7 essential events every artist must attend

Networking at events is a great way to not only learn, but also to meet people that could have a major influence on your life...

Events help to inspire us to greater and greater exploits.

Weve curated 7 key events relating to Visualization and Visual FX. These are by no means all the events that you would want to attend but hopefully it gives you a flavor for what is out there. The thing I love about festivals, conferences, and training courses is that they give us a vision and provoke us into thinking about what we could achieve. This provocation leads us to try new things and even collaborate with other artists in new and exciting ways.

SOA Academy

State of Art Academy
is an Architectural Visualization Training centre based in Venice, Italy. They combine the experience of Italian and international artists to offer some incredible training in the area of 3D visualization and photography. Ive always been impressed by this events ability to attract the very best artists. Theyve really worked hard to make sure that their speakers are at the forefront of their field, not just technical specialists who can use software.

Based in Italy this event will enable you network with a lot of top quality 3D artists © SOA academy

SIGGRAPH

SIGGRAPH is the worlds largest annual conference and exhibition in computer graphics and interactive techniques: Five days of research results, demos, educational sessions, art, screenings, and hands-on interactivity featuring the communitys latest technical achievements, and three days of commercial exhibits displaying the industry's current hardware, software, and services. This is an incredibly diverse and well attended event. If youre into computer graphics then this is a must visit.

SIGGRAPH will help you stay ahead of the latest technology and trends © Siggraph

The VFX, Games and Animation Festival 2017

This is an incredibly high quality festival focusing on a range of sectors. If you take a look at their 2017 highlights then youll see that the level of work on display is of the best quality around. If you dont leave this festival inspired then maybe Games and Animation are not for you.

This festival will get your creative juices flowing as it showcases the very best work
© The VFX, Games and Animation Festival 2017

BFX

BFX was launched in 2012 as a student competition and a festival the BFX Competition identifies and encourages the next wave of talent in VFX and Animation production, while the BFX Festival is designed to raise the profile of Bournemouth as a centre of excellence for the creative industries by showcasing the very best in animation, VFX and Games from around the world. The thing I like about this is that it includes presentations and workshops as well as screenings of the best VFX and animation movies.

Located in Bournemouth this festival is well worth your time © BFX

FMX

FMX is a power house in Europe dedicated to Digital Visual Arts, Technologies, and Business. Every year, VFX specialists, Animation experts as well as Games and Transmedia talents come to FMX to present cutting edge achievements, state of the art tools and pipelines, fascinating real time technologies, spectacular immersive experiences, innovative business models and more. In recent years they are also moving into interactive technologies which will help you stay ahead of the field.

The breadth on offer at this conference is incredible © FMX

bArs Barcelona International Arts & VFX Fair

Barcelona International Arts & VFX Fair is a highly specialized fair that wants to give VFX, Animation and the overall Digital Content industry a new focus by gathering the industrys best creative talent in a fun, playful way. The event is aimed at both professionals and students, with a focus on the artistry of the film-making process, cloud VFX, Animation and Digital Content production, education and networking. I absolutely love Barcelona so to be able to mix art with a great city is a no brainer for me.

Get over to Barcelona for this exciting new fair © bArs Barcelona International Arts & VFX Fair

Trojan Horse was a Unicorn

The Trojan Horse was a Unicorn is dedicated to being the central organization that psychologically, spiritually, technically, educationally and legally supports the global digital artist and ensures that the world understands and celebrates their artistry and craft. Its quite a goal theyve set themselves! For six days you can find inspiration, learn more about the digital entertainment industry, network, and share experiences.

Engage in a range of activities with this excellent festival © Trojan Horse was a Unicorn

So where will you go?

In the next year why not set aside a few days and commit to going to one of these conferences? Doing so will no doubt ignite your passions and give you a vision for what is possible. If nothing else Im sure youll make new friends and have interesting conversations about the fields youre interested in. Maybe see you at one of these next time!

Here is just one example of an event that you must attend. These are their 2017 highlights © Escape Studios

Related links

State of Art Academy
SIGGRAPH
VFX Festival
BFX
FMX
Barcelona International Arts & VFX Fair
Trojan Horse was a Unicorn
6 ways to market yourself and your art