"Jason Hopkins helps students, independent filmmakers, and online content creators turn animated ideas into finished, professional-quality projects for college prep extracurriculars, grad programs, and professional clients alike. He specializes in guiding artists through the entire animation production pipeline—from concept, story, and visual development through modeling, rigging, lighting, rendering, compositing, and final delivery—using workflows tailored for solo creators and small teams.

With over 25 years of teaching and mentorship experience, Jason has helped students place work into film festivals, undergraduate and graduate programs, and professional production environments. His instruction blends strong foundational principles with practical, real-world methods, empowering creators to work efficiently without sacrificing craft or originality.

Jason integrates industry-standard tools such as Photoshop, After Effects, and Autodesk Maya with emerging production technologies, including AI-assisted short-form filmmaking using Pika, ElevenLabs, Suno, and ChatGPT, as well as Formlabs resin 3D printing for jewelry and product prototyping in PreForm. His approach combines classical animation sensibility with modern, flexible pipelines designed for today’s digital platforms.

His professional background includes award-winning independent films, medical and scientific animation, and commercial work for major brands including McDonald’s, Hotels.com, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Hershey’s, and Gillette. He has worked at Anzovin Animation, Noodlesoup Productions on The Venture Bros., and Calabash Animation, serving as lead rigger and animator at Studio One in Chicago on the Effie Award–winning Hotels.com “Smart” campaign.

Jason holds a BA in Fine Arts from Amherst College and a BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He offers instruction, mentorship, and production consulting for creators who want to master animation workflows and bring meaningful projects to life." less...