Autodesk have released AutoCAD for the Mac after its announcement back in August.

We’re eight days into this year’s CG Whiz competition, and we’ve been amazed by the quality and number of entries through the door so far. It’s going to be a tough one to judge and to think we’ve still got three weeks to go to see what talent’s out there.

I will be holding a free live webinar on November 4th. Here's a quick outline of what I will be discussing.

Skillset have recently announced a new funding scheme which will allow individuals working in the UK film industry to apply for a bursary towards various types of training.  The scheme is aimed at increasing the high-end visual effects skills within the film industry so individuals who want to get additional training under this new funding can identify a course or a training provider that meets his or her needs and apply for bursary from Skillset.

When Nik Illingworth came to an Open Day last year, he was brimming with CG enthusiasm. He knew that he wanted a career in VFX but didn't really know how he was going to make it happen. After studying for 12 weeks with us, Nik was up and running.  He finished his course, was offered his first job at Frametore and accepted it, then a short while later he decided to come back to us for 6 weeks of final professional training.  He's now Effects Technical Director at MPC and still has the same love for the industry that he started off with. Nik's is one of many stories of CG enthusiasts who come to study with us and that's why we wanted to share his case study with you - getting a career in VFX off the ground really is easier than you think.

Autodesk have started something new for those on support: it's called Subscription Advantage Packs. This is a way for those that pay the price of subscription to get new features dropped in, fast... One of the most awaited 'drops' is Mudbox on Linux!

Last week’s high profile launch of Halo: Reach, and the stories of gamers camping outside retailers' doors, tell me that game launches have become just like movie premieres and create just as much excitement as the launch of new Apple gadgets.  

All of us on the RenderMan team were delighted to hear that so many of you found Lee Danskin's RenderMan tips and Trick's webinar so useful. There were a lot of questions at the end, some of which Lee did not get a chance to answer so we have put them in a Q&A which you can check out by logging into Escape's Free Resource Centre. We've also recorded the webinar, so if you missed it or want to see it again, log in and watch it.

If you work in TV or produce work for TV as a freelancer, you could receive between 50% (employees) to 80% (freelancers) off the price of four of our visual effects courses. These are online courses, so can be done in your own time. They are: Maya Core; Nuke for 3d Artists; Zbrush Foundation; and Advanced Lighting and Shading.

Few VFX artists can claim to have as prestigious a career as Paul Franklin. From junior VFX artist to co-founder of Double Negative, one of London's most prestigious post houses, Paul has been on quite a journey. He's worked on some of the most memorable and successful films of recent times, titles such as Batman Begins, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and The Dark Knight.  His work has brought him nominations for an Oscar and two BAFTAs along the way.