There are no Antipodeans in our class, but if there were we might use the Aussie slang phrase ‘We'll be apples’ (meaning it’ll be alright), as we started to understand the workflow, and make our first tentative steps at modelling fruit in Maya. For on Monday night Mark began our second week of tuition with an exercise in creating an apple, giving new meaning to Maya Core.

If you’re an aspiring VFX artist, knowing Maya inside out is an absolute must. On our VFX course, I make sure that every student has a good understanding of Dynamics and linking objects kinematically which are an integral part of the VFX pipeline. Not knowing these just isn’t an option. They form part of a basic skillset which post houses will expect you to know. That’s why, this month, I’ve created a tutorial which will give you two new skills you can add to your showreel. Being able to use Dynamics fluently will demonstrate to potential employers that you understand the key techniques in VFX and are ready to take your first steps in the industry. So what are you waiting for? Log on to our eLearning platform and add these skills to your existing toolset.

Are you an aspiring CG artist who’s trying to get your CG career off the ground? Are you working in the creative industry and want to transfer your skills to VFX? We know how difficult it can be to make decisions and chose the right path, but that’s where our Careers Guide can help. By revealing the many opportunities that exist within the CG industry, the guide helps you overcome some of the hurdles you might face when you start making career choices.

Back in 2005 Escape Studios took the bold step of not only training CG professionals, but employing those graduates in an experimental outsourcing project, which became known as the Escape Pod.

James Sindle first studied design at Kingston University, before training in CG here at Escape studios. Upon completion of his course James joined The Mill in 2007, he quickly then became a senior 3D operator leading multiple award winning commercials, before branching off last year with Lee Pavey, Dan Stanhope Marum and Giles Cheetham to form their own power house, the Electric Theatre Collective.

Great news for all you animators out there, Escape Studios and Natural Motion are teaming up to bring you an incredible promotion on endorphin 2.7. Here's the deal: you can save up to 90% on this software if you buy before February 14th, 2012.

When Amy Cuthbertson finished her degree in Music Technology, she didn’t expect to find herself starting a career in CG, but that’s exactly what happened. Wandering around a careers fair, Amy spotted the Escape Studios stand, got talking about her love of animation and the rest is history, as they say.

This week, my round up of CG news features software and hardware announcements, interviews with VFX professionals, and some cool new VFX breakdowns. Hope you enjoy it!

When five students from the Centre NAD University in Montreal Canada were given a film project, to create a viral hoax using CG assets integrated into live action footage, they could scarcely have predicted the success their movie would be.

So many of our escapees succeed in getting jobs once they've finished a course with us, and it’s so good to hear that lots of them are very talented young women. As a result, we thought some congratulations were in order, starting with Evgenia Golubeva who accepted the role of Director at Animated Storyboards, a fantastic position and one which we want to wish her every success in!