Animation Forum West Midlands has partnered with Young Animators West Midlands, a new community for younger animators and creatives founded by young AFWM member Nathan Wilkes. "Young Animators WM (YAWM) is a group set up by myself with the help of another local young animator Sam George," says Nathan, 16. "In setting up YAWM, we aim to help anyone under 16 years old to understand and participate in the excitement and joy of animation. [More]

Our Shorts on Walls screenings will be returning once more to this year's Flatpack Festival (14th-18th March 2012), which naturally means one thing: we need your animated short films sharpish.

Shorts on Walls gives Midlands animators and studios the chance to screen their latest animated works and mingle with fellow animators over a beverage of their choosing.

Long-time Animation Forum WM members, The Brothers McLeod recently picked up a BAFTA Children’s Award for their work on a BBC Learning animation.

AFWM caught up with writer of the duo, Myles McLeod for a quick chat about the win. 

"If there is no change, the UK’s animation sector is likely to continue to contract. More players will exit the business, and the survivors will gradually do a diminishing number of projects," according to a new report on the state of the British animation industry and the case for its support by Animation UK.

Animation UK was formed in 2010 to represent the UKs animation industry. They campaign for fairer trading conditions for UK animators and to help protect or increase the ownership if IP. Its aim is to work with the Government to get the best possible trading conditions for UK producers.

Red Bull is offering animators the chance to have their own creation showcased in cinemas nationwide.

Canimation is a nationwide, multi-genre, creativity contest to find undiscovered talent. Not only do animators get the chance to win a screening of their production, there are many more prizes up for grabs.
There are three categories of animation; stop-motion, CGI and drawn animation. In addition, there are two ways of entering the competition; student or ‘open’ route.

Masters from the animation world will be in Wolverhampton this weekend. Bill Plympton, Cosgrove Hall, and Aardman will all be gracing Light House with their presence at Flip Festival 2011.

Animators and fans can attend the Flip Festival at Light House, Wolverhampton from Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th October.

Blitz Games Studios has opened registration for its Student Open Days in 2012.

Students who want a career in gaming or animation can attend the open days to get a glimpse of the gaming world and ask developers for hints and tips.

Blitz run the open days every year to encourage students to enter the world of games development. The open days will offer an insight into the range of skills and talents involved in creating games.

Current Animation Forum WM funders, Screen WM has now closed following nine years of support for the screen media industries in the West Midlands, with its responsibilities being passed onto new industry body Creative England.

"The closure of Screen WM follows the coalition government's decision to replace the UK Film Council's support for film-making, which core-funded the regional screen agencies, with funding through the British Film Institute," says Screen WM. "In November 2010 the Minister for the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey [Con], announced that Creative England would be formed to build on the work of the regional screen agencies, becoming operational on 1st October 2011."