Young Animator of the Year UK returns for 2022

UK entertainment talent development organizations ScreenSkills ( skreenskills.com ) to ACCESS VFX ( accessvfx.org ) have announced that the popular program Young Animator of the Year (YAY UK) will return for 2022, with a series of activities planned for the summer.

YAY UK encourages young people to pursue creative skills to help build tomorrow's talent, enabling talents and newcomers to create amazing animation and help launch the creative career of their dreams.

Teen animators can participate in the 10 day Summer Studio by 3Dami, supported by the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund using contributions from animation productions, as well as entering a competition for a chance to be crowned Young Animator of the Year UK 2022!

Give new talent an edge

Previous year's YAY UK competition winners had rapid career success. Josh Palfrey , the winner of the 3D category in 2020, entered the internship program at one of the UK's leading character animation studios, blue zoo . Palfrey surpassed all expectations during his internship, which quickly led him to a full-time job, where he became the studio's youngest ever 3D artist.

3Dami summer studio

Applications are now open for 3Dami Summer Studio , where students work together with animation experts to create every part of a 3D movie in just 10 days. 3Dami works with industry mentors to offer students all the help and support they need to learn about creating and animating 3D assets. The event will take place over 10 days from 25 July to 5 August 2022.

Previous students from the 3Dami summer studio went on to work in major studios including ILM, The Mill, Blue Zoo, MPC, and DNEG.

YAY UK Competition and studio challenges

YAY UK is hosting a competition that challenges teen artists across the UK to make their own animated shorts in 2D, 3D and stop-motion styles. Prizes will be awarded for the best 2D animator for young people, 3D animator and stop-motion animator in the 11-14 and 15-18 age groups. The winner's films will be screened at the Manchester animation festival ( manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk ) in November.

Contest entries can be submitted via the YAY UK website from 16 May until deadline of 5 September 2022 .

Throughout the summer, YAY UK will also be offering teens a series of short creative animation challenges set by some of the UK's largest animation studios. These challenges will help artists learn tricks and techniques for devising their stories and creating their own animations.

“The UK is one of the best countries in the world in animation production and the YAY UK initiative is here to inspire, nurture and celebrate the next generation of talent. There is such an abundance of enthusiastic young creative animators, we can't wait to see what films they make this year and who will be crowned Young Animator of the Year! said Tom Box, co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio and president of the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund.

Get involved

For young animation artists, the YAY UK website has created a safe community to share their work and develop their animation skills. Animators can create a profile, upload their work, and create an online portfolio where industry professionals can comment and feedback on their work. All posts are moderated to ensure safety and enjoyment for all.

Apply for the 3Dami Summer Studio via the YAY UK website and submit contest entries via the competition page of the website. Follow YAY UK on Twitter e Instagram to keep up to date with the YAY UK program. Good animation!