I suspect that readers of the Escape Studios Blog will not be the type to rush out to the big screens to see Spy Kids 4D. Or at least admit to it...
More Job Success for our Escapees
Seems like August was a great month for many of our recent graduates, who were quite literally snapped up as soon as they finished their courses.
3D Paintings on Panes of Glass
I came across these amazing pieces of work late last night in one of my typical 'browsing fest', and just couldn't keep my eyes of them. That's what I call 3D with a difference!
23 MARI Tips In 23 Days on Twitter
MARI is a relatively new piece of software, and is becoming more popular with artists as its reputation for efficiency and adaptability becomes more widely known. As with any piece of new software there is a period of trial and error before you really get to know its full capability. It is in light of this that Henry South, lead texture artist at Framestore, is offering to share his top 23 tips when working with MARI.
US Teachers Get Disney Training to Make School Fun
I know it sounds nuts, but I promise this is not a joke. My colleague Susan wrote a post about this yesterday in our US Blog and pointed to an article in the Washington Post entitled "To inspire, schools take a page from Disney".
We Have an Inkling that Wacom Has a Great New Product
On Tuesday the 30th of August Twitter streams of digital artists across the globe were buzzing with news of Wacom's new baby - the #Inkling. Everyone who currently draws digitally using the Wacom tablet, will be familiar with its advantages over the mouse, however, if the Inkling lives up to its anticipated hype, it will make creating digital drawings easier, more immediate and vitally speed up your workflow.
Raytrix Lightfield Cameras: Ahead of Lytro
A few weeks ago, Simon Fenton wrote about the new - yet to be launched - Lytro 'lightfied camera'. Being a complete photography nerd, I have to say that I got quite excited about it and went on a search fest to find out as much as I could about it.
Dom Davenports Writes for The Guardian About Careers in the Creative Industries
With the launch of our Creative Futures report, we have been giving the topic of 'Jobs in the Creative Industries' a lot of thought lately. We have been talking to many professionals in sectors as diverse as Graphic Design, Architectural Design, Web Design or VFX. Ultimately, the majority of men and women we have been talking to are interested in getting tips and advice on how to get better jobs and further their careers. Seems it's quite a hot topic. So much so that Dom - our CEO - was asked to write a piece for The Guardian about what young professionals needs to do to improve their changes of getting a job in the creative industries.
New Event: Andy Bechtolsheim Discusses the Solution for a Better Network Platform
Ever find yourself wondering about a better alternative to your current network setup? Could there be a larger, faster and more predictable solution out there for your server / storage requirements? You are not alone in asking this question. This is fast becoming a major concern for many IT teams in the media and entertainment sector. That’s why we will be addressing this very topic at a special event being held in London on September 16th, 2011. Andy Bechtolsheim, a highly respected figure in the Information Technology industry is coming to London to share his expertise on this issue. Andy has been involved in the IT industry throughout his career. He has witnessed first-hand how computing infrastructures have scaled over the decades, and how network speeds have failed to keep up.
An Evening with NUKE and MARI; A Huge Success
In a fast paced industry, where new technologies are being introduced more frequently, it can be difficult to stay on top of which products successfully aid efficiency and quality in our work. It’s great to know that some companies take an opportunity to show off their products and how they are being utilised in the industry. Last Thursday I made a special effort to attend an event for NUKE and MARI software. The torrential down pour that evening made venturing out difficult, so I was glad to see so many people were able to attend. Armed with umbrellas and rain coats well over one hundred of us braved the weather to enjoy an evening with NUKE and MARI, an event hosted by Escape Studios in collaboration with The Foundry and HP.
Escapee Giuseppe Candido Secures Job at FIPLAB
Giuseppe Candido is not only a recent character animation course escapee, but now also a very talented animator and a skilled Maya Generalist. He has put together one of the most charming demo reels we have seen here at Escape Studios. Giuseppe combined many of his student exercises into a circus project - creating a stunning short film in the process, and all completed from scratch in just six weeks.
Pixar Announce RenderMan for Maya 5!
Our friends at Pixar have announced that the release of RenderMan for Maya 5 is being planned for this autumn.
Dreamworks Inspires Our Students
Just over a week ago, our students were treated to a visit by the extroadinarily talented Shelley Page, of Dreamworks. Shelley has been involved with some of the most memorable animation to come out of Dreamworks - titles like 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?', ‘The Prince Of Egypt’, ‘Antz’, and ‘Shrek’.
Last Spot on Our Compositing Course
We currently have one final seat available on our hugely popular compositing evening course which is starting this week! This course has been booked up for some time but we have just had a late cancellation which has freed up a space. If you're interested, be sure to contact us straight away. But don't worry too much if you can't make this one, we do have a new round of evening courses starting October for compositing and Maya Core on October 10th.
Career Changes Ahead for Creative Pros
A few weeks ago we launched our Creative Futures report, which looked at people in the creative industry and how they were prepared to take pay cuts and self fund their own training if it meant getting ahead in their careers.
Escapee Richard Sowerby Makes it Big
Changing career is never easy. It takes lots of thought, and above all courage and commitment. But that's exactly what escapee Richard Sowerby did. He sudied multimedia at Cheltenham University and forged a very successful career as a systems/graphics analyst. It took him 7 years to pluck the courage to follow his dream of working in the VFX industry and start looking for courses in compositing. And boy, did his determination pay off!
Escape Studios at the London International Animation Festival (LIAF)
I'm really honoured to have been asked to join a panel of speakers for a session on Continual Professional Development (CPD) Education and Training at the International Animation Festival (LIAF) in London.
Coaching Diary: Harrison Ly Shares His Thoughts On Being Mentored by MPC
I felt a little bit like an old-school headmaster last week, taking our latest set of compositing students to MPC where they were to have their work critiqued for the second time. Lots of worried faces trudged behind me - nerves apparent and laughter a little thin on the ground. As usual, all of their concerns were completely unfounded and they all actually left the place beaming and proud of their achievements. But I do understand how showing your work to a bunch of seasoned professionals can be very daunting - despite the team at MPC doing their best to make the experience a relaxed one for our students.
Online Texture Library
All 3D artists should take as many photos as possible which they can later use as textures, but for those of you who haven't done so, here is a link to a new and very useful online texture library.