Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare yourselves and dust off your knives and forks as we are happy to announce round two of the Assimilate and Escape Studios Technology BBQ!
On Thursday the 23rd of August at the Shepherd’s Bar we are hosting a second BBQ with Assimilate and HP, but this time we have also partnered up with NVidia and Red Digital Cinema Professional to showcase a SCRATCH turnkey package exclusive to Escape Studios Technology.
Bring on the BBQ...Round Two!
Last in the Current Series...
It is with great sadness that we post the last in the current series of mocha Pro V3 videos from our mocha Pro mini-series. But we had a good run...wouldn't you say?
Putting The "New" in PFTrack and PFMatchit
We are pleased to share you that The Pixel Farm products PFTrack and PFMatchit are now available on the Escape Studios Technology Store.
The Foundry Summer Spectacular
Yesterday we announced the 1-day sale for The Foundry’s MARI but what we didn’t mention is that The Foundry and Escape Studios are treating everyone to a super summer sale. And there is no need to wait until August for these ones!
The summer promotions come in three pretty epic packages:
MARI 1-Day Sale
Want to get your hands on MARI, The Foundry’s 3D texture painting tool? Well you can…for a fraction of the current price, but for one day only!
Happy 10th Birthday V-Ray!
Some of you may, or may not, know that V-ray is currently celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary. So, to mark the occasion, what could they be doing? Are they throwing a week long wild party? A massive shopping spree for all employees? Or maybe a month's extra holiday time to all...
Do you only have eyes for NUKE?
A few months ago our very own Simon Richardson, Escape’s in-house 2D genius, posted a series of blogs declaring his undying love for NUKE.
Now Announced... Speakers For HUG London!
Less than one week to go before the UK's first HIERO user group, HUG London and we have kept you waiting long enough as to who will be speaking.
On The Right Track
Mark Spevick, Visual Effects extraordinaire and current Head of 3D at Escape Studios will be hosting a webinar on 25th July from 5.30pm to 6.30pm online.
Spider Senses Are Tingling
Last Monday night saw the premiere of the The Amazing Spiderman in Leicester square. Whilst the premieres are continuing elsewhere around the globe I thought I’d bring you a bit of information as to why we at Escape are excited for the latest installment from the Spiderman franchise.
Valve Show Us How It's Done, Again
Once again, I’m going to have to promote how great a developer Valve is by showing you another presentation that I found on their website. I know I have already showcased some of their expertise in a post a couple of days ago but I think this presentation is equally as impressive as the last one.
Where Could a Career in VFX Take You?
Doing a VFX course can lead your career in many directions. For many of our students it has been the launching pad for a career in post-production, for film, TV and commercials. Many students have also gone on to work in other areas such as games and architectural visualisation. We teach the fundamentals and practicalities of working in CG, paving the way for what you will eventually specialise in.
Head of Maya Development at The Mill
This year, Escape Studios is ten years old, and it’s a pretty big deal for us. It’s also a big deal for all of the students who we’ve trained over the years and are now dotted throughout the world of VFX. So, from now on, every week, we’re going to be launching a story from our escapee Wall of Fame which will showcase all of the escapees who have gone on to work on the biggest and boldest films, TV shows, commercials and games over the years. It’s a chance for them to step up and take a bow, albeit a virtual one.
Finger puppets? They Really Bring out the Kid in Me!
Batman? The Dark Knight? Wonder Woman? Not really, but these incredibly detailed, hand-crafted finger puppet designs by Tamara Maynes recall iconic heroes and villains who we’ve seen in the pages of comic books and as blockbusters on the big screen.
What do you think art should do?
I recently went to see the Lucian Freud Portraits exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. Wow! Intense, raw paintings that reflected his relationship to his sitters. I actually quite liked his early portraits that were very flat in dimension and lacking perspective in a stylised way. He painted the eyes of the faces quite large and dominant in the frame. But in most cases looking away, or 'blankly' towards the painter. This created for me a disturbing yet intriguing relationship between the viewer of the painting, me, and the personality of the person he is trying to portray. When we look at portraits or a picture of a person, we tend to look at the eyes first to connect in some way. Not being able to do that created a whole new approach of portraiture that I do not see often. Their eyes were wide, but not allowing a connection. The faces were rarely smiling and this one is a great example.
Creative Interpretations of the London Tube Map
I travel on the underground every day on my journey to and from work, and unless there are disruptions on my route, I rarely need to examine the tube map. Over the weekend, while surfing the net, I came across this really cool 3D version of the map, which is such a simple but effective idea. In this video you can see a time lapse of the map being made from nails and coloured string. It’s so simple any one of us could have a go at making it. In fact it would make a very thoughtful housewarming gift for anyone moving to London.
ParaNorman Official Trailer - Stop Motion Movie
Here is the trailer for the new 3D stop motion comedy thriller by Laika, the animation studio that brought us 'Coraline'. Norman 'I see dead people' Babcock is a local boy from a small New England Town who has the ability to see and speak with the dead. The movie will follow Norman as he takes on ghosts. zombies and worst of all, grown ups to save his town from a century old curse. Cannot wait to see this film! But what do you think of the trailer - we want to hear it!?
A Sad Day for Comics, French Artist Jean Giraud - Moebius - Dies at 73
A very sad day indeed for the comics industry and for all of those like me who grew up within the amazing and imaginative world of Moebius. I have always been an avid comics fan and for me, the two most influential peolple have been Stan Lee (he taught me very important words such as puny proverbiale and imperious rex) and Jean Giraud who I stumbled upon by accident. He introduced me to the world of french comics and it was a revelation. The French are masters of comic art and narrative, and the works of Moebius have inluenced all manner of media including some of the most important science fiction films.
His legacy will no doubt live on - a true inspiration. You can read the full article on the Geek Out Blog.
Freelancers Wanted Across the Board!
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.
Phoenix FD 2.0 Release
Chaos Group recently released Phoenix FD 2.0, the latest version for their grid based simulator. This latest version now comes with liquids, foam & splashes simulation capabilities, a particle shader and GPU preview improvements.