News Contents: Mathieu Raynault

2012-01-12

Mathieu Raynault

Mathieu Raynault, is a Canadian digital matte painter, concept artist, and VFX art director. He has been producing matte paintings and illustrations for over 15 years. He is well-known for his contributions on film productions like The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix series, Terminator Salvation, The Golden Compass, King Kong, Gangs of New York, and Star Wars saga; as well as many video games and print advertising projects.

In 2011, after five years at RODEO FX, the internationally-known VFX studio he co-founded in 2006, Mathieu launched his own creative studio in Montreal, Canada.

Early life and education

Mathieu graduated from the four-year professional program in Architecture Design at the Laval University Art & Architecture School (1996), as well as the National Animation and Design Center (NAD) in Montreal (1997). Once his studies were completed, he honed his craft on the high-definition TV series The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, as well as with Montreal-based FX houses Icestorm Digital and Tube Studios, creating 2D and 3D digital environments, and 3D animations for HDTV series, commercials and 3D rides.

A portfolio of his work on Jules Verne scored him an interview with Lucasfilm in San Francisco in 1999. That led to a staff position with the fabled Industrial Light + Magic studio, where he created matte paintings for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, among other feature films.