The whole point of CG Whiz is to give talented aspiring artists the kind of exposure necessary to kick-start their career, and there’s no better example of that than the first ever CG Whiz winner, Adam Droy. Following his 2009 success, Adam completed a twelve-week training course with Escape Studios, and now works as a 3D Artist at CG Whiz sponsors The Mill, at its UK studio in Soho, London.

We just caught up with Stu Schwartz—last year’s CG Whiz winner.  Here’s what he had to say about the experience and knowledge he’s gained and, of course, a few tips for this year’s submissions:

I learned a lot this last summer at Escape Studios as a student and intern but one of the most important things I want to make sure students and aspiring artists know is that I found out how important networking can be.  The more you get out there and meet people, the more opportunities will present themselves.  Escape is located right near the heart of countless studios and is always putting on events and connecting with other studios and industry professionals.  It's been a great environment for meeting other artists and potential employers.  So keep that in mind as you move forward in your careers.

If you are looking for a way into the industry and think you have what it takes to prove yourself as one of the best creative talents in the UK, then check out The Talent Graduate Academy challenge.

Do you have lots of things to say about Escape Studios? We've put together a satisfaction survey which has been designed to help us understand what you'd like to see from Escape Studios. If there are things you think we can improve or are doing really well, we really do want to hear about it.

As you know we have spent the past month judging the 170-odd entries we received for this year’s CG Whiz awards.  I have to say the standard of entries was incredibly high, and our judges had an extra-tough job singling out those who showed the sheer talent and potential they were looking for.

We’ve had some fantastic entries for CG Whiz 2010, but the deadline is fast approaching. Any entries submitted after midnight tonight (Pacific Time – 8 am GMT or 7 pm in Sydney, Australia) will not be counted, so you’ve only got a few more hours to get your reel in.  You can do this via Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube or Facebook, but remember to email CGWhiz@escapestudios.com with your contact details too.

The BBC recently reported on the struggle faced by graduates to find a job after leaving university.  Unemployment amongst grads aged below 24, rose by 25% last year.

In conjunction with their fantastic upcoming Ray Harryhausen – Myths and Legends Exhibition, the London Film Museum are offering the chance to meet the great man himself.

Regular readers of the blog will know that last week we had the awards ceremony of the CG Whiz competition. We managed to grab the three winners and some of the judges, including Steve Venning from The Mill, to film their views on the competition. We think everyone had a great time, and over the next few months we’re hoping to have blog posts from Adam Droy, the overall winner, and runners up Ronan McMeel and Marco Barrato, to see how the competition prizes have helped them break into the CG industry.

A few weeks ago we ran a survey to find out what people thought of the CG industry, with a prize draw and some fantastic prizes for a lucky few. We’re please to say we can now announce the winners of the prize draw.