Core Skills of VFX Handbook 2025

The updated Core Skills of VFX Handbook 2025 was recently launched at an event at Cinesite in London. 

Collated by Saint John Walker and funded by UK Screen Alliance and BFI Metro London Skills Cluster, the VFX Handbook serves as both a blueprint for course curricula in higher education and a practical guide for students learning VFX.  You can download it here. 

3D VFX Taster Online - Just £25

Online 3D VFX Taster Course

London-based VFX academy Escape Studios has just launched a new online 3D VFX taster course, aimed at absolute beginners who want to master the basics of Maya and 3D VFX.

This online taster was developed by Escape Studios' Head of 3D, Mark Spevick, and costs just £25.

Animating "Venom"

Venom

Troy Saliba, animation director at Double Negative, gave a talk in London earlier this year, to talk about his work on the blockbuster release: Venom.

Troy was my animation director on "Monster House", way back in 2005, so it was a pleasure for me to see him again, and welcome him to London, where he is now working for DNeg in Soho.

Troy's talk was a masterclass in how animators work alongside VFX artists on FX-heavy films, where the final result, with all the FX work added, can often look quite different to the animator's initial keyframe animation.

The result is that, on films like Venom, animation and FX are heavily interlaced, requiring careful collaboration between departments, and plenty of back-and-forth to get the right final result.

ILM & "Fallen Kingdom" at the VFX Festival

Fallen Kingdom

One of the highlights of today's VFX Festival at Escape Studios in London was the presentation by Jance Rubinchik, animation supervisor at ILM on the making of Jurassic World, and Fallen Kingdom.

The talk was a masterclass in creature animation, demonstrating how much careful research goes into the creation and animation of the dinosaurs.

The Jurassic World series of movies as are a "balance between science and entertainment", as the film-makers try to keep both audiences and paleontologists happy.

From the point of view of animators looking to tackle realistic dinosaur animation, the lesson is simple: use as much reference as you can, and make sure you use live action reference that is as close as possible to the anatomy of the creatures you are trying to animate. 

VFX Festival Lineup 6-7 February 2019

Escape Studios' 2019 VFX Festival is taking place next week at London's South Bank Centre, on February 6th and 7th.

The VFX Festival hosts many industry speakers coming to talk about the latest developments in Animation, Games and VFX.

This year participants include Framestore, MPC Film, Jellyfish Pictures, Blue Zoo, AXIS animation The Third Floor and Creative Assembly, all coming to talk about their latest work.

2019 VFX Festival 6-7 February

The UK's annual VFX Festival, hosted by Escape Studios, is taking place in three weeks from 6-7 February at London's South Bank Centre, in the Purcell Room.

The 2019 VFX Festival is a great place to find out about the latest developments in Animation, Games and VFX, and we encourage all our students, past and present, to attend if they can.

This year the VFX Festival kicks off with the "Emerging Talent" event, aimed at students and recent graduates, which runs for two days, from February 6th to 7th.

Tracked Plates for Animators

We're liking this website that offers tracked plates for animators.

VFX artist Dietrich Magnus has built a library of tracked plates which he has filmed and tracked himself, allowing animators to experiment with animating in a VFX environment for a low entry fee of £25.

2018 VFX Festival Lineup

Escape Studios' 2018 VFX Festival is fast approaching.  As in previous years, Escape has got some great speakers coming to talk about the latest developments in Animation, Games and VFX.

Here at Animation Apprentice we strongly recommend our students attend events like this one. It's a great way to find out what's going on in our industry and, best of all, to meet the recruiters from London's leading animation and VFX houses. Below are some of the VFX, games and animation companies who will be speaking in February.

2018 VFX Festival - Tickets Now on Sale

Tickets for the 2018 VFX Festival in London are now on sale.  Just like last year, Escape Studios will be showcasing the best of VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics.

There is no better way to find out about the latest trends in our industry, who is hiring, and what skills are in demand.  We strongly encourage all our current, past and future students to attend. Come and find out what the future holds for our industry.

Alien Covenant Secrets Revealed

I saw the original "Alien" movie by Ridley Scott when I was just 12 years old - far too young really (I was terrified) - but since then I've always been fascinated by this most stylish of horror film franchises.

Framestore VFX Supervisor Stuart Penn (Avatar, The Dark Knight, Iron Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy.) is about the same age as I am, and clearly could not resist the chance to work on Scott's latest instalment - Alien Covenant.

Penn gave an excellent talk about his work on the film at Escape Studios last thursday - a fascinating insight into how the movie got put together.
 
So, what were the secrets behind this most coveted of VFX roles - working for one of the greatest living film directors on the latest Alien movie?

Stuart Penn Talks Aliens in London on 3 August

Stuart Penn

Framestore VFX Supervisor Stuart Penn will be talking about his work at a free event in London in two weeks, on Thursday 3rd August at 6.30pm.

Events like this are a great way for animators to get a better understanding of the overall VFX pipeline, and how animation fits in to the big picture.

Stuart will be talking about his recent work as VFX supervisor on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant. We encourage all our students to attend - and ask questions. This is a chance to meet a successful industry professional and ask him - how does a student artist break into this field?

MPC Reveals The Secrets of the Jungle Book

The Jungle Book was one of the most impressive films of 2016, and its secrets were recently revealed at the Escape Studios VFX Festival, with MPC's Ben Jones (CG Supervisor) explaining how the London VFX house brought the characters and creatures of this classic tale to life, re-imagining one of the best-loved of the Walt Disney Studio's animated films.

So, how did MPC create this most extraordinarily ambitious movie?

Animation Jobs - Where Are They?

Careers and Recruitment Panel 2017

The Careers & Recruitment Panel at the recent Escape Studios VFX Festival was a packed house.

Where are the jobs in our industry? Who is hiring? What skills are in demand right now?

This year the panel was hosted by Andy Brassington. Guests included (from left) Harriet Finney from the Creative Industries Federation, Amy Smith from Framestore, Tom Box from Blue Zoo, Paul Wilkes, recruiter for MPC advertising, Jill Wallace from Axis, Henry Bull from The Mill, and Clare Norman from Milk FX.

So, where are the jobs in the animation industry today, and who is hiring?

Frame Store's Fantastic Beasts - And How They Made Them

At the VFX Festival last week, Framestore's Christian Manz talked about "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", explaining how Framestore brought these amazing digital creatures to life.

The address followed on from a packed recruitment talk also given by Framestore - both events were standing-room only.  Framestore is one of London's leading VFX houses, one of the reasons why London is a global hub for high-end visual effects work.

So, what were the secrets behind this remarkable film, and how did Framestore bring photo-realistic goblins and other fantastical creatures to life?

2017 VFX Festival Now Taking Bookings 7-9 February 2017

Save the date! The countdown to the Escape Studios 2017 VFX festival is now officially on.

The VFX Festival is coming back for 2017, and just like last year Escape Studios be showcasing the best of VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics in London.

There is no better way to find out about the latest trends in our industry and - of most importance for our students - who is hiring and for what. Last year all the big London VFX houses showed up - and were actively looking for talent.

An Amazing Week at the VFX Festival

Industry Panel

It's been an extraordinary ride at the Escape Studios VFX Festival this past week.

Industry royalty turned out in force at London's O2, including a spectacular presentation yesterday by ILM on the making of Star Wars.

Anyone who was looking for insights into the state of our industry, how VFX movies and games get made, and what the future holds - will not have been disappointed. And the industry stands were buzzing with recruiters - animation and VFX in London is hiring fresh talent.

Yesterday's industry panel saw some of the leaders in animation and VFX talk about the latest trends in the business, and what the future will bring.

What is FMX?

FMX is the visual effects industry's biggest annual shindig. It takes place in Stuttgart every year - this year from April 26th to April 29th.

FMX is big, bustling and crowded. It's a super-busy congress of people who work in the global visual effects industry, getting together to show their best work and hang out with their friends and colleagues.  Everyone shows up - including recruiters - and there are lectures, screenings and panel talks on every imaginable aspect of the visual effects process.

Why Invisible Effects Are Hollywood's Best Kept Secret

Suffragette reel from Union Visual Effects on Vimeo.

This excellent article at the Daily Telegraph explains why "invisible effects are Hollywood's best kept secret". Of course, everyone knows about the eye-popping visual effects work that brings us flying spaceships, massive explosions, and fantasy creatures of all kinds. But the movie business is now full of effects that no-one even notices. Digital crowds bring an empty racetrack to life in "Suffragette" (see the video above).  Effects artists remove acne from a famous actress having a bad skin day - the 3D artists who make these effects are the unsung heroes of our industry.

How Framestore Brought "Pan" To Life

At the recent BlueGFX Expo on London’s South Bank, students of animation and visual effects were treated to a wide variety of lectures and workshops - all of of which were completely free.

One of the most interesting talks was by Stuart Penn from Framestore, where he explained how the visual effects house pulled off the exceptional challenges of creating the animation and VFX work for Warner Bros’ latest blockbuster fantasy adventure: Pan.

Events like BlueGFX are a great way for students to get a deeper understanding of how the industry works, and to stay on top of the latest trends and technology.

Meet Oscar Winning VFX Supervisor Paul Franklin on Thursday December 10th

Oscar Winning VFX Supervisor Paul Franklin is being interviewed in Stoke Newington, near London, on Thursday December 10th, to talk about some of his work in visual effects.

Paul Franklin has collected Oscars for films like Inception, which broke fresh ground in the VFX industry, creating extraordinary effects.

He is also an excellent and entertaining speaker, and we highly recommend that any students who are in the area attend what will be a fascinating evening.