Bournemouth University graduate wins worldwide student animation competition

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An animation graduate from Bournemouth University has been named Computer Graphics Student of the Year.

Pramod Lj, who completed an MA in Digital Effects at BU in September, beat more than 320 entries from around the world to win the accolade, as part of the CG Student Awards.

Pramod, who is from India, was awarded the title after submitting a showreel of work completed while studying at BU – including buildings in Bournemouth town centre being pulled back to release hundreds of balloons and a car being made out of cubes.

He said: “It was totally unexpected, and it feels awesome to have won a competition with such high standards. Honestly, I feel that there were many entries that deserved to win.

“When I first entered the competition, I just wanted my work to be seen by many people. The competition is a great platform to showcase you work.”

The CG student awards are an annual event which showcases and rewards excellence in computer graphics from students and recent graduates worldwide, and are sponsored by a number of industry names.

Pramod, 25, has won more than £20,000 of visual effects software, access to online workshops and subscriptions to specialist magazines as prizes for winning the award.

“I am really excited about the prizes,” said Pramod, who is now working as an intern at Side Effects Software in Santa Monica, USA.

“Now that I have all these packages with me, it gives me a great opportunity to broaden my skills.”

The National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University was also highly commended in the School of the Year category in the CG Student Awards.

Pramod said that his time at BU helped him develop as a 3D artist.

“I chose the NCCA for its reputation. Before joining I didn’t know much in detail about VFX, and it was at the NCCA where I developed all my skills.

“The course structure was great – you start from the basics and slowly get into the advance stuff.

“One great thing about the course is that they push students to create great looking and convincing visuals. They encourage using simple techniques and creating great visuals with it, which I feel worked well for me as it is more artist-friendly. It was a great experience.”

Watch Pramod’s winning showreel

Work by final year animation undergraduates at BU will be showcased in London as part of the NCCA Undergraduate 2013 Degree Show. The free show takes place on 18 and 19 July and tickets can be ordered here