Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A) was the company that basically created what we now know as computer animation and the modern VFX industry. Founded in 1971 and running until 1987, they pioneered motion-control photography animation, early CGI including ray-tracing and pre-vis, and a visual style in advertising that still influences the industry to this day.
Beyond that, many of the people who worked at the company later went on to create or work on the creation of some of the pillars of the current VFX and 3D animation industry, such as the VFX programs Autodesk Maya or Houdini, and seeded nearly every major VFX studio in Hollywood.
Had you even heard of them?
Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A) was the company that basically created what we now know as computer animation and the modern VFX industry. Founded in 1971 and running until 1987, they pioneered motion-control photography animation, early CGI including ray-tracing and pre-vis, and a visual style in advertising that still influences the industry to this day.
Beyond that, many of the people who worked at the company later went on to create or work on the creation of some of the pillars of the current VFX and 3D animation industry, such as the VFX programs Autodesk Maya or Houdini, and seeded nearly every major VFX studio in Hollywood.
Had you even heard of them?
