We left London, our clients didn't

Cub Studio is an animation studio that used to be based in London. Today we're based in Brighton, but we continue to work with London agencies, brands and creative teams on character animation, 2D, 3D, sports, digital and commercial projects.

For years, being a London animation studio felt like a prerequisite.

If you wanted to work with the biggest agencies, brands and creative teams in the UK, London was where you needed to be. The studios were there, the talent was there, the agencies were there, and the meetings were there.

So, like many animation studios, we were based in London. And it was great fun.

Then we moved (children had arrived).

Cub Studio is now based in Brighton, rather than London. And something slightly surprising happened.

Our clients didn’t move with us but our extended studio family did!

We continued working with London agencies, creative directors, producers and brands. We continued making character animation, motion design, films and campaigns for clients across the capital and beyond.

Because, as it turns out, the important thing about an animation studio isn't its postcode. Weird that!

Does an animation studio need to be in London?

Not really. In fact, no.

The way animation is produced has changed enormously. A project can involve a creative director in London, a producer in Manchester, an animator in Brighton, a designer somewhere in Europe and a client on a video call from New York. In fact our audio engineer is based in New Zealand, so he works whilst we sleep and we have fresh audio waiting for us the next morning!

The work still comes together.

Of course, being able to meet in person is useful. We love a good coffee and a proper conversation and we still do that all the time. But modern animation production doesn't depend on everyone sitting in the same building.

That opens up a much bigger pool of creative talent for agencies and brands looking for an animation studio.

A London Animation Studio Without the London Postcode

If you're searching for a London animation studio, the obvious assumption is that the studio itself needs to be based in London. But modern animation production has made geography considerably less important...

London is still a creative powerhouse. But so is Brighton!

None of this is an argument against London.

London remains one of the world's great creative cities, with an extraordinary concentration of agencies, brands, production companies and creative talent.

It's still where many of our clients are based. It's still somewhere we're regularly working. And we're proud of the relationships we've built there.

But being a London-facing animation studio isn't necessarily the same thing as being a London-based animation studio.

That's an important distinction.

Why work with an animation studio outside London?

There are some obvious advantages.

You can access specialist creative talent without limiting your search geographically. Studios can operate with leaner structures and, in some cases, lower overheads. And remote production means distance rarely needs to affect the creative process.

For us, moving out of London wasn't about moving away from the industry.

It was about building the kind of animation studio we wanted to be.

A studio with the freedom to focus on the work, the people and the ideas.

So if you're searching for a London animation studio, you don't necessarily need to stop at the M25.

Look for the right creative partner that fits your project and ethos.

We're based in Brighton. The motion by the Ocean!

We're still making work for London agencies and clients around the world.

And we're very much the same studio, just a bit saltier - give us a shout!