Becoming a 3D Artist With Escape Studios

The school offers various programs in the area of 3D art for undergraduate students, such as Bachelor of Arts in VFX, Games, Animation. The list of options for postgraduate students is even broader and includes Master of Arts in Visual Effects Production (3D), Visual Effects Production (Compositing), Game Art, 3D Animation, Storyboarding and Previsualisation, Character & Creature Creation. 

You can also choose from a great variety of short courses as there are full-time daytime programs, part-time evening classes, and online courses in different areas of 2D and 3D art. There is, for instance, a 6-week daytime Houdini course, an 8-week evening 2D Character Design course, and an online course dedicated to the fundamentals of Unreal Engine.

The latter is probably the most intriguing one, as Escape Studios has a partnership with Epic Games, the creator behind Unreal Engine as well as the well-known Fortnite, Gears of War, and the Infinity Blade series. Escape Studios is the only Unreal Authorized Training Center in the UK. The school teaches bespoke courses to industry professionals and studios to help develop their skills for the workplace.

Escape Studios is also a Houdini Certified School, so its students have exclusive access to Houdini webinars and presentations. The course is taught by Mark Spevick, Head of 3D at Escape Studios and a certified Houdini trainer.

One of the courses Escape Studios offers for undergraduate students is BA (Honours)/MArt in The Art of Computer Animation (Integrated Masters). It lasts for 3 or 4 years depending on the track you choose. This course will teach you to "breathe life into characters and creatures, and create entertaining performances for the world to enjoy." By the end of the course, you will develop a deep understanding of how high-quality industry-standard animation is created and will have a professional portfolio ready to land you the job of your dreams. The degree is awarded by the University of Kent.

Speaking of graduate programs, MA in Game Art is probably one of the hottest right now. This 1-year Master's course will teach you how to create your own game and work as a studio through completing group projects. You will learn to design environments and characters, create assets and FX, set up lighting, and more. As Escape Studios emphasizes, the tutors "also teach students about the industry itself, so you have an understanding of current and emerging business models." MA Game Art graduates work at the world's leading game studios.

Another course that is in demand at the moment is MA in Visual Effects Production (3D). Skilled VFX artists are needed everywhere and studying the art of creating mesmerizing effects for games, films and video clips is a choice you cannot go wrong with for sure. During this 1-year course, you will work on "understanding the key 3D modules and advancing your skills exploring techniques such as particle movement, hair, and fluids." You will graduate with a solid showreel demonstrating your skill and artistry.

Speaking of the short programs, one of the most hard-to-find and unique courses Escape Studios offer is Storyboarding and Previsualisation. In this course, you will have a chance to dive deep into the art of narrative storytelling. You will learn both the traditional art techniques behind storyboarding (making the first sketches for your story) and the digital art methods (transferring your sketches to digital art software for previz creation). The course teaches you to solve multiple problems of developing a great visual story "including shot flow, cinematography, narrative rhythm, and continuity."

One more course designed specifically for those who want to focus on character creation is a short program in Character Creation for Games and VFX. This course will teach you how to "design, model, texture, and pose your own character." You will look into different character design techniques, create 3D characters in Maya and ZBrush, learn how to texture them to achieve the desired look, and truly make them come to life. This course is quite intense but it is great for anyone who wants to go through every stage of creating characters for animation, games, and VFX.

The school is known for nurturing insanely talented artists who have worked on award-winning films after graduation. 47 graduates worked on Avengers: Endgame and 24 worked on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Escape Studios is of the top 20 institutions in the UK for graduate employability and it is ranked 5th best school in the world for Visual Effects and Animation Production Excellence by The Rookies.

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