# academies
Every CG school worth reviewing.
London in-person, part-time online, mentor-led, or open-enrolment. Twelve schools, one verdict per school, alternatives on every page.
# academies reviewed
The five academies worth comparing first.
London-based, part-time online, mentor-led, or open-enrolment. Five different shapes of CG training, one honest verdict on each.
LONDON · IN-PERSON + HYBRID
Escape Studios
£8,900–£11,500 diploma
Recommended for London learners
30+ years training VFX artists into Framestore, DNEG, Cinesite. Best fit if you can commit 30+ hours a week in London.
ONLINE · MENTOR-LED
CGMA
£550–£790 per course
Recommended per-course
Working industry mentors, 10-week cohort structure, portfolio-grade output. Best fit for a focused specialisation.
ONLINE · PART-TIME
CG Spectrum
£4,800–£6,400 diploma
Alternative to Escape Studios
Australian, part-time possible, keeps a day job intact. Best fit for regional UK learners with a full-time role.
ONLINE · CHARACTER FOCUS
Animation Mentor
£7,200 character path
Recommended for character animation
Feature-film animators as mentors, weekly one-to-one critique. Best fit if character animation is the goal.
HOLLYWOOD · IN-PERSON
Gnomon
£28,000+ BFA
Not the right fit for UK learners
Elite Hollywood in-person school. Cost and geography make it a hard pass for most UK routes. Read for context.
Compare all 12 schools
Escape Studios, CGMA, CG Spectrum, Animation Mentor, Gnomon, Domestika, Skillshare, Coursera, Coloso, Pluralsight, Udemy, plus the UK university sector. Side-by-side price and verdict.
Also reviewed.
- Domestika: Spanish-language origin, subtitled, per-course at £14–£99.
- Coursera: university partnerships, self-paced, £46/mo Plus.
- Skillshare: subscription library, £119/yr, mixed instructor quality.
- Udemy: transactional, £15–£150 per course, best for specific plugin skills.
- UK universities: Bournemouth NCCA, Ravensbourne, UCA, NFTS. Student-loan eligible.
How we review.
We score every academy on curriculum depth, price transparency, career outcomes, instructor bench honesty, and UK learner fit. We pay for our own accounts where possible and disclose every affiliate link. Full methodology on the about page.
# how we mark up every review
The verdict chip system.
Every course, school, and software page carries one of four verdict chips. Read the chip in three seconds and skip the rest if it does not fit.
Recommended
Cyan chip. Editorial pick for the reader profile named on the page.
Not the right fit
Hot Pink chip. Wrong shape for the reader (cost, geography, prerequisite).
Alternative to consider
Amber chip. Not our top pick, still on the shortlist.
Verified price
Mint chip. Price checked directly with the provider inside the last 90 days.