Bob’s Burgers the Movie and Happy Hour – UWE Animation graduates’ career update 

We recently caught up with John Bowen, who graduated from UWE Animation in 2019, to find out what he’s been up to since graduation. Turns out, it’s a lot! 

 Hi John! What are you working on at the moment?  

I’ve been keeping pretty busy since graduating. Most recently, I’ve been working as a Scene Prep Artist on Bob’s Burgers The Movie, which is really exciting, and I’ve also moved onto an IT role in the Studio, working across a wide variety of animation projects. 
 

What’s your career been like post graduation? How did you get your first opportunity?  

My career has had an upwards trajectory since graduation. My first opportunity was working as an FX Artist in Bristol with Happy Hour Productions. I soon moved onto a Render Wrangler Internship role at YellowDog, another brilliant Bristol-based company. Both opportunities were possible with UWE’s help, as these were directly advertised to students by the university. From there, I moved onto Scene Prep at Lighthouse Studios, and quickly moved into my current role from there, managing data and servers across the studio. 
 

How has UWE has helped you build a career in animation?  

I feel that UWE helped me build my career by exposing me to like-minded studios and offering opportunities for its students to get their foot in the door with animation. 
 

Any advice for current/prospective students?  

Use the tools you have to develop a skillset that will be desirable to employers. Try balancing between learning something you enjoy, & learning a skillset that’s in demand in the industry. Talk to those around you and learn from each other, you never know who may help you onto that ladder! 
 

Click here to see more of John’s work.