“What have I got myself into?…” was the worrying thought running through my mind, as my second class in Maya Core reached the half-way point. This was the less than confident start to my personal experiment, where I’m hoping to demonstrate how Escape Studios can instruct a complete 3D newbie, and turn me into a (hopefully) competent Maya operator.

V-Ray 2.0 for 3ds Max has had a bit of a makeover, as Chaos Group integrate a range of new features that are sure to speed up your workflow considerably.

Tweak Software, the guys who created RV-image and sequence viewer software, have teamed up with The Foundry to build an RV/NUKE integration package that provides a beautifully seamless workflow between the two applications, which are said to deliver high-performance RV playback as you work in NUKE.

Hype or Genius? That’s the question on many people’s lips – especially with so much speculation as to whether or not it will steal the show at the Oscars, and take the prize for best picture.

The guys at IKinema have an awesome idea in development that is making their award winning animation technology more available to the masses. For those of you who don’t know IKinema, it is a plug-in for Maya that lets you create full-body animations quickly and easily with brilliant realistic results. It is a time saving tool that eliminates the need for characterisation or special rigs as it does the hard work for you, letting you work directly onto a rig. You can combine multiple models into a single animation, retarget from any source to any target, customise or tweak motion capture and animation as well as retarget data inside Maya in real-time.

We now teach SideFX Houdini software on our Professional VFX Course, not just because it’s an integral part of the pipeline but also for its ability to create very cool animations that will enhance anyone's showreel.

PC Pro recently took advantage of an exclusive opportunity to test-drive Boston's Quattro 1332-T, a machine that may challenge current misconceptions about micro-servers. The outcome was a positive one, where the team at PC Pro gave it their seal of approval, recommending it an ideal cloud platform. By combining qualities like high server density and low power consumption, this machine may give blade servers a run for their money.

As Escape’s Recruitment Manager, it’s my job to know exactly what employers are looking for when they’re hiring candidates. The thing to remember is that it’s different for every company – you have to tailor your showreel and CV to the position and company you’re applying for (Tips you can check out here). We place lots of escapees and freelancers at The Mill and last week, I caught up with Claire Anderson their Talent Manager, who explained exactly what it takes to cut it at their company. For those of you eager to secure a position, pay attention and check out the interview.

My, what a busy week! There are announcements from the likes of Pixar about their RenderMan software, interviews with London studios such as Pixomondo and the much more education controversy. Here's my pick of last week's more interesting stories.

After the usual slow down over the festive & new year period, here at Escape Studios recruitment department we're now experiencing a big surge in demand for freelancers, right across the board.