Meet the People Behind morivendralis

Our small but passionate team brings decades of combined experience from major game studios, indie projects, and cutting-edge research in real-time lighting technology.

Zara Thornwick

Lead Lighting Designer & Founder

After spending seven years at Ubisoft working on lighting systems for Far Cry and Watch Dogs, Zara noticed something troubling. Most 3D artists were struggling with lighting fundamentals, not because they lacked creativity, but because traditional education focused too heavily on modeling and texturing while treating lighting as an afterthought.

She started morivendralis in 2019 with a simple goal: teach lighting the way it's actually used in production. Her approach combines technical precision with artistic intuition, helping students understand not just how to place lights, but why certain choices create emotional impact. Zara's background includes work on over 15 shipped titles and a master's degree in Computer Graphics from RMIT University.

Our Collective Expertise

What makes our teaching approach different is the breadth of real-world experience we bring. We've worked across indie studios, AAA productions, and everything in between.

Production Lighting Systems

We've built and optimized lighting pipelines for games ranging from intimate indie experiences to massive open-world titles. This means we understand the performance constraints and artistic demands you'll face in real projects, not just theoretical scenarios.

Advanced Texture Integration

Our team has developed texture workflows that work seamlessly with complex lighting setups. We focus on teaching the relationship between surface properties and light behavior, something often overlooked in traditional courses but crucial for professional work.

Cross-Engine Knowledge

Between us, we've shipped projects in Unreal Engine, Unity, and proprietary engines. This diverse background helps us teach principles that transfer across tools, rather than getting stuck in software-specific techniques that become obsolete.

Educational Innovation

We're constantly refining our teaching methods based on how our students actually learn. Our approach emphasizes hands-on problem solving and real critique sessions, mimicking the collaborative environment you'll find in professional studios.

How morivendralis Came to Be

What started as informal mentoring sessions for junior artists has grown into a comprehensive educational platform. Here's how we got here, and where we're headed next.

2019

First Workshops

Zara began running weekend workshops at local Melbourne co-working spaces, teaching lighting fundamentals to small groups of aspiring game artists.

2021

Online Platform Launch

The pandemic pushed us online, but it turned out to be a blessing. We reached students across Australia and New Zealand who couldn't access quality 3D lighting education locally.

2023

Industry Partnerships

We established formal relationships with several Australian game studios, creating a direct pathway for our graduates to find internships and entry-level positions.

2025

Advanced Curriculum

This year we're launching our most comprehensive program yet, covering real-time ray tracing, procedural lighting systems, and advanced shader integration techniques.