AccessVFX and ScreenSkills launch Young Animator of the Year club and award program for aspiring young animators ages 13-18; teens will complete hands-on challenges set by UK animation studios with chance to compete for prizes.
AccessVFX, an industry-led coalition of leading VFX, animation and games studios, together with the support of ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund with contributions from UK animation productions, have teamed up to offer an online club and award program, Young Animator of the Year UK (YAY UK) for aspiring young animators. The program, aimed at young people ages 13-18, will provide encouragement, professional tutorials, and tips. The club represents a grassroots effort to boost diversity in the animation, games and VFX industry.
An introduction to the world of animation and VFX:
Young animators participating in the club will develop their skills by completing a series of hands-on creative animation challenges set by UK animation studios, designed for different skill levels and styles. Once challenges have been uploaded to the YAY UK platform, they will be viewed by animation industry professionals who will add constructive comments to the films. This is a great introduction to the creative feedback process, and the collaborative nature of working in VFX. For complete online safety and parental peace of mind, usernames will be used to protect young peoples’ identities and all posts will be moderated by a DBS checked adult.
Young Animator of the Year awards - The YAY UK competition will open in June for participants who upload work. Awards given will be given in the following categories:
- Best Stop-Motion Animator
- 2D Animator (split across two age groups – 11 to 14 and 15 to 18)
- 3D Animator (split across two age groups – 11 to 14 and 15 to 18)
Winners will get exclusive tours of the UK's top animation studios including Aardman and Blue Zoo. Their films will also be premiered at the Manchester Animation Festival in November 2021 – showcasing their work to an audience of industry professionals.
“Young people have missed out on a lot of opportunities over the past year,” commented YAY UK co-organizer, AccessVFX board member, ScreenSkills Animation Skills Council chair, and Blue Zoo Animation Studio managing director, Tom Box. “In light of this, we hope the YAY UK club and awards will give teenagers of all backgrounds some much-needed inspiration this summer and enable them to kick-start a rewarding, creative career in animation. I see YAY UK as a total win-win for our industry. We desperately need to build a diverse talent pipeline and this initiative is a great place to start.”
Additional information is available here.
Source: AccessVFX
