Question about Escape Studios

[sarge mat]

Hey guys I just wanted to ask for some thoughts on escape studios. I am just exploring different options for next june when I finish my HND. The idea of another 3-4 years in education does not appeal to me but I am interested in some of these shot courses.
I have been looking at the games modelling/art one at escape studios and am just wondering what have people heard about it or better yet has anyone done it? I am mainly focused on level design but I would like to buff up my 3D skills as some studios do require it for level design.

I noticed it uses Maya for modelling which is fine but does it jump in at the deep end or what?

Thanks guys

Mat

[Sevro]

Hey Sarge. As someone who has done both a degree in 3D and done the games course at escape I can tell you that doing the games course at escape is by far the best option.

If you are into doing environments the Games course is a great point to start with. The main emphasis of the course is environments, and asset creation. You learn how to model properly for games. About 50% of the course is spent using photoshop for texturing (that part is really fun). You also learn a great deal about lighting, and various different techniques in each disciplin. I could actually write a book about what you learn in such a short time, but in a nutshell, it teaches you all you need to know about the techniques used today in the games industry and you have a very good start on your portfolio when you are done.

The tutor that teaches the games course is a really good teacher. He is very methodical and it was pretty rare that people didn't understand what they were doing.

It is a very intense course though, and it does involve a lot of hard, sometimes frustrating work and afterwards you will have to continue on your portfolio out of your own initative. You are however always welcome to come back in use the labs, get feedback and advice from the tutors and the recruitment department, who will help you get that first job.

If you aren't comfortable with maya yet, you may find the course a bit tough. At uni we used 3Ds Max so I had no clue about Maya. So I did the 12 week course. The first 6 weeks is all about teaching you the tools of Maya and it finishes off with a final project you can put in your portfolio. Straight afterwards it continues on into the 6 week games course.

Hope this helps
-Sev

[petrol]

Hi, I did the Maya-Games Course when it was first introduced, which is 6 weeks, and prior to that I did the Maya-Core 6 week course. I had done some video tutorials before the course, to make sure I was interested enough to warrant spending (borrowing) the money, and to make sure I had at least some idea of what I would be letting myself in for. I probably did tutorials for 3-4 months.

After 1 day at Escape, I had surpassed all previous knowledge in those 3-4 months. It really was very impressive how well put together the courses were, the tutors were all real industry veterans and they were all very enthusiastic. The rigs they use there are all quad-core, pretty high-grade machines, and if any of them go wrong, they literally have them fixed or replaced within about an hour from my experience.

After finishing the course (which admittedly I swotted up in the evenings etc too) I was given the opportunity to do an art test, which led to some freelance work in the 'Pods' at Escape (outsourcing units designed to give the new talented artists some industry experience). That in turn, led to a permanent job, and concludes my little story. I've been working here for about a year and a half now, and I probably started way above the usual 18K thanks to the headstart I got from studying for just 3 months at Escape.

Can't recommend it enough, honestly, best desision of my life even. Go for it.

Ross

[sarge mat]

Thanks guys.

I think the games one is 12 weeks now but they have an online Maya core thing that I might look into at some stage to get some knowledge of the program.

I have been falling behind with 3D work of late so I am going to set aside a day when I won’t touch Unreal at all and get back in modelling. It’s a shame you can’t get the Maya PLE anymore.


Games Courses - Escape Studios

Games course tutor, Simon Fenton talks to Escape Studios

Looking at the layout for the first week and interview it does look like they go over the core basics, which I suppose are the most important.

[Escapegamer]

Hi Sarge,

I work at Escape - and seeing your post just wanted to clarify a couple of things for you;

All our career entry 3D courses are 12 weeks, and they all start with the Maya Core content that runs between weeks 1-6. This is your foundation, starting with basics before covering all aspects of the 3D pipeline in detail. You will require the skills contained in this section regardless of which course option/industry area you wish to follow.

The Maya Core online course delivers the identical content, using our learning system and HD video tutorials.

The second half of the course (weeks 7-12) is all games specific content, building on your foundation with professional and more advanced techniques, focused on producing games artwork - models and environments. Ideally, take the full 12 weeks in the classroom if you can. If you want to visit us or speak on the phone about the course in more detail, just let me know.

[sarge mat]

Hey.

Thanks for replying. I am hopefully going to London at some stage after the summer so I will certainly check in advance to try and arrange a visit.

Thanks.

[Ghostscape]

Wow Sevro felt so good about Escape he registered just to post his positive opinion!

Sorry, I'm skeptical about all game courses.

The fact that their success stories page shows very little student work, and instead shows stuff from the companies they work for is somewhat disconcerting. The work that students produce is ultimately the best metric for seeing the quality of a school.
Student Success Stories at Escape Studios

[mikesira]

Hi sarge mat
I did the Maya Games course at Escape Studios last year and it was the best one of all (i also did core, characters and vfx). I completely agree with Sevro, you will be amazed how much can you learn in 6 weeks (12 with maya core). Part of their success as to do it the fact that all of the tutors worked for many years in the industry and can give you really good advices an "inside tips" on how things really work.
In my opinion it's a great course to do and if you any more questions a really reconment doing the visit or at least contact them by email.
Hope this helps, take care.


@Ghostscape
I sorry but I don't agree with you.
If you look under Students Showreels you will see the work done in only 6 or 12 weeks by students. What you are looking at is the work of some ex-students on their current jobs or 1st jobs after Escape Studios.

[doylle]

Hmm, allot of new users here, welcome

Looks like solid training, might actually look into it myself sometime...

@Ghostscape: Hmm, personally i don't think the work they present is that bad at all. But I don't think you should really look at it like that. IMO training videos or even training in general is not going to teach you how to be a good and creative artist. Most of the time they explain tools and work flows, which enable you to become a good artist.

[Xoliul]

I have a friend who's doing some courses there (you might also remember him, Doylle; Thomas from our group in the first year). I have to say, it's really helped him forward and he's already able to get a job after 2 courses or so. Not in games though, he didn't really commit to that, more viz and architecture.