works and real projects are run".

Dominic Rayner Animator at Ace Image Factory

Many congratulation to Animation Apprentice graduate Dominic Rayner who has just started a job as an animator with Ace Image Factory in Brussels, Belgium. 

Dominic took the character performance module at Animation Apprentice, in order to polish his character animation skills. 

Virtual Reality Show This Weekend

Virtual Reality Show

The Virtual Reality Show is coming to Islington, North London, this weekend. With an impressive array of attendees and speakers, this could be the perfect event to find out the future of VR and - crucially for our students - who is hiring talent, and what skills are in demand. What software will you need to learn to join the VR Revolution?

Re-Makes - Are They a Good Thing?

I was asked by Digital Arts magazine to do a piece on the new trend for live action re-makes of the Disney back catalogue, like "Jungle Book" and "Beauty and The Beast".

On balance, I'm in favour, in part because I don't think the re-makes detract from the original movies, but also (of course!) because big new animation projects create new jobs for Animation Apprentice graduates - which can only be a good thing.  To read the full article, follow this link.  ----Alex

Get Ready for Our May Classroom

The book we recommend for studying animation

What kind of preparation should students do before starting with us in our May classroom, starting on Tuesday 8 May.  It's always good to do a little preparation and get a bit of a head start.

Below is a brief list of stuff to get you under way. You don't have to do all of it, but tick off a few of the things on this list and you will be a making a great start on your animation career.

First, here is a short reading list to get you started. We've narrowed it down to just two key books that we recommend for all our students.

Bring Your Own Animation on Tuesday 18th April

Calling all Animation Apprentice students in the London area - why not come to "Bring Your Own Animation" on Tuesday 18th April? BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London.

This month the event is being organised by the London branch of SIGGRAPH, at The Lukin pub in Fitzrovia.

If you are a student who is working on a shot or a reel (isn't everyone?), bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from Professional Animators.

Peter Stringer Story Artist with Heromation

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Peter Stringer,  who has just landed a new job as a story board artist at Heromation animation studio in Cambridgeshire.

How to Find Your Crashed Maya File

Autodesk Maya may be the leading 3D animation software package but it can also be a tricky beast, with a nasty tendency to crash when you least expect it, usually just before the client comes in to check your work.

But fear not, even when Maya crashes, all is not lost. It is (sometimes) possible to find your scene file, even when Maya goes down. Below is a short video put together by student Jack Wright, which explains how to hunt down and (hopefully) find your recovered scene file.

BAFTA Scholarship for Post-Graduate Study

Want to do an MA in animation - but short on cash? Why not apply for a a BAFTA scholarship?

BAFTA has opened applications for its scholarship programmes, worth up to £12,000. So what's stopping you? Apply now!

Rory Marchant Studio Assistant at Escape Studios

Animation Reel 2016 from Rory B Marchant on Vimeo.

Rory Marchant will shortly start a new animation job at London's Escape Studios as a studio assistant, helping to support students learning 3D animation in Maya. Rory took the Animation Apprentice online course, and since then he has been working as a freelance animator, doing superb work - such as this excellent commercial for a French client. We congratulate Rory on this next stage of his animation career.

London Animation Club Meetup 4th April 2017

Calling all animators at Animation Apprentice in the London area - why not come to the next London Animation Club meetup tonight - 4th April 2017?

The LAC will be screening a little known animated film titled "Know Your Europeans", in honour (or not) of the UK triggering Article 50 on Wednesday 29 March and announcing its intention to leave the European Union.

More importantly, informal societies like LAC offer the opportunity to meet other London-based animators and find out the latest news and gossip. There isn't a better place to find out who is hiring animators than in the pub over a pint of London Pride.

Meet Willy!

Willy is an excellent free rig, created by Matthew Moore, and free to download for use by Maya animators.

Willy is a broad, flexible and cartoony rig, very simple to use and great for the early stages of learning animation - especially lip-sync.

Like all rigs, Willy has his quirks. So, how can our animation students get the most out of Willy?