RAINpit

interesting. it's true that mantra feels more robust than mray,
the only drawback to me is how convoluted things are with building shaders
in houdini vs the xsi render tree.
though i'm curious as to why you would go with mantra
and not arnold for heavy raytracing/gi work.
i'm sure you guys have used it at least for testing purposes,
since you use xsi almost exclusively for rigging/animation.
if nda's allow for at least a personal opinion…

very nice looking renders. the roses stand out.
also, u got me curious. how are you and the embassy guys
using houdini? i thought it was mostly for vfx work, but i see
ur pushing mantra all the way. r u planning to move towards
a more houdini centric pipe?

awesome stuff!
kudos for taking the time.