Blue GFX Expo 9th November 2017

Save the date! Blue GFX Expo is taking place in London on 9th November 2017.

Last year speakers included the folks from Blue Zoo, one of the UK's biggest TV animation company, Stuart Penn from Framestore, and experts from Autodesk showing the latest tools. Curious to know what's inside Maya 2018? Blue GFX Expo will be the place to find out.

Online MA in Animation - Our First Graduates!

Graduation Day at Bucks

Graduation Day takes place at Bucks on 6th September, and we are especially proud to welcome our new MAs in Animation.

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.

In a small way, everyone there will be making a little piece of animation history.

Stuart Penn Talks Alien Covenant on 3rd August

Stuart Penn

Framestore VFX Supervisor Stuart Penn will be talking about his work at a free event in London in two weeks, on Thursday 3rd August at 6.30pm.

Stuart's work includes the digital oil refinery "Hell's Gate" on James Cameron's Avatar, the Hong Kong sequence of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, the development of the Extremis effect for Marvel's Iron Man 3 and the "Knowhere" environment for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Stuart will be talking about his recent work as VFX supervisor on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant. We encourage all our students to attend - and ask questions. This is a chance to meet a successful industry professional and ask him - how does a student artist break into this field?

Bring Your Own Animation Tonight!

Lukin pub, Fitzrovia

One of the great advantages of studying animation and VFX at Bucks is our close proximity to London and the expanding industry in our capital city.

One event we highly recommend our students attend is - "Bring Your Own Animation". The monthly event takes place tonight, Monday July 17th.

Virtual Reality UK Today!

VR UK is at Ravensbourne today and tomorrow

The UK Virtual Reality Festival is taking place today and tomorrow, 6th and 7th July, at Ravensbourne in London. Sponsored by the Arts Council and the Lottery Fund, this event looks to be a great opportunity to break into the fastest-growing part of our industry - Virtual Reality.

Want to be an expert in a field that no-one really understands yet? Get yourself to Ravensourne. For our undergraduate students, being near London and the many opportunities to attend events like this one is one of the great advantages of studying at Bucks. For details, follow this link.

What's Inside our Online MA in 3D Animation?

What's inside our Online MA in 3D Animation? It's a question we get asked a lot; after all, anyone signing up for 18 months of study wants to know what they're actually committing themselves to.

Marcio Leiria Animator at Ampetronic

Marcio Leiria

Many congratulations to Bucks MA student Marcio Leiria who has just got a 3D animation job with Ampetronic, an engineering company who are "world leaders in the design and manufacture of audio induction loop systems". 

Mario's new job is a reminder that the animation industry is much more broad and diverse that it used to be, and that there are new opportunities in surprising places. 

We asked him a few questions about how he got the job.

Animation Taster Day Monday 24th July.

Learn to animate a bird in flight

Want to try computer animation, but not sure if it's right for you? Come along to an Animation Taster Day in London on Monday 24th July.

Animation Taster Days are a chance to learn about character and creature animation, and find out what an animator's job is all about.

The classes take place at Escape Studios in Shepherd's Bush, West London. You will work with Autodesk Maya and the Adobe Creative Suite, and you’ll get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques, all for just £25!  By the end of the day you'll have your own piece of animation uploaded to your YouTube channel.  So, how do you sign up?

Festivus is Back!

Festivus is back!  – with special guests! The Festivus animation event is an opportunity to get to know people in the London animation industry, find out who is hiring, and where the jobs are.

The event takes place on Thursday 13th July at The Comedy Pub in London.

There is a guest speaker from Animation UK, and Blue Zoo will also be there.

Endless Reference for Animators - at YouTube

Using live action reference to inform your animation can be one of the best ways to get started as an animator.

I have used live action reference many times on many films, especially movies with human characters, such as The Road to El Dorado and Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron, and especially on action shots where the motion was complex and hard to get right.

BYOA Tonight!

Lukin pub, Fitzrovia

One of the great advantages of studying animation and VFX at Bucks is our close proximity to London and the expanding industry in our capital city.

One event we highly recommend our students attend is - "Bring Your Own Animation". The monthly event takes place tonight, Monday June 19th.

Mental Ray Is Back - And It's Free!

Mental Ray is back! 3D Render by Amaru Zeas

Mental Ray is Back! NVIDIA, makers of the classic ray tracer - it used to come bundled free with Autodesk Maya - have now released a version of their software which is free for student use.  This is great news for animation students, because Mental Ray has a number of advtantages over its successor Arnold.  In particular, you can achieve some very quick and attractive lighting setups in Mental ray using Physical Sun & Sky, the closest thing Maya has to a "Make It Look Cool" button.  So, how can our students get a free copy of Mental Ray?

Government Loans for Post-Grad Study

Government help is available

The UK Government's student loan system for postgraduate master's degrees is now up and running.

These low interest loans now provide students in the UK with access to postgraduate university courses - including our Online MA in 3D Animation.

This is very good news indeed for prospective students who would like to go on to do post-graduate study with us.

So, how does the system actually work?

Animal Logic - What's in a Demo Reel?

The folks who brought you Lego Movie

At a recent talk in London Patricia Kung, head of Recruitment at Animal Logic, explained what Animal Logic look for in an animation demo reel. 

Animal Logic is one of Australia's leading animation and VFX companies, responsible for global box office hits like the Oscar-nominated The Lego Movie. Other movie credits include Babe, Mouse Hunt, Face Off, The Matrix, Moulin Rouge, House of Flying Daggers, 300, The Great Gatsby, Happy Feet, Legend of the Guardians, and Walking with Dinosaurs 3D.

So, what is life like down under for animation and VFX graduates, and (most importantly) how can our animation graduates start their careers at Animal Logic?

Animation Taster Days 30th May & 14th June

Learn to animate a bird in flight

Want to try computer animation, but not sure if it's right for you? I'm running two Animation Taster Days in London on Tuesday 30th May and Tuesday 14th June, so that animation students can learn about character and creature animation, and find out what an animator's job is all about.

The classes take place at Escape Studios in Shepherd's Bush, West London. You will work with Autodesk Maya and the Adobe Creative Suite, and you’ll get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques, all for just £25!  By the end of the day you'll have your own piece of animation uploaded to your YouTube channel.  So, how do you sign up?

Great Free Animation Rigs at Mothman TD

Here at Bucks we're pleased to recommend the superb Mothman TD website, packed with excellent free rigs for use by Maya animators.

Probably the single most useful rig for our students at Animation Apprentice is the horse, excellent for studying quadruped locomotion, but there are many other free rigs which are very useful for learning different aspects of character and creature animation.

Bucks Animation: YouTube and a New Website

Where can you find examples of our students' work? At our YouTube channel, of course! 

At YouTube you'll find plenty of student work, including work done by undergraduates, studying animation and visual effects at our High Wycombe campus, and our MA students, who are learning the craft of animation entirely online, working from remote locations all over the world.

Bucks Animation Showcase 9-15 June

Bucks show 9-15 June 2017

It's time for our summer show! Buckinghamshire New University's School of Arts & Creative Industries End of Year Show is about to launch.  Come and visit our High Wycombe campus and see the fantastic work done by our students. This year Bucks is showcasing and celebrating the work of our final year students within the Departments of Art & Design, Media & Creative Industries and Performance & Dance. The show runs from June 9 to Jne 15. To find out more, follow this link.

Online MA Starts September

The world's first online MA in animation

It's not too late! We're still accepting applications for the September 2017 intake of our online MA in 3D animation.

The online MA 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.

You will not only learn how to animate, but you will engage at Masters' level with the underpinning theory and structure behind the art form.

BYOA Tonight!

Lukin pub, Fitzrovia

One of the great benefits of studying animation at Bucks is easy access to London and the growing animation and VFX industry.  The monthly event "Bring Your Own Animation" is taking place tonight, Monday May 15th.

BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London. Tonight the event is taking place at The Lukin pub in Fitzrovia.

If you are a student who is working on a shot or an updated reel (aren't we all?), 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.

Michael Morgan on Making it as an Animator

Our students at Bucks are fortunate in being so close to the thriving animation and VFX industry in London.  Last week animator Michael Morgan spoke at an event at Escape Studios in Shepherd's Bush, West London, where he talked about how animators can break into the industry.

Michael is an animator with an extensive list of credits in video games, TV Commercials and Feature films.  At the talk, Michael shared his experience of working on projects such as Star Wars - The Clone Wars, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2, Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast and Planet of the Apes. 

In particular, he talked about how to get "From the Classroom to the Studio".

Specifically, how do graduates break into the animation industry? What are the secrets of success?