Hand Turkey Studios has teamed up with the visual effects training professionals at cmiVFX to announce professional grade training for the Blender community and visual effects artists at large.

Blender is the most reknowned open source 3D modeling and animation suite; a freely available tool capable of producing stunning still images and animations. This is the first release in a series of DVD’s that will become a definitive resource in professional Blender training. And we are starting with one of the most compelling and in-demand features: integrated fluid simulation.

Hand Turkey’s Jason van Gumster, an avid Blender user and active member of the community, walks you through the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of this very powerful tool; destroying cities, turning on faucets, and melting characters along the way. Blender’s fluid simulation uses the Lattice-Boltzmann Method, which is attractive due to its simplicity, flexibility, and efficiency. It can, however, be computationally and memory intensive, so we provide tips and tricks along the way to help your simulations bake faster.

About Blender
Blender is an Open Source 3D modeling and animation suite that was initially developed by Ton Roosendaal as an in-house tool for the Dutch animation company he co-founded, NeoGeo. A new company, Not a Number, was spun off to develop Blender as commercial software. Three years later, Not a Number was forced closed its doors. However, by that point, Blender had a huge, enthusiastic, and loyal user base. Ton formed the Blender Foundation in 2002 and struck a deal with investors of Not a Number: If the community could raise 100,000 Euro in 6 months, the Foundation could buy the rights to the Blender source and ultimately open source it. That money was raised in 7 weeks. Since then, Blender has been in the hands of the community and has grown in functionality and usability by leaps and bounds. And the story continues… Download blender for free.

For more information about cmiVFX and the best High-End, High-Def training, please visit their website at http://www.cmivfx.com.

Hand Turkey Studios will be offering a Training Workshop on the open source 3D modeling and animation suite, Blender in January of the new year. Details on the workshop are listed below:

Date: Friday, 12 January 2007
Time: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: The Work Factory (1113 West Main St., Richmond, VA 23220 - map)
Cost: $45, payable via Cash, Check or Credit Card via Paypal

If you’re interested in attending, please send an email to info {at} handturkeystudios(.)com.

We will cover the basics of using Blender; becoming familiar with its interface and creating a 3D model and a small animation. Copies of Blender for all modern computing platforms and all files used in the workshop will be made available on CD for course participants.

There is limited space available, so please confirm your attendance early.

We will have a very limited number of computers on hand, so if you have laptop, it is highly recommended that you bring it with you. If you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting us.

Richmond, Virginia - July 16, 2006 - Hand Turkey Studios today announced its participation in Red Hat High, a summer technology camp for rising eighth and ninth graders created and sponsored by Red Hat, Inc, the world’s leading provider of open source solutions to the enterprise. Running from July 9-15, the camp was free of cost to students and took place at the North Carolina State Centennial Campus and Red Hat’s world headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Students had the option of learning audio creation, video production, 3D modeling & animation, or web design using freely available open source software.

Among the companies that worked with Red Hat to bring this camp to life is Hand Turkey Studios, a Richmond-based animation and print design company. Co-owner and Lead Animator, Jason van Gumster (nicknamed ‘Groo’), taught the students in the 3D modeling & animation track.

“It’s really quite excellent,” said van Gumster. “Not only are the students able to create something really cool this week, but because they’re doing it with free software, they can work even more with their newly found tools and skills after the camp is over.”

Unfortunately, many groups are underrepresented in the technology fields today. Red Hat High was created by Red Hat to bring together 50 students for one week to experience the power of technology and creativity through collaboration. Technology innovation depends on joining people of diverse backgrounds with broad and valuable perspectives within a safe, creative environment. Eighth and ninth graders from a range of backgrounds were nominated by their educators and/or other adult mentors who believe they have a promising interest in technology for Red Hat High. To learn more, please visit: http://www.redhathigh.org.