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.