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.