About

Elemental Ray is a repository of knowledge for artists and developers using mental ray.  This blog will present the work and inspiration of professionals working in the fields of Animation and Visual Effects (VFX).  Contributors to Elemental Ray are working to provide more information to users based on production workflows so you can benefit from their experience as well as the knowledge of Nvidia’s Advanced Rendering Center (ARC).

David Hackett taught lighting and rendering at the college level for several years at Full Sail University before moving to Los Angeles to work on feature film and television. In the past few years David has worked at places such as Luma Pictures,Scanline VFX, and The Mill as well as others. David graduated with a Fine Art degree in Graphic Design concentrating on photography. He still misses the smell of stop bath. He now lives in the great frigid north, known as Detroit, as Senior 3D and Comp artist for RTT.

David’s work has appeared in 2012, Thor, X-Men First Class, Hereafter, and more.

Brenton Rayner currently works in Research & Development at The Mill, an animation, post-production, and visual effects studio.  Before The Mill, Brenton spent a year working at the NVIDIA Advanced Rendering Center, the makers of mental ray.  Brenton graduated from Dartmouth College in 2010 where he studied Physics and Digital Art.  He currently lives in Venice, CA.

If you would like to present a topic for learning mental ray on the blog, please contact us through this site.