Meet Our Instructors
Our roster of instructors is made up of successful VFX professionals, currently making their own marks across the games and animation industries.
Jason Keyser
Founder and CEO at VFX Apprentice
The visionary and chief pixel pusher of VFX Apprentice, Jason Keyser is a renowned FX artist, as well as a devoted VFX educator and student advocate. Jason has worked in entertainment as both a 2D FX and 3D VFX artist for 13 years, animating for the Powerpuff Girls, Arlo on Netflix, and multiple titles for Riot Games - including League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and several R&D projects.
While working full time at Riot, Jason created over 60 FX and VFX education videos on his YouTube channel, designed and taught courses for artists internally at Riot, mentored prospective FX artists, facilitated the VFX Bootcamp at GDC, and spoke at conferences to students and pros alike.
Jason ultimately left Riot to commit full time to VFX Apprentice, training and lifting up FX artists across the world.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts and Tradigital 2D FX)
Rubén Luna de San Macario (Rubfish/Rafles)
VFX Artist at @ShotOne
The VFX Artist with three+ cats.
Rubén or better known as Rubfish or Rafles is a VFX artist that loves to combine the 2D and 3D pipeline. Currently he is a Vfx Artist at Shot One and a few undisclosed projects. In the past he worked on professional projects like League of Legends, Ubisoft, Arcanium and Storybook Brawl.
Besides his professional carrier he likes to do sketch animations, Cat photos and his legendary asset packs.
Some of his favorite things are: Cats, animations, food and pink particles!
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
Kristy Doan
VFX Artist at Riot Games
Kristy is one of the most sparkling VFX artist of our time. If she can add sparkles, she will!
Inspired by the art style of the games and movies she watched with her brothers, Kristy started her career in TV and film VFX at the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education. After that she moved on to the Laguna college of art + design to get her bachelor degree, fully equipping her for everything to become a generalist VFX artist.
But Kristy's career fully started in 2020 after being selected for Google's scholarship for "Women in Games" and winning the Blizzard VFX art contest in the same year.
Since then she worked on a verity of projects, including League of Legends and Valorant at Riot Games.
Outside the office, Kristy loves to meet up for game jams and conventions. Also "Cute food is the best!"
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
David Shovlin
Senior VFX Artist at Riot Games
This guy can do it all!
Currently a Senior VFX Artist at Riot Games working on VALORANT and other R&D projects, David is a masterful expert in the art of concept painting, 3D VFX, and 2D FX alike. He brings over a decade of experience with him to VFX Apprentice. Over the course of his career, David has developed intimate knowledge of several animation tools and pipelines, eventually coming to specialize in Unreal Engine.
David is eager to share his artistic and technical skillset with VFX Apprentices, as well as a wealth of best practices in adaptability and discipline to apply to your craft development, no matter where you are in your career.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts, and Tradigital 2D FX)
Hadidjah Chamberlin
Lead VFX Artist at Moonshot Games
Hadidjah is committed to use their own career success to make the world of VFX more welcoming.
They are well known and loved in the VFX community for their skills and passion for mentorship.
They spent 4 years on Blizzard's Hearthstone where they played an integral part in building many VFX and the team itself, resulting in the title of Lead VFX Artist for one of the most iconic games in the world.
Currently heading up VFX for a new world at Moonshot Games, Hadidjah brings over a decade of experience as a generalist, tech artist, environment artist, and (got there eventually!) VFX artist.
Outside the office, they mentor VFX artists from underrepresented groups, and have given a number of presentations at GDC and other occasions to both professionals and students.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Alex Redfish
Senior VFX Artist at Riot Games
Our friend, our hero!
Alex brings to VFX Apprentice his experience and lessons learned from a varied career across game and film studios including his work for Sony Pictures on Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, Blizzard Entertainment, where he worked on Diablo IV, and Riot Games, where he is currently on Project L as a Senior VFX Artist. We wish we could fit the full extent here on this page. But it goes without saying: if you've ever collected a catalogue of top-tier 2D FX for reference, you almost certainly are familiar with his work.
Alex is known for stylized real-time VFX, and was eager to share his process for creating a variety of gorgeous FX. Because of Alex's deep studio experience, he shows us how to make versatile assets which are suitable for a variety of uses, whether for film or games.
Recorded timelapses for: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Milena Gonçalez
Senior 2D FX Artist
"Milena will illuminate any project to the same capacity that she will bring chaotic fun!"
Watching Disney classics like 101 Dalmatians and Lion King started her wish of becoming a 2D animator and lead her to her Bachelor's Degree at USP (Universidade de São Paulo). Milena only fell in love with the visual effects during her Master's degree at Savannah College of Art and Design at which she encountered the FX workflow for the first time. She then decided to follow her passion while everyone else in her class continued to pursue a career in character animation. Now she worked on TV series like Rick and Morty, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Cuphead Show, Agent Elvis and The Puffin Rock Movie for studios like Cartoon Saloon, Titmouse inc and Jam media animation.
Milena's interest in traditional animation intertwines with her love of the Fine Arts and capabilities of the CG world. This passion combined with her kind, optimistic (and sometimes chaotic) personality is the perfect fit for projects that reach and inspire family audiences worldwide.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
Ali Sorensen
Senior VFX Artist at Drifter
Chris Graf
Senior VFX Artist
Chris Graf is an FX Animator and Designer, Supervisor and is currently the 2D FX design lead at Marvel Studios after he left his job as Co-Department Head for JamFilled Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax. He has been animating FX in the industry for about 15 years and has worked in commercials, TV, film, games, and game cinematics for clients around the globe. Including Nickelodeon, Netflix, Disney, Marvel, and League of Legends to name a few.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Dan Elder
FX Supervisor
Currently the FX Supervisor at Jam Filled working on shows for Nickelodeon, Netflix, DC and Marvel. Dan brings VFX Apprentice over 15 years of professional experience in VFX. He has a broad range of experience in the animation industry, having worked on projects and commercial spots for Disney, Amazon, Facebook, Blizzard, Cartoon Network, and more. Dan also brings perspective gained in years of VFX leadership roles, as well as broad experience working across the full animation pipeline.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Ge Lush
VFX Artist at Tuatara
A top-notch artist & developer
As our resident Unity expert, Lush co-developed Booms & Blasts, the flagship course on VFX Apprentice. His teaching style is charismatic and dynamic. He makes the often overwhelming technical process of wrangling VFX much more approachable for students.
He brings with him a deep understanding of the VFX process, especially his expertise in translating a concept into something that works fantastically in-game. You’ll see some of his recent work in games such as Temtem and Godfall!
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Gabriel "Nibilli" Boileau
VFX Artist
Gabi is a staple in the VFX Apprentice community and the VFX community as a whole. Their welcoming kind way, gives everyone the confidence to tackle any task.
No matter if they show cool tricks in the hangouts or create full effects in just one follow along session. Gabi is always around to help.
After starting their carrier as a software engineer for three years, they found their passion in VFX.
Only one year later, they got hired by Virtuos Games working on Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition as a VFX/Tech Artist. Since then they worked at a variety of projects like Riot Games Valorant and others. Gabi is currently employed by Proletariat Inc, recently acquired by Activision Blizzard working on World of Warcraft.
Outside of their job they like to get together with friends in Tabletop RPGs or explore the world outdoors. They are also a huge fan of traditional animation.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Matthieu Petit
2D FX Artist
An artistically masterful mind
Over the past decade, Matthieu has honed his skills as a 2D FX artist across the games and animation industries. Having received impactful mentorship throughout his career, Matthieu is eager to share the knowledge he’s gained working on projects for Just Dance, Angry Birds, Raving Rabbids, Legends of Runeterra, Brawl Stars, and more!
He brings to VFX Apprentice his ability to animate complex shapes quickly. His years of top-tier production experience are obvious as you watch him work, whether he's animating an in-game effect, or a cinematic marvel.
Recorded timelapses for: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Julien Pingault
FX Artist
"This experience allowed me to deepen my mastery of frame by frame animation, to realize how much I loved the power of FX!"
For more than 13 years Julien has been perfecting his skills, from video games to illustration (Urban Rivals) and digital comics (Turbomedia).
In the last five years he was in charge of the entire game FX redesign for DOFUS at the French game studio Ankama.
Julien found his passion in 2D FX after sampling several different art disciplines in school. Since 2017, he has dedicated all of his free time to create tutorials and teaching the next generation of VFX artists.
Julien’s teaching philosophy focuses on covering professional skills they don’t teach you in school -- making him a perfect fit for the VFX Apprentice teaching philosophy.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Guillaume Degroote
FX Supervisor at Fortiche Production
Guillaume is well established in the 2D FX community as a leader and trend-setter. You're probably familiar with much of the visionary FX he has supervised at Fortiche Production, including Riot's "Arcane" animated series on Netflix.
Since 2005, Guillaume has been honing his skills as an FX designer, animator, and supervisor. He brings a rare perspective to the VFX Apprentice catalog of lessons, as he teaches from the perspective of a one-of-a-kind visionary.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Tom De Vis
Senior FX Artist
Once a remarkable VFX Apprentice himself, Tom now shares his masterful expertise gained from an incredible career in 2D FX.
After landing his first job as an FX animator on the popular Netflix series Arcane with Studio Fortiche. He quickly was hired by Enclume Animation as an FX2D supervisor for the feature Yuku et la fleur de l'Himalaya. He is currently at titmouse as an senior FX artist.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Sonia Firsova
Lead FX Artist
Character animation, concept art and effects, she truly can do it all!
Sonia was one of our earliest VFX Apprentice students and she quickly became a master and teacher of her craft.
After starting her career in Character animation, she transitioned into VFX easily.
Sonia quickly developed her skills in concept painting and 2D animation while she was with VFX Apprentice and it was only a matter of time before she became a true master in FX as well.
Now that she's creating awesome FX full time, she landed her first job as an Lead FX artist at Eleventh Hour Games.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Nicolas “Cool Cat VFX” Trevisan
VFX Artist
Always eager to learn and happy to help whenever he can.
Nicolas is a passionate artist that loves sharing knowledge.
After he graduated from a game art school, he started his career by creating a popular break down video for his stylized "Igni" fan art.
This unique entry in the industry got him hired by ATYPIQUE Studio to work on Noara : The Conspiracy as an VFX Artist. There Nicolas is creating cool looking spells and effects while helping to reshape the VFX Art Direction of the game.
But he never stopped to follow his true passion of sharing knowledge and teaching students. He is working with Pierrick Picaut, from P2 Design, as well as us at VFX Apprentice on educational content.
Outside of work, he’s a chill guy, usually reading books or hanging out with friends.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Josh McDonald
Senior VFX Artist
"I honestly just try to be a good and positive force in the games industry as much as I can"
Josh is a driven and passionate artist and mentor and his knowledge and communication skills make him the perfect team player in any situation! After starting his career in the games industry as an environment artist he moved into the VFX field later on. Now having worked in several different engines and styles, he has contributed his skills in modeling, concepts and VFX to studios like Amazon Games, The Amazing Society, The Pokémon Company Intl, U4iA Games, Holospark and Microsoft.
Outside of his studio work he found his calling in lifting up other artists around him and being a positive force for everyone he encounters!
Josh is a one man production army and we are so excited to have him teach us and our students!
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Kees Klop
Remote VFX Artist at Crema
Kees is not only an amazing VFX artist he also wears his community-given title "The Paintover Guy" with pride!
As so many of us, Kees started to explore 2D VFX during his degree for Game Art in College. Since there weren't a lot of courses on this topic available at the time, he took on the grind of a self taught artist. Over several years Kees was able to focus his learning path towards his dream of working on League of Legends and other Riot Games projects.
Although this dream never left him, he eventually started working on games such as Lethal League Blaze, Blightbound and Temtem, where he currently creates all kinds of effects for these magical creatures.
Alongside his work, he loves to give feedback on timing, shape language and color. His special love for the art of paint-over drawings got him a special title within our community: "The Paintover Guy"
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
Jason Chisolm
VFX Artist at Riot Games
In a league of his own
Jason has had a meteoric rise as a young VFX artist at Riot Games on the League of Legends champions team. Having started as a VFX intern at Riot, he quickly grew into a full-fledged developer meeting and exceeding expectations for this world-class game.
He was a key contributor in the development of some of our early assets, helping define the visual identity by patterning it after the way certain assets are built inside of League of Legends. Now hundreds of students have learned by studying his work up close!
Created assets for: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
Ryan Rosanky
Lead VFX Artist
Ryan is a “Black Belt” FX Artist.
He is a truly passionate 2D effects artist with a special love of action packed anime fight scenes with crazy effects... wonder why! (so obvious)
Ryan converted this passion into skill and worked in both the Game and TV Industry on projects at Flying Bark, Bioware, Phoenix Labs and is currently the Lead VFX Artist over at Airship Syndicate!
Besides being a talented FX artist specializing in frame-by-frame 2D effects he makes music for fun and hangs out with friends and family.
When watching him work you can feel his excitement with every brush stroke and we are equally excited to have him in our roster of amazing instructors!
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Mathew DeSanctis
Senior Mograph Artist at Riot Games
Making art that makes you go "oooooooh!"
Over the course of his 10+ years in gaming, Mathew has honed a distinctively clean and slick animation style, which has influenced the modern and cutting edge motion graphics sensibilities at Riot Games.
You’ll find his work throughout the League of Legends interface, where he helped define the creative direction and style development for hextech magic, the core of League’s visual identity.
Mathew brings to VFX Apprentice his expertise in interface motion design, interaction, behaviors, feedback, and celebrations -- all critical concepts to master for any VFX artist looking to work in games.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Maginpanic
2D FX Artist
“Working as a special effects artist is better than breathing” -Adrian Fijalek
Adrian (aka Maginpanic) is a passionate and talented FX artist specializing in frame-by-frame 2D effects. He has worked in animation and effects across many studios including: Flying Bark Productions where he did 2D FX for Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DHX Media, Boulder Media, Studio Pigeon, and more.
Having successfully worked as an independent FX artist for many years, Adrian has a real passion for lifting others up by sharing his knowledge (see his YouTube and Instagram). We are honored to have his fresh perspective on FX education at VFX Apprentice.
Teaches in: VFX-A All Access
(Tradigital 2D FX)
Luke Mason
Associate VFX Artist at Blizzard
Our star student gone pro!
Luke started with us at VFX Apprentice as a Teacher’s Assistant in the early days. In time he became a critical aide in launching Booms & Blasts, as he transitioned from student to contributor. Soon he was creating some of the core assets used in the Booms & Blasts lessons today!
After playing a critical role in the successful launch of VFX Apprentice, Luke moved on to join the Hearthstone team at Blizzard as an Associate VFX artist, where he enjoys making hand-crafted artistic wonders of magic!
Created assets for: VFX-A All Access
(Booms & Blasts)
