We have some very exciting news to share with our customers and followers today! We are thrilled to announce that HUE is sponsoring the Stop Motion category of the 2025 Young Animator of the Year UK (YAY UK) competition 🎉

At HUE, we’re passionate about sparking creativity in young minds through HUE Animation Studio and HUE Clay. That’s why we’re so excited to support the YAY Awards, a fantastic celebration of the rising stars of animation and the power of imaginative storytelling.

YAY UK is the biggest animation competition for young movie makers living in the UK, offering a platform to share their work, get noticed by industry pros and have their films screened at the prestigious Manchester Animation Festival (MAF)! 

Co-created by Tom Box, co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio, the initiative is a collaboration between ACCESS:VFX and MAF that seeks to “discover, support, and celebrate the brightest animation stars aged 11 to 22”, creating animated films in 2D, 3D and with stop motion animation. 

Films entered into the competition will be judged by top talent from across the UK animation industry including directors, producers, animators, and creatives from the likes of Aardman and Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). The winners will be revealed at the Manchester Animation Festival on 9th November 2025, where the nominated animators will have the opportunity to meet some of the judges.

This year’s theme for the animation is UNEXPECTED. Animators are welcome to use this word as inspiration but incorporating the theme is not mandatory, and submissions will not be judged based on how closely they relate to it.

Entries will will be judged using the following scoring criteria:

• Quality of the animation skills.
• Clarity of the storytelling.
• Quality of the design.
• Quality of the overall film.

The competition opened for entries on 12th May 2025, and full details on how to get involved can be found at younganimator.uk. 

Key YAY UK dates for your diary:

• 12th May 2025: YAY UK competition opens for entries.
• 1st Sep 2025: Submission window closes.
• 1st Oct 2025: Shortlisted films and prizes announced on younganimator.uk. 
• 9th Nov 2025: Winners announced at MAF.

If you know any budding animation superstars this truly is their time to shine, so share the word far and wide with your fellow teachers, parents and friends today! 

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