Float Folks Wins Best Trailer at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the makers of "The Float Folks", the short teaser/trailer made at BNU by our animation students, which has won "Best Trailer" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

The Float Folks is a TV Series created by Ian Foyle and directed by Monika Dzikowicz, currently in development.

The Float Folks is a fun, watery world, a miniature community of slightly oddball individuals.

UCAS Applications Open for 2022

UCAS - deadline January 26th

If you're thinking of applying to Bucks to study on our BA in Animation, the official UCAS application system is now open.  Applications are due by 26th January 2022.

It's always a good idea to get your application in early, so apply now and tidy up your portfolio later.

Who's Who in Bucks Animation 2021

Alex Williams at Bucks New University

Who's Who on our Online Master of Arts in Animation?

For our new animation students starting with us in September, there is a good deal of information to take on board, including who does what at Bucks.

There are a number of people involved in delivering our MA - the first online MA in animation in the world.

Below is a brief guide to help our new cohort of students figure out who's who, who does what, and how to get in touch with the key people whose job it is to help our students get excellent results.

Leopard Animation by Alex Southcombe

BNU Master's degree student Alex Southcombe did this excellent piece of animation above, for Module DA703 "Animals and Creatures", in which our MA students tackle the art and craft of animal and creature locomotion.  Alex used the Leopard Rig by Truong, available for free download at Gumroad, which we recommend for animal and creature animation at BNU. 

Jobs and Careers Playlist at YouTube

For all our graduates currently looking for work, check out the Animation Apprentice jobs and careers playlist at YouTube. There are plenty of opportunities to find work in the expanding animation industry, but it is important to have a solid demo reel and a well-curated LinkedIn profile - recruiters live at LinkedIn.  The jobs and careers playlist at YouTube offers advice and support on how to land that crucial first job in industry.

Toonboom Harmony Free Demo 30 Sept at 5pm

Toonboom Harmony with Andy Wyatt and Harry R

Tomorrow Thursday 30 September at 5pm Escape Studios in London is hosting a free Toonboom Harmony Event with Harmony experts Andy Wyatt and Harry Ravelomananstsoa. 

Andy Wyatt is Director of Animation Associates & Toon Boom UK; he will discuss what skills the 2D animation industry is looking for, offer portfolio advice and insights into the Harmony pipeline. 

To sign up, follow this link.

Cartoon Movie March 2022 Open For Pitches

Cartoon Movie, the pitch-fest for animated films, is now taking applications.  The Deadline to submit a feature film project to Cartoon Movie is 17 November 2021. 

Cartoon Movie takes place in Bordeaux from 8-10 March 2022, and is now open for applications.

Optimise Truong Maya Rigs for Unreal Engine

Truong CG, who creates many of the best free (and nearly free) rigs for student use, has released the video above to optimise his rigs for Unreal Engine.  All of Truong's latest rigs are fully compatible with Unreal Engine since they are all joints-based for both body and face. However, for Truong's older rigs, this video will help optimise the rigs for use in Unreal Engine, giving all the advantages of real-time rendering. 

Screen Skills: "Animation Trainee Finder"

Animation Trainee Finder Programme at ScreenSkills

ScreenSkills has launched the Animation Trainee Finder, a paid placement programme for animation graduates.

Animation Trainee Finder is being launched by the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Council with the support of UK animationStudios.  The deadline to apply is 27 September 2021.  

MA Animation Joining Instructions Sept 2021

Joining Instructions 2021

It will soon be time for our new students at Bucks to get started on their animation journey.  

Below are some Joining Instructions for our students starting with us on the Online MA in 3D Animation.

How to Achieve Snappy Animation Timing

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is to have even timing and spacing on their character performances.

Even timing and spacing produces soft, floaty animation, lacks definition and feels mushy.  This is particularly the case when the animation is based on live action reference. Reference, if followed too closely, can end up feeling floaty and weightless.

The solution to this problem is to tighten up your key poses, and spend more time in the key poses, rather than transitioning slowly from one pose to another. Animators call this approach "snappy timing", or "tightening up the poses". Your goal is to make the motion feel dynamic and crisp.

BBC Children's Animation Seeks Pitches

BBC Ignite wants your pitches

BBC Children’s Animation are seeking submissions for fresh, bold and innovative animation ideas. The scheme is called "Ignite" and the deadline is Midnight on 1st September 2021. 

For all our students who have been working on short films for the past couple of years - this is a perfect opportunity to pitch your materials to the UK's biggest broadcaster.

Successful pitches will be given a "fully funded development opportunity" to bring their project to the small screen.

You don't need to have created any finished animation for your project; more important is an idea of the stories you want to tell and who the main characters are.  To see more, follow this link.

New Aardman Animation Armature Available

For all our students who would like to try their hands at stop-motion animation: armature specialist Animation Toolkit has partnered with Aardman Animation to design and create a bespoke armature kit to help stop motion animators with the puppet making process.

Animators can now easily and affordably create their own animation puppets.

Free Animation Careers Event 5 August

We're recommending that all our animation students and recent graduates sign up for this Animation and Careers Event on 5th August at 4.30pm.

Hosted by Escape Studios, this free online Animation Careers Evening includes animation industry leaders Blue Zoo and Jellyfish Pictures.   To sign up for this free event, follow this link.

What Kind of Laptop Should Our Students Buy?

What kind of laptop?

"What kind of laptop should I buy?" is a question that we are often asked at Bucks New University. 

Computer specifications change regularly and much depends on exactly what you want to use your laptop for.  But let's say you want to buy a laptop capable of running Autodesk Maya, for computer animation and to render out your shots.

What sort of laptop should you buy, and how much do you need to spend? BNU Animation Master's Student Amedeo Beretta offers some advice to our students.

Animator's Survival Kit "Minis" Launch August 5

Animator's Survival Kit "Minis"

Here at Bucks New University we recommend one key textbook for learning animation - The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams.

It is a big book, heavy to carry around, and has now been published as a series of "mini" editions, breaking the book up into four sections, and available from August 5th. 

The ASK was first published in 2002 as a book, and a few years later was released as a DVD set, and later as an iPad app.

Academic Deadlines MA Animation 2021-23

2021-2023 deadlines

Below is a list of deadlines for the online MA in 3D animation. This is for our new cohort of student animators, those who are joining us in September 2021, and will graduate "Master of Arts" in the summer of 2023.

Note that this list of deadlines is a draft list only, and is subject to change. Students should always check the appropriate Module Guide and Assignment Brief to be certain of the correct submission date. And, of course, check with your tutor.

This list gives our MA students a broad idea of what to expect over the coming 18 months.  But always double-check these dates - if in doubt, email your tutor.

DA701 Locomotion & Mechanics Starts 27 Sept

Zombie walk by Michael Davies

DA701 Animation Mechanics is the first module that our new MA animation students (those starting with us in September) will encounter at Bucks.

DA701 starts on 27 September 2021, and is taught primarily in Autodesk Maya. The module deals with animation basics, such as locomotion and mechanics.

It starts with simple actions such as a bouncing ball, and builds up to more complex physical actions, such as jumps and throws. There are two assignments due: DA701 PR1, and DA701 CW1. DA701 PR1 is due on Friday 10th December at 2pm.

Getting Ready for September 2021

What kind of preparation should animation students do before starting with us at Bucks in September 2021?

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.

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

We also recommend a number of free online resources to begin your journey into digital animation.

James Baxter Animation Webinar 30 June at 6pm

James Baxter

On 30 June at 6pm Escape Studios is hosting a live animation webinar with legendary Disney and DreamWorks animator James Baxter.  

The event is free, and we are recommending that all our students register and sign up. 

James began his animation career on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and has since worked on dozens of animated films.  

Module DA704 Starts 13 Sept 2021

Amedeo Beretta - CG Animation Reel - VFX, Cine, TV from Amedeo Beretta on Vimeo.

Our Master's Degree animation students will soon start their final animation module: DA704. Their final animation assignment, DA704 PR1, is titled "Demo Reel and Final Project" and students are expected to do a piece of character or creature animation, showing the skills they have learned over the last year, and also cut a demo reel that will help them to find work in the animation industry.  The demo reel above is by Bucks New Uni MA animation student Amedeo Beretta.