Shauna Ludgate

Hi! My name is Shauna and I am passionate about storytelling! I have always had a love for making and crafting, but discovered 3D animation which fit perfectly with my technically minded brain! I really enjoy expressive character and creature animation and am looking to start a career as a Junior Animator in the Industry. I have had the pleasure of pitching and directing two of my ideas at Escape Studios, and am a very determined individual.

SHOWREEL

GET TO KNOW SHAUNA

Describe yourself in 5 words.

Optimistic, creative, strong-willed, collaborator and approachable.

What hobbies do you have?

I love keeping my hands busy! Some of my hobbies include sewing and painting models. Crafting really relaxes me and I enjoy focusing on adding the small details. I also love a good walk in the countryside, listening to the birds or playing video games with my friends.

Tell us an achievement you're proud of.

How much I have grown in confidence during my time at Escape Studios and how much I have learnt. I really feel as though I have come such a long way during my studies into a confident, determined person. I have learnt many technical skills along the way such as Maya, Unreal Engine, simulations, lighting and rendering, on top of my favourite skill, animation.

Describe a challenge that you had to overcome in your group projects.

Creating such an ambitious project, 'Threaded Together'. We wanted to make a 5 minute short film for our final project at Escape Studios and the final film has 56 shots. It was a massive challenge, but we managed it well and everyone put in hard work to complete it. We have all learnt so much that it really was worth making such an aspiring project, especially in Unreal Engine.

Would you rather be a wizard, jedi or superhero and why?

Defintely a Wizard... I'm 9 and 3/4 sure...

But really, being a Wizard is about learning your craft and improving. It also shows team work and determination. I think my favourite part would be the magical creatures.

Which animated movie inspired you the most to choose this career path and why?

Beauty and the Beast'. I absolutely loved the original when I was younger. When the 2017 live-action version came out, I was in college studying film and discovering animation. I absolutely loved the characters and was really interested in Disney at this point. It solidified to me that I wanted to do animation and to tell these stories through the screen.

What was your crowning moment of your time at Escape?

It has to be after I finished my first short trailer, 'Pet Shop', which I pitched and directed for our first group project. Looking back at it now, I know there are so many things we would do differently, but it was the feeling of finishing and creating a finished piece of animation I was so proud of. It made me really determined to work harder, and I continued to pitch and direct through to our final year. This really made a big difference to making me realise how much I loved what I do.