Jason van Gumster is an independent creative with a particular interest in open-source tools. Very nearly everything that he produces—stories, animations, designs, videos, podcasts—are made using free and open-source tools, from applications all the way down to his choice of operating system. Jason has run an animation studio, written all editions of Blender for Dummies, co-authored GIMP Bible and helped “fight bad guys with art” by designing anti-counterfeit technology for banknotes. Most recently, as director of special projects and marketing at Autotroph, Jason has been focused on expanding the use of Blender by artists, studios and toolmakers. He does all of this while living and traveling full-time with his family. When he’s not working on his own creative projects, he’s drinking coffee and trying to be awesome.