After graduating from the Studio in 2016, Jonathan has used the skills he gained to build a wealth of experience and start a career in graphic design and video game animation…

Jonathan came to the Studio in Year 12 to study graphic design and creative media A Levels, a decision he’s more than glad he made. “I had two of the most fun years of my time in education there – if I could I’d relive my Studio years,” he laughs.

After his A Levels, Jonathan went straight into work at Nova as a digital marketing animator, a company that found him through the Studio. “In my last couple of weeks at the Studio, they held a showcase evening and gave me my own table so I could display some of my own work and they have companies come and look around. One company, called Nova, happened to be working on the other side of our building. They liked my work and had me come on and work with them for two weeks, to see what I could do. From there, they decided to hire me, and down the line a couple of students from my year group started working for them as well.”

Jonathan’s skills and experience from the Studio allowed him to exceed expectations and make good impressions in the workplace. At the Studio he got to use Photoshop and Illustrator and build skills ‘for life’ – so when he went into work he was able to hit the ground running. “I was able to use Illustrator which they thought was really good. I don’t think they expected it from me,”  he admits. He also credits the Studio’s nine-to-five schedule for preparing him for work and helping him adapt to a working environment quickly. 

A couple of years on, Jonathan is studying video game art animation at the SAE Institute in Liverpool, a world-leading creative media institute with various bases across the UK. It’s a dream he’s had since his A Levels: “when I was at the Studio my heart was really set on doing video game work, and I was really passionate about animation as well.” Now, with real-world experience as an animator to build on, Jonathan can trace his passion and inspiration back to the Studio. “The staff there knew what they were doing – my graphics teacher definitely made me get more into design work, he was a brilliant teacher,” he says.