Featured Artist: Travis Rainford, Atlanta, GA, USA
Travis Rainford 2025
Travis Rainford, VFX Artist
Travis Rainford is a VFX artist from San Antonio, Texas, specializing in simulation, dynamic effects, and technical art. With expertise in procedural modeling, shading, and hard-surface modeling, he combines artistic and technical skills to create high-quality visuals.
A Master of Science in Visualization graduate from Texas A&M, he is eager to refine his craft and contribute to innovative projects.
What inspired you to pursue a career in 3D art and VFX?
When I was sixteen years old, I had to decide between art, theater, and home economics to fulfil a high school credit. Art seemed like the easiest option, so I signed up.
That class, and more importantly, that teacher forever altered my trajectory.
One art class turned into four. Four art classes turned into a major. A major turned into a career path.
Of course, back in high school, I wasn’t doing VFX. I was building 3D sculptures out of paper and plexiglass. In undergrad, I went into live-action film, but eventually I was drawn back to 3D art.
​
What led you to discover your passion for simulation in VFX and 3D art?
When I started learning VFX and 3D art, I was deep into a live-action film program. My friends and classmates knew nothing about the subject and weren’t particularly interested in learning. So, I was on my own.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to create something in 3D.
I ran through the jobs. I tried character modelling, rigging, animating, texturing… all of it. Eventually, I ended up at simulation and that stuck. I followed a 3ds Max tutorial to create a lightning portal, and I thought that was the coolest thing to ever happen on a computer. From there, I did some research. It turned out that 3ds Max was not the VFX giant it once was. So, I downloaded Houdini, invested in paid tutorials, and the rest is history.
​
What led you to discover your passion for simulation in VFX and 3D art?
I started learning VFX and 3D art via online content like paid tutorials and free YouTube videos.
​
Honestly, if I ever make it big, I’ll have to cut Steven Knipping a check because his Applied Houdini courses are what got me going.
Even with good tutorials, however, I was having a hard time moving forward on my own.
I applied to Texas A&M’s Visualization program and was accepted. There, I was surrounded by similar artists with a similar drive. I got involved with the right people, sneaked onto the right projects, and got better just by trying to keep up with the talent around me.
​
Could you describe an amazing experience?
In the summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to participate in TAMU’s Summer Industry Course, where I teamed up with six other artist to create Cluck’d Up. We also had industry professionals guiding us and leading dailies. This class was, at a minimum, a full-time job.
We were just students, but it felt like a studio environment. It felt good to be a part of that. I already called myself a VFX Artist for some time, but that summer was the first time I really felt like I was an actual VFX Artist.
​
Credits:
Travis Rainford - VFX, Simulation, Concept, Modeling, Look Development
And any flops?
It’s hard to list just one. I don’t learn in a clean and neat fashion. Usually, I must slam my head into a problem for a bit until I overcome it. For every good project I have, I have two to three disasters that will never see the light of day. That said, I’m getting better! It used to be five to six disasters for every success. Every failure teaches me what not to do the next time, and I am getting better at converting ideas into final renderings.
​
What has been the most special or interesting shot you've created?
I recently completed a little project called Flooding Passageway. Inspired by a similar shot in James Cameron’s Titanic, it is a dynamic shot driven by a wave of rushing water.
Simulation-wise, this is not a complex shot, just a fluid sim with whitewater. What was important to me was the timing and motion of the water relative to the camera. I carefully timed when my sources became active and placed colliders in ways that broke up the water.
This project was also a chance to push my lighting and composition skills. I played with lighting groups for the first time, which blew my mind a little bit. The lights were entirely animated in post, which was completely new to me.
​
Modeling was done in Maya. Texturing was done in Substance Painter. Layout, camera, simulation, and rendering were all done out of Houdini and Karma XPU. Comp, of course, was done in Nuke. I started 3D art in Maya, so I am loyal to it. We will see if Maya is loyal to me in the future. Painter has never failed me. Houdini was the obvious choice for not just simulations but rendering and layout as well. It is my favorite software, and the one that I spend most of my time on. I chose Nuke because I am dedicated to becoming a better compositor.
​
How did you discover GridMarkets, and can you share some insights about your experience using it?
In one of Steven Knipping’s tutorials, he brings up GridMarkets and shows how to use it for simulations and renders. I completely skipped over this segment when I first watched the tutorial. Why would I pay for renders when I have a computer right in front of me?
Fast forward five years later, I am no longer just rendering little three second clips of singular effects. I need to render Flooding Passageway, and I can’t afford to lock up my computer for a week. As I was searching for solutions, I remembered the segment from the tutorial.
Steven Knipping had yet to lead me astray, so why not?
​
I looked up the prices, optimized my render times, and gritted my teeth. I was prepared to spend a ton of money. It turns out, however, that GridMarkets has better GPUs than my 3070ti, and the times I calculated using my machine were nothing close to the times that I was getting out of the farm.
I was getting 144 frames out in ~30 minutes and for much cheaper than I originally thought. This meant I could afford to make mistakes and fix them as well. I was also able to add to the effect, rendering out separate specular layers and volumetric passes.
Any final thoughts you'd like to share? Are there any people who have inspired you along the way?
For the most part, I am inspired by my peers who are entering this industry with me. When I see them improve or hit a milestone, that motivates me to keep up. I want to continue to work with them on bigger and bigger projects, and I have to keep getting better to make that happen.
Shout out to Gus McClain, Anna Kenniston, Kathryn King, Lauren Enriquez, Willis Froestchel, and Nimi Parmar.
​
I am not able to give too much advice to too many people, since I am just starting my career. If an absolute beginner comes across this article, however, I would tell them that you need to create a lot of bad art before you get to the good art. Just power through.
​