Jason van Gumster got into animation when he realized that he wanted to create movies… but that actors are generally intolerant of having pianos dropped on them. Using open source tools at nearly every step in production, Jason has produced animations and visual effects for television, film, and video games in his official capacity as a “Production Monkey” for Hand Turkey Studios, the company he helped start in 2005.

Jason is most active in the Blender community and wrote Blender For Dummies, published in February of 2009. He has given numerous live workshops and demonstrations on Blender internationally and his Advanced Blender Fluids training DVD from cmiVFX is well-recognized as one of the best learning resources for Blender’s integrated fluid simulator. In January of 2008, Jason worked with the Blender Foundation to assemble the Blender Certification Review Board and lead the launch of the Blender Foundation Certified Trainer (BFCT) program.

He continues to use open source program in each new project and pushes their limits by doing crazy things like producing a 4 to 7-minute animated short in a mere 48 hours. Based in Richmond, Virginia, Jason can often be found in cafés and diners drawing, espousing the virtues of open source software, or catching confused looks from strangers as he contorts his body to better visualize a scene he’s animating.