What is APEL? And Why Does it Matter?

APEL: route to post-graduate study

What is the APEL process, and why does it matter? APEL stands for "Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning", and is the formal recognition of prior learning by UK universities.

Why is it important? APEL is the means by which students who do not have an undergraduate degree can gain entry onto a masters' level course, such as our master's programme in 3D animation.

For example, an animator with ten years' experience in the industry might not realise they can apply for our MA course in animation, because they need a BA first.  In fact, this would not necessarily be true.

We can consider a student's body of work, and their professional career, as a route into post-graduate study, permitting them to meet the necessary qualifications for entry onto a masters' programme.

UCAS Deadline 15th January 2019

UCAS - deadline January 15th

Thinking of applying to Bucks to study on our BA in Animation & Visual Effects? The official UCAS deadline is looming.

The UCAS deadline for undergraduate study (that's the BA course) is 15 January 2019, and it's always a good idea to get your portfolio in early.

Bucks New Uni Animation Demo Reel 2018

Check out our latest animation demo reel; this one is a compilation of the best work done by our undergraduate animation students at Bucks over the past year.  Congratulations to all our animators on their excellent work; standards keep rising at Bucks and this is very encouraging, as we strive to help more and more of our graduates break into careers in the animation, games and VFX industries. 

Academic Deadlines at Bucks New University

What happens if a student fails to meet an academic deadline at Bucks New Uni? Or, if a student hasn't yet missed a deadline, but thinks they might miss it? There are two online forms our students need to know about.

The first form is the Deadline Extension Form, which applies when a student needs more time to complete a project - but has not yet missed the deadline.  The Mitigating Circumstances form applies when a student - through no fault of their own - has failed to meet an academic deadline.

2018 Animation Masters' Demo Reel

We're proud to present the 2018 Buckinghamshire New University Animation Masters' Reel. All the work shown above was completed by our Masters' degree students, who study online at Animation Apprentice, which delivers the practical content for the master's degree at Bucks. Many congratulations to Lee Caller, Amedeo Beretta, Brendan Hobbs, Jeton Lakna, Jinng Hwee Tan, Olavo Lins, Oliver Canovas, Faye Robinson, Tim Milson and Victoria Bailey on their excellent work.

Stuart Sumida in London 12 December

Paleontologist and animal locomotion expert Stuart Sumida will be in London next week, and on Wednesday 12th December at 4.30pm he will be giving a free talk at Escape Studios at 190 High Holborn, London WC1.

Stuart occupies a rare cross-over space between science and entertainment, advising Hollywood studios on the development of movies such as "The Lion King" and "Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron".

BYOA on Monday in London

Calling all Bucks student animators and recent graduates - "Bring Your Own Animation" is taking place on Monday 3rd December,

BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London, generally on a Monday night. This month the event is taking place at the Smugglers Tavern in London's Fitzrovia. You can sign up here.

If you are a student, or recent graduate, who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from professional animators.

You'll also hear the local gossip and find out the word on the street; there is often useful intel like - who is hiring? This month is also the BYOA Christmas party, with free drinks provided by The Foundry.

Richard Williams at BFI Sunday 9 December

A Christmas Carol, 1971

Animation legend Richard Williams will be at the BFI in London on Sunday 9th December at 3pm, following a screening of his Oscar-winning adaptation of the Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol.

The 22 minute made-for-TV short will be screened along with two other British animated classics: Raymond Briggs' The Snow Man and Father Christmas.

The event is a great opportunity to see some beautiful home-grown animation, and after the screening there will be a Q&A with directors Dave Unwin and Richard Williams.

And, if you are lucky, you might even get a chance to have your copy of "The Animator's Survival Kit" signed by the author. 

Bucks Grad Paul Amiras Layout TD at DNEG

Paul Amiras

Many congratulations to Bucks animation graduate Paul Amiras on his new position as Layout Artist TD at DNEG.

Double Negative is one of the UK's leading animation and visual effects companies, and now a global brand, with offices in Vancouver, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Chennai, Montréal, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and Goa.

3D Layout is one of the first interesting and challenging parts of the production process, working closely with the director to establish the cinematic look and feel of the project.

Tomorrow is BlueGFX Expo in London

We're heading off to Blue GFX Expo 2018, taking place in London tomorrow, Wednesday 21st November.

Blue GFX Expo is an excellent annual event, and we enocurage all our students at Bucks to attend.

Masters Students Tackle Character Walks

"Monty" character walks by MA graduate Neil Whitman

Our masters students' first assessed animation exercise, the assignment brief for DA701 PR1 (the first practical assignment for the first animation module), is to create a scene based on character walks. 

Character walks are one of the most important parts of the animator's toolkit. Using the online materials at Animation Apprentice, students learn how to take a basic walk cycle and, with just a few tweaks, completely change the character's mood and personality.

The students' first assessed brief is to take these character walks and turn it into an entertaining scene. 

What Kind of Laptop Should Our Students Buy?

laptop computer - will travel

"What kind of laptop should I buy?" is a question that gets asked whenever we start a new class of Masters' students at Bucks.

Our online MA in animation is a purely distance learning course, and that means that our students have to provide their own hardware and software.
The main software we use, Autodesk Maya, can be downloaded for free from the Autodesk education site.

Welcome to Our New MA Animation Students

A very warm welcome all our new post-graduate students who are starting their journey with us on our online MA in animation, in partnership with Animation Apprentice.

This is a unique degree - the first of its kind - which can be undertaken by students anywhere in the world, leading to a formal qualification in the field.

Animation Masterclass in Turin on 24th October

This year I'm returning to the VIEW conference in Italy to run an animation masterclass.

VIEW is the 20th International VFX & Computer Graphics Conference that takes place every year in the beautiful Italian town of Torino (Turin).

Demo Reel Advice at Skwigly

Last week I was interviewed at Skwigly, the online animation magazine, with my top 12 tips on how to make a great animation Demo Reel.

 "What should go in my demo reel?" is one of the most common questions asked by students.

Save the Date: BlueGFX Expo 21 November

Registration will open soon for the Blue GFX Expo, taking place in London on Thursday 21st November 2018.

We'll be encouraging all our students at Bucks to travel to London on the day, to attend this excellent (and completely free) event.

BYOA Monday 17th September

BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation) is taking place on Monday 17th September.

BYOA is an animation event that is held every month at a pub in London, generally on a Monday night. This month the event is taking place at a new location - the Smugglers Tavern in London's Fitzrovia.

If you are a student who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from professional animators. You'll also hear the local gossip and find out the word on the street; there is often useful intel like - who is hiring?

Graduation Day!

Graduation Day at Bucks

Many congratulations to all our animation and VFX graduates - today is Graduation Day at Bucks, and the ceremony for our newest animation graduates takes place at Bucks today, Tuesday 4th September at 2.30pm.

We congratulate all our animation graduates who are celebrating their achievement today.

This year, our latest graduates include masters' students Anna Zielinska, Julien Rashti, Marcio Leiria, Darius O'Neill, Brendan Hobbs, and Victoria Bailey. Congratulations to all of them - our second graduating class of MA students.

Producing Animation Webinar Wed 23 August

Learn from the producer of Ultramarines

Veteran animation Producer Bob Thompson is hosting a webinar on Producing Animation on Wednesday 23 August.

The webinar, which is completely free, is titled "An Artist's guide to Animation Producers".  

Bob Thompson is an industry veteran with a long and successful track record of producing animated feature films, commercials and VFX projects, including Ultramarines and the Bionicle series.

The purpose of the webinar is to introduce artists to the business side of animation, which artists often don't understand, or tend to ignore.

But a good artist needs to get the business side of animation. After all, producers need artists who can be relied upon to deliver quality work, on time and on budget.
 

Free Motion Graphics Webinar Tomorrow

Thiago Maia - Motion Graphics expert

Motion Graphics guru Thiago Maia is hosting a free webinar in Motion Graphics tomorrow, Tuesday 31st July.

In this webinar Thiago will show how to apply the famous "12 Principles of Animation" to motion graphics work in Adobe After Effects, to create better and more flexible animation.

The webinar takes place at 6pm. We always recommend that our students at Bucks sign up for webinars such as this one - it's always a good idea to expland your skillset and learn new tools.

To sign up for this free webinar, follow this link.

Craimer Jones CG Artist at Burrows FX

Bucks Animation & VFX graduate Craimer Jones is a lead CGI artist at Burrows, a UK based production visualisation company which describes itself as "bringing products to life via high quality visualisation, personalisation, configuration, engaging storytelling and immersive experiences".

We asked Crainer to talk about his job, how he got it, and what advice he would give to students and recent graduates hoping to break into the digital industries.

Free Webinar: "Animating Non-Humans" 24 July

Sea Serpent - Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I'll be hosting a webinar on animating non-human characters on Tuesday July 24th.

The webinar is completely free, and there will be plenty of time to take questions during the talk.

How does an animator approach the challenge of animating non-human characters? After all, you probably can't film yourself acting out the scene, so you will need to find other solutions.

How to Get Ready for September

The book every animator should own

What kind of preparation should students do before starting with us as undergraduates at Bucks in September? Or, equally importantly, as post-grad students doing the online MA in 3D animation?  It's always good to do a little preparation and get a bit of a head start.

Below is a brief list of stuff to get you under way. You don't have to do all of it, but tick off a few of the things on this list and you will be a making a great start on your animation career.

First, here is a short reading list to get you started. We've narrowed it down to just two key books that we recommend for all our students.

Disney's Kevin Hudson in London on 2nd July

"Weeds" by Kevin Hudson

Kevin Hudson, asset artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios, is in London on July 2nd at 4.30pm to talk about his multi-award-winning short film "Weeds".   

“Weeds” is the story of a dandelion, rooted on the wrong side of the driveway in a barren yard surrounded by dry dirt and dead grass.

Acting for Animators in London from Sept 24

Sarah Perry of Shapes in Motion is teaching an 8 week evening class in London, titled "Acting for Animators", starting on Monday 24th September.

The course runs from 7-10pm once a week, for 8 weeks, until Monday 18th November.

The class is a practical, physical workshop in acting skills, aimed specifically at helping animators to  create more believable, authentic acting choices in their work.

Still Time to Apply for Our Online MA

The world's first online MA in animation

It's not too late! There is still time to apply for our online MA in animation, currently enrolling for September 2018.

This online MA is a unique degree which can be undertaken by students anywhere in the world, leading to a formal qualification in the field.

You will not only learn how to animate (using Autodesk Maya, the industry-standard software), but you will engage at Masters' level with the underpinning theory and structure behind the art form.

Bucks Students Lead "The Rookies"

Turing by Bucks New Uni students

Each year at Bucks we are encourage all of our students to enter The Rookies Awards, the international competition for young creatives.  The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams."

This year we're proud that our students' film "Turing" is the most popular (ie most watched) film of the year.

Pixar's Royce Wesley to London

Royce Wesley

Escape Studios in London are running a free competition - you could win a chance to meet Royce Wesley from Pixar.

Royce is visiting London from Los Angeles to give an animation masterclass at Escape Studios on Thursday 28 June.

Royce has worked on some of Pixar’s biggest hits including Toy Story 3, Brave, Cars 3, Coco, and - most recently - Incredibles 2.

Character Walks Webinar Escape Studios 5 June

"Monty" character walks

I'll be hosting a free webinar on character walks at Escape Studios at 6pm on Tuesday June 5th.

The event is completely free, and there will be plenty of time to take questions during the demonstration.

Character walks are one of the most important parts of the animator's toolkit, and I will be showing how you can take a basic walk cycle and, with just a few tweaks, completely change the character's mood and personality.

Bucks Graduate Anthony Smith - Private Eye Cartoonist

Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith is a Bucks graduate who has forged a successful career in cartoons and animation.

Anthony is best known in the animation industry for his ads for the Dairylea Cow, but he also does regular cartoons for Metro, the Spectator and Private Eye.

You may not know Anthony Smith - but you are very likely to have come across his work.

We asked him a few questions about his work, and how he got started in the industry.

Graduation Day 2018 - Tuesday 4th September

Graduation Day at Bucks

Graduation Day for our newest animation graduates takes place at Bucks on Tuesday 4th September at 2.30pm.

On that day, we will be welcoming all our animation graduates (both animation & vfx, and online MA grads) to come and celebrate their achievement.

Of course, the event is something of a formality - no-one actually has to turn up, but we hope that many of our online animation students will come and celebrate their achievement - graduating as Masters of Arts on the world's first online MA in Animation.

Bring Your Own Animation Monday 16th April

Lukin pub, Fitzrovia

Calling all Bucks animation graduates - "Bring Your Own Animation" is taking place on Monday 16th April.

BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London, generally on a Monday night. This month the event is taking place at The Lukin pub in Fitzrovia.

If you are a student, or a animation graduate, who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from professional animators. You'll also hear the local gossip and find out the word on the street; there is often useful intel like - who is hiring?

David Wheeler Graphic Designer at ICE London

Many congratulations to Bucks animation graduate David Wheeler, who is the in-house graphic designer at ICE London, responsible for producing digital & print ready artwork files for product visuals, packaging design & marketing artwork.

David took on a number of freelance jobs while he was still an undergraduate at Bucks, learning his craft and getting better at both animation and graphic design and, of course , learning to deal with clients. David is celebrating two years at ICE London - and we congratulate him on forging a career in which he able to apply his artistic and digital skills.

Check Out Our YouTube Channel

The see the best student work being done here at Bucks New University, visit our Bucks Animation & VFX channel at YouTube.

You'll see the excellent work done by both our undergraduate and graduate (MA) animation students, work done both in-house at Bucks and also online. 

Antoni Zakheos at Phenomen Films UK

Many congratulations to Bucks animation graduate Antoni Zakheos, who has just started a new position as a 3D artist at Phenomen Films UK.

Phenomen Films UK is a post-production company located in London, part of the wider Phenomen Films group of companies, based in Berlin, Moscow, Kharkov and Kiev.

Lyuboslav 3D Artist at Double Negative

Many congratulations to Lyuboslav Angelov,  one of our recent graduates from the Animation and VFX course at Bucks, who has landed a job as a 3D Runner at London VFX powerhouse Double Negative, now know simply as DNeg.

Free Rigging Webinar Tonight at 7pm

Mike Davies - the man who rigged Smaug

Rigging expert Mike Davies, a veteran rigger whose film credits include The Hobbit and also The Minions, is hosting a free webinar on the art of rigging tonight, Thursday 8 March at 7pm.

If you're interested in learning rigging, be sure to sign up for this free webinar hosted by London's Escape Studios.

If you'd like to register (it is completely free), follow the link here to sign up.

Jack Hubbard at Framestore

Many congratulations to Jack Hubbard,  one of our recent graduates from the Animation and VFX course at Bucks, who has landed a job at Framestore, one of London's leading animation and VFX houses.

We congratulate Jack on a great start to his digital career. To see more of Jack's work, check out his graduation demo reel at our YouTube channel.

This Rig Goes to Eleven

Here at Bucks New Uni we are recommending the Eleven Rig to all our student animators. "Eleven" is available for free download at the Resources page of the Eleven Second Club (the clue is in the name).
 
Eleven is one of the most popular rigs used by our students, and can be used for some great character animation. It's also a very good rig for lipsync, body poses, and facial expressions, and is dependable and easy to learn.

Eleven does, however, have a few quirks. So, what are they and how can we navigate around them?

BYOA Tonight February 19th

Calling all Bucks animators and recent gradautes - "Bring Your Own Animation" is taking place tonight, Monday 19th February, at the Lkin pub in Fitzrovia.

BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London, generally on a Monday night.

If you are a student who is working on a shot or an updated reel, bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from professional animators. You'll also hear the local gossip and find out the word on the street; there is often useful intel like - who is hiring?

How to Get Started With 3D Animation

Free Blender Tutorial at YouTube

How do you find out if 3D animation is for you? One way of finding out is to do a couple of tutorials online.

A great place to start is with the 3D software Blender - it's completely free, and there are many free tutorials out there to get you started.

Get Ready for the Rookies

This year at Bucks we are encouraging all of our students to enter The Rookies Awards, the international competition for young creatives.

The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams."

This year's deadline is May 15th, so there is plenty of time to start crafting a great project.

Who Needs a Business Card?

At the VFX Festival this past week I bumped into a number of my students, many of whom were taking the opportunity to talk to recruiters from the UK Animation and VFX industry, all scouting for rising talent.

So I asked them - I hope you've brought some business cards? Almost none had.  Now, you might think that business cards are a little old-fashioned, a bit out-of-date. But actually, you'd be wrong.

Free Storyboarding Event in London Feb 22nd

Francesca "Chess" Adams

Storyboarding is one of the most competitive but also one of the most rewarding parts of the pre-production process. It's where drawing meets storytelling, and no animation project can get made without it.

A great board artist needs to draw well, to understand cameras, cutting, characters, emotions, and acting. Not surprisingly, it's an area where there is a significant skills shortage - good board artists are very much in demand.

Jack Hubbard 3D Artist at Mandala FX

Many congratulations to Jack Hubbard,  one of our recent graduates from the Animation and VFX course at Bucks, who has landed a job as a 3D Artist at Mandala FX in High Wycombe.

Mandala FX describe themselves as a "full service, end to end creative studio...specialising in high end 3D renders and motion graphics". We congratulate Jack on a great start to his digital career. To see more of Jack's work, check out his graduation demo reel at our YouTube channel.

VFX Recruiters at the VFX festival

MPC's Sara-Laila Francis

The London VFX Festival kicked off at Rich Mix in Shoreditch yesterday. This is London's biggest animation, games and VFX event, and we strongly recommend all our students attend.

For many of our students, the biggest advantage of being there may not be the talks and lectures (though these are excellent), but the opportunity to meet some of London's biggest talent recruiters.

Thinking Animation - Free Rigs

We're liking the animation resources website "Thinking Animation". Among other things, the site is a great source of free animation rigs, including some cool stuff you can't easily find elsewhere.

Fancy working on Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy or even Elsa from Frozen? You can download the fan-made rigs, and test them out, perhaps even animating a line of dialogue from the film.

Tracked Plates for VFX Animators

Here at Bucks we're very much liking this new website that offers tracked plates for animators at afforable prices.

One of the challenges of creating animation within a VFX environment is working with the existing photography, know as the "plate" in VFX parlance.

In effect, animators have to move a 3D object within a flat, 2D environment - and still make it look real and believable.

VFX Festival in London Next Week

Next week in London Escape Studios are hosting their annual VFX festival, the capital's most important event for animation, games and VFX.

As ever, they have a great line-up of speakers, and there are still a few tickets left.

We recommend that all our students and Escapees attend the VFX Festival; it's a great way to find out the latest news in our industry. Best of all, it's a chance to meet in person some of the recruiters from the big London animation and VFX houses.

Lyuboslav Angelov 3D Artist at Mandala FX

Many congratulations to Lyuboslav Angelov,  one of our recent graduates from the Animation and VFX course at Bucks, who has landed a job as a 3D Artist at Mandala FX in High Wycombe.

Mandala FX describe themselves as a "full service, end to end creative studio...specialising in high end 3D renders and motion graphics". We congratulate Lyuboslav on a great start to his digital career. To see more of Lyuboslav's work, check out his graduation demo reel at our YouTube channel.

Don't Break the 4th Wall

Don't look at the camera

One of the most common mistakes made by student animators is to have their characters talk directly to the camera.

Inexperienced animators often do this, at least at first. We pose out our character and we think - who is she talking to? I know - she's talking to me! But in a film, or a play, or a TV Series, the camera (ie the audience) is almost always an observer, never a participant.

Part of the principle of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief is that the characters acting for us on the screen don't know we are there.

UCAS Deadline - 15 January?

UCAS - still enough time left - but hurry!

Thinking of applying to Bucks to study a BA in Animation & Visual Effects, or for our unique Online MA in 3D animation - the only one of its kind? It's not too late!

The UCAS deadline for undergraduate study (that's the BA course) was 15 January, but we are sill welcoming applications from talented students even past the official deadline.

Below are some good reasons why we believe we are building one of the best places to study animation in the country, and how you can get started on your new career as a digital animator