Mrs Rachel Mills

Qualifications:

PGCE (PCET) UWE, BA Hons Visual Communication, Glasgow School of Art

Position:

senior lecturer in animation.

Department:

ACE - Film and Journalism

Telephone:

+441173281451

Email:

Rachel3.Mills@uwe.ac.uk

About me

Rachel Mills is a part-time Senior Lecturer in Animation at UWE Bristol, an animation producer and the founder of Buttercup Learning. Her work brings together animation, illustration, nature education and inclusive approaches to learning.

Rachel teaches across the BA and MA Animation programmes, with a particular focus on production management, professional practice, creative enterprise and project development. She supports students in planning and managing productions, developing their professional identity and preparing for careers in the creative industries. Her teaching interests include sustainable animation production and accessible approaches to creative education.

Rachel has more than 15 years’ experience in animation production, spanning children’s and adult television, web series and e-learning content. She has freelanced for studios including Aardman and worked with commercial clients across the South West.

Rachel joined UWE in 2006 as a short course instructor teaching Flash Animation before transitioning to an academic role within the animation team. She has since developed live briefs and collaborations with studios, the BBC, national charities and university partners, helping students gain experience of professional production and client relationships. She enjoys collaborating with teams across disciplines, both within UWE and with external partners.

Rachel founded Buttercup Learning in 2019. During its early development, she secured a place on the NatWest Back Her Business pre-incubation programme, supported by SETsquared Bristol, and received mentoring until November 2020.

Through Buttercup Learning, Rachel has developed a prototype for a UK-first non-fiction augmented reality children’s book and phonics scheme. The project brought together UWE alumni from creative disciplines, scientists and early years advisers to explore new approaches to children’s learning. Her augmented reality work has received recognition from Theo Paphitis, the Creative Industries Council, Green Tech Southwest, Startups magazine and TechRound. Buttercup Learning was also named among Hyer’s Top 50 Impact emerging companies in the UK.

Her current work at Buttercup centres on writing, research and nature education, creating resources to help children and families explore British wildlife and seasonal change. Through Nature Curious, she develops seasonal activity boxes and digital packs combining nature observation, simple science, illustration and creative activities. Designed for families and home educators, these resources emphasise minimal preparation, sensory-friendly activities and flexible participation, including for neurodivergent children.

Working with independent illustrators, Rachel places importance on accurate representations of British species and supporting creative practitioners. Buttercup Learning has also provided environmental animation projects as live briefs for UWE students, connecting their creative practice with nature education and conservation.

Rachel is currently writing Seasons of Play, a month-by-month guide to the British year for families, bringing together nature activities, seasonal crafts, folklore and wildlife observation.

Her research interests include virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality storytelling, rapid prototyping, and the development of technologies for moving images. Her wider interests include environmental storytelling, nature-based learning and the role of visual communication in making information accessible and engaging.

Rachel previously led UWE’s BA Animation programme and served as Associate Head of Department, overseeing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across Animation, Illustration, Graphic Design, Fashion and Interior Design. She studied BA (Hons) Visual Communication at the Glasgow School of Art, specialising in Illustration and Animation.

Area of expertise

Adobe animate animation and animated series production management

Publications

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