Design First for 3D Artists by Geoffrey Kater.

Geoffrey Kater, who cut his 3D teeth on Silver Surfer, says in his book Design First for 3D Artists, “You’re going to learn to reach for the pencil before the keyboard.” And the first half of the book does have you pencil in hand doing pretty basic design exercises. The second half, however, jumps to doing a 3D animation project, and some cool inside the industry tips.

Kater, a graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, started his career as a traditional designer in automotive design, and has won two national industrial design competitions. He worked at JPL on the design of a Pluto spacecraft and has a spaceship design hanging at Griffith Observatory. He then went to DIC as a prop designer on Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego and, after many years, got to be lead spaceship designer on Silver Surfer. He has been a prop designer, production designer, 3D animator and an illustrator.

He now co-owns S4 Studios in Hollywood, designing for nearly every animation media there is, but he doesn’t claim this book will solve all your problems. He states, “This book is more of a starting point for those who want to get a glimpse of how design can improve their animation work.”

Be a Problem Solver
Kater maintains that the role of the designer within a production is as an aesthetic problem solver who is there to support the story. “Design and animation are two different disciplines that problem solve in two different ways, yet each have the same goal.” He proposes to teach you how to combine these roles.

The definition of design is broad and what constitutes good design depends a lot on personal taste, but there are underlying basic principles. Kater starts his book with some examples of wonderful design, and then tells you, “Anyone can do this because learning how to design can be taught… So turn your computer off and get your pencils sharpened and your paper stacked up. We’re going to do some drawing.”

Start with the Basics
He starts with the four basic shapes, shows you what different pencil thicknesses can do, gets into lighting and shadow, and then has you make a composition of these shapes. For perspective, he refers the reader to other books, saying it is too broad a subject to go into here. He emphasizes contrast, not only in shape and color, but movement and visual imagery. In talking about composition, he uses the opening scene in the first Star Wars movie (one of the most riveting opening shots ever) to illustrate focal points. Kater then goes on to discuss tension and directing the eye, what he calls “reading the flow” and tangents. All of his points are illustrated by his b&w drawings. Color plates are grouped together in the middle of the book.

From there Kater goes into a discussion of color and how it relates to focus, separation and other design elements. He explains warm and cool colors, as well as the values of gray and how these can be used in design. He discusses how a warm light will cast a cool shadow, adding that in most 3D packages you have to dial in the shadow color, even if the lighting is automatic.

Proportion is discussed next, including size, shape, volume, thin and thick lines, etc. Kater says, “It’s that contrast in size that makes subject matter interesting to look at or quirky.” A photograph comparing an adult model and a baby in the same poses illustrates this very well.

Why Do Wheels Have Five Spokes?
Then we get the question, “Even wonder why most car rims have an odd number of spokes?” Kater says that it is because asymmetry looks more interesting than symmetry, so use it in your designs. He then talks about the rule of thirds as it is used in cinematography to add interest to your design. He emphasizes the use of contour and the transitions between contours.

Kater stresses the development of a critical eye. “Over time you’ll start to notice what is good and bad design. This can only come from careful observation… “ He asks you to take a common object, such as a phone, and try to figure out why you like the design. Once you think you have a critical enough eye, re-watch your favorite movie and really dissect it. He asks that you pick out color, movement, composition, and environment to see why the cinematographer’s design was a good one.