Ray Harryhausen, the special effects pioneer who worked on classic films like "Mighty Joe Young" and "Jason and the Argonauts" passed away on Tuesday at the age of 92. Fans of science fiction and fantasy films owe much of today's advancement of digital cinema to Harryhausen.

The legendary effects wizard inspired many directors with his early movie magic, long before the use of CGI, or computer-generated imagery.

Harryhausen is perhaps most well-known for the skeleton battle scene from "Jason and the Argonauts." According to Entertainment Weekly, the sequence "revolutionized how actors could interact with stop-motion effects, a process Harryhausen called 'Dynamation.'"

Even animators that create CGI today utilize techniques developed by Harryhausen and the physical models he built to interact with actors on screen.

Famous sci-fi and fantasy film directors today have voiced their tributes to Harryhausen. George Lucas said that without Harryhausen, "there would likely have been no Star Wars."

Peter Jackson said that Lord of the Rings is his "Ray Harryhausen movie." Stephen Spielberg wrote, "Ray, your inspiration goes with us forever."

James Cameron, director of films like of "Avatar" and "The Terminator" added that "If not for Ray's contribution to the collective dreamscape, we wouldn't be who we are."

The New York Times' obituary for Harryhausen comments that his influence can be seen in a lot of modern-day animation, such as in the Disney Pixar movie "Monsters, Inc."