Void Interactive and "Ready or Not"

Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive

At the Hertfordshire University annual Expo on Thursday 21st May, game designers Mark Ranson and Joel Gray from Void Interactive talked about their careers at the video games company, producing games such as the First Person Shooter "Ready or Not".  

One of the key messages of Mark and Joel's talk was the importance of optimising game assets for real-life game play, ensuring that the user experience is successful even on sub-optimal platforms. 

Cutting Your First Games Animation Reel

Spidey by Anand Sembhi

What should go into a games animation reel? An animation reel for the games industry is basically a stunt reel - it should include a variety of physical actions, as games animators need to be very proficient in body mechanics.  

Games animators are not (for the most part) actors, rather they are "stunt co-ordinators". It takes a while to break into the games industry so you need to be uploading your work to games sites and showing your progress over time; recruiters and industry folks will watch your progress and keep an eye on you.

"Power Up" Science Museum History of Video Games

The Science Museum's "Power Up" exhibition currently on display in South Kensington is a must-visit for anyone interested in the evolution of video games. 

 It's a great chance to see where the games industry has come from - and where it is going. This matters for animators - because many of our graduates go on to work in the games industry. 

Meet AZRI by Matthew Bachnick

Azri

We're liking the look of the new free AZRI Rig, a new animation rig for Maya 2018 and above, created by Matthew Bachnick.

AZRI is aimed at game animation, allowing users to achieve a high frame rate even when working on older or lower-spec machines.

The license allows for educational and non-commercial use.

Where are the Games Jobs?

Check out the excellent Gamesmith Dev Map of games development studios (and therefore games jobs) around the world. It's a great starting point for anyone looking to apply for work as an animator in the rapidly expanding games industry.

"Creating Open Worlds" by Ubisoft at BAFTA on 9 November

BAFTA is a superb resource for all our students with easy access to central London. The BAFTA clubhouse is at 195 Piccadilly, and increasingly BAFTA is supporting not just film and TV but the games industry as well.

On Wednesday 9 November, BAFTA is hosting a games event titled "Creating Open Worlds", hosted by games titan Ubisoft.

This will be an amazing chance for animators with an interest in video games - a rapidly expanding sector - to meet the creative team behind Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Watch Dogs 2 and Steep. Tickets aren't free, but at £7.50 it's cheaper than a movie, and far more rewarding.

Dishonored 2 at BAFTA on Saturday 22 October

BAFTA is a great resource for our students studying in or near London. The BAFTA clubhouse is at 195 Piccadilly, a short walk from Piccadilly tube station and Green Park.

On Saturday 22 October at 5.30pm BAFTA is hosting the creative team behind the game Dishonored 2 - an amazing chance for any of our students interested in getting into games animation to meet the creative team behind this blockbuster game, and get to know the talent that put it together. Tickets aren't free, but at £7.50 it's cheaper than a movie.

Jason Thompson Breaks Into The Games Industry with Man O' War: Corsair

Man O' War: Corsair.

Jason Thompson is a graduate of Animation Apprentice who has recently broken into the games industry, working on the newly released game Man O' War: Corsair. 

We asked Jason to talk about his experience, and what advice he might give to other students hoping to break into this fast-growing but highly competitive industry.

Meet Heavy from Team Fortress!

Heavy

One of the rigs we recommend for learning animation is the Heavy Rig, based on the Team Fortress character, and free for download at Creative Crash. He is particularly good for learning the early stages of animation - locomotion and mechanics.

Heavy is a relatively low poly and hence will likely give you real-time playback in your view port. So, no hanging around waiting to playblast. The controls are simple and easy to use, and all the curves are in logical places. It's also pretty stable and tends not to cause Maya to crash.

All rigs have their quirks and foibles.  So, how can our students get the best out of Heavy?

2024 Update - if you need an updated version of the Heavy rig that renders in Arnold - send us an email and I'll share the updated rig. 

My Haunted House App is launched!

Yesterday Animation Apprentice founder Alex Williams' indie animated feature film My Haunted House hit a major milestone - the release of the first official iPad game. The game is completely free - you can download it now from the iTunes store. If you beat Level 1 you can unlock and watch the award winning short animation teaser - Charlie and Yip. Hats off to the whole team who pulled this off, especially Producer Nathan Erasmus and Phil Menni for the programming. Here is the link to download https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/my-haunted-house/id898642249?mt=8

UK Creative Industries are "Worth £71.4 Billion per Year"

Creative industries are worth £71 billion a year

UK Creative industries are "worth £71.4 billion per year", according to the UK's Business Secretary Vince Cable. In an article in Wired news today, the British Government announced a big new investment in a NextGen Skills Academy to help close the skills gap in creative industries in the UK.  The story was also covered by the BBC.

The Jobs Map for Animation, Visual Effects and Games

Where are the jobs?

Finding work in the animation and visual effects industry isn't easy, especially getting that vital, elusive first job. Sometimes it seems like every vacancy is advertised for professionals with 2-3 years of experience, which means that finding your first gig can feel like a catch-22. You can't find a job without experience, you can get experience until you find a job. So what is the secret to finding work in these most competitive but most rewarding of industries?

Jason Thompson explains why students must fail, and why professors should watch video games

Jason Thompson

Last week at the SAS (Society of Animation Studies) conference in Toronto, Sheridan professor Jason Thompson gave a brief but fascinating talk on "Why our students need to fail". Citing the book by Guy Claxton What is the point of school?, Jason argued that school is important because of eight critical things that students must learn: