Inside the Journey of VFX Artist Travis Rainford: From Paper Sculptures to High-End Simulation

What happens when a student who casually picked “the easy class” in high school discovers a world where art, physics, and imagination collide? You get the unexpected and deeply inspiring journey of VFX artist Travis Rainford, whose path from paper sculptures to high-end simulations is anything but ordinary.

Today, Travis is a rising talent in dynamic effects, procedural modeling, and technical art, blending creativity with precision to build visuals that feel alive. His passion for simulation began with a lightning portal tutorial, but quickly evolved into a full commitment—one that led him to master Houdini, pursue a graduate degree in Visualization at Texas A&M, and push his work far beyond what a single computer could handle.

From Cluck’d Up to his cinematic Flooding Passageway shot, Travis continually seeks challenges that stretch his skills—and his hardware. In our interview, he opens up about the failures that shaped him, the breakthroughs that fueled him, and how GridMarkets helped him render complex sequences in minutes instead of days.

If you’ve ever wondered how a VFX artist finds their “thing,” or how raw persistence can transform a creative career, Travis’s story is one you won’t want to miss.

Read Travis's full story and explore his work: Interview