David Gould

With over thirteen years experience in the computer graphics industry, David Gould has pursued the dual paths of programmer and artist. This rare ability to combine both the technical and artistic has won him many awards and credits. He has played a key role in the development of an eclectic mix of technology, including an award-winning laser rendering system for Pangolin. He developed software for controlling the Kuper motion-control rig, as well as the Monkey stop-motion puppet. He personally developed Illustrate!, the market leading toon and technical illustration renderer used by NASA, British Aerospace, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, among others.

David's career has spanned a wide variety of companies and continents. In Paris, he supervised the production of 3D stereoscopic scientific films, including the award winning film, Inside the Cell. In London, he developed a patented facial animation system. Further broadening his experiences, he worked in New York in the postproduction industry, where he contributed to many high-profile commercials. While at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Los Angeles, David developed cutting-edge animation and modeling technology for use in the production of their animated feature films. He diversified further by joining Exluna, Berkeley, the software company founded by former Pixar rendering researchers, including Larry Gritz. While there, he played an active role in the design and development of Entropy, the Renderman-compatible renderer, as well as other products. David continued his rendering development efforts while at Nvidia, in Santa Clara, California, by aiding in the design of their future 3D graphics chips. He is the author of two acclaimed books on Maya programming Complete Maya Programming (Volume 1) and (Volume 2).

David has since joined WETA Digital in New Zealand. Having completed work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy he is currently working on King Kong. His varied roles in production, including research and development, shader writing, lighting, and CG effects, reflects his broad range of talents.

www.davidgould.com

"Lord of The Rings" Images, Courtesy of New Line Productions, Inc.
(Alias Web Site)

Weta - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Lord of the Rings, New Line Productions, Inc. Web site

David Gould - Programing Books

Q. How did you get involved in the 3D computer graphics industry?
A. While at highschool I was really inspired by Yoichiro Kawaguchi's films that portrayed strange metamorphosing creatures. The virtual worlds that Benoit Mandelbrot created with fractals really amazed me. My curiosity was piqued and knew that I just had to find out how they did it. I was a little disappointed to learn that it involved programming and a lot of mathematics. I'd skipped most of my math classes in favour of surfing and tennis.

Despite this, I was really keen on creating my own images so I enrolled in a Software Engineering undergraduate at Bond University. I specialized in computer graphics and artificial intelligence. I then went on to complete selective courses in the masters program. I now understood the programming and the mathematics but more than anything I wanted to create images.

I left for Paris and several months later found work at Digital Studio. With barely enough French to get by, I was thrown into the production of a very complex stereoscopic film about cell mitosis. From there I've continued to work as both an artist and programming around the globe.

Q. How do you use Maya software?
A. Maya is a very deep package with a lot of features, many of which I've not fully explored. Fortunately my job requires me to wear many hats so I've been able to use Maya in almost all the areas of my daily job. As an effects artist I work with the particle and dynamics systems. I also use Maya for the development of shaders. For my shots work I use Maya exclusively to setup the lighting and rendering of multiple passes. It is important to understand Maya's features so that large scenes can be edited efficiently.

Since I do a lot of research and development I use Maya to protoype new ideas. I use as many of Maya's scripts and nodes as it possible, though for specialized work I write custom scripts and plugins. Using Maya as an artist has definitely influenced my approach to programming Maya. I understand the workflow of the artist so always strive to create tools that dovetail easily into that workflow. This prevents artists having to mentally change gears as they use your custom tools.

Q. What projects have you worked on?
A. I've developed software that interfaces with some interesting devices including the Monkey stop-motion rig and Kuper motion-control rigs. The most artistic of these devices was the Pangolin system where 3D objects could be turned into vector graphics for a laser show that was projected onto 20-foot tall walls of water. I've also developed a patented facial animation system that is driven by motion captured human faces. I've developed my own toon renderer as well as worked on photorealistic renders such as Entropy. This was a great opportunity to work with some of the best computer graphics researchers in the world. It was both a humbling and personally rewarding time.

As an artist, I've previously worked on scientific films in Paris, post-production for commercials in New York, and hybrid 2D/3D animated films in Luxembourg. Most recently I've worked on King Kong and the last two Lord of the Rings films. My main contributions were doing research and development into effects tools for creating anything from cracking ground to flowing lava. I also developed custom techniques for Gollum's hair shadowing. My shader writing included creating realistic terrains as well as shading creatures. On King Kong I'm wearing as many hats but mainly focusing on the research and look development of Kong's fur.

Q. What makes this industry so exciting to you?
A. It's the public's relentless thirst for even more exciting visual effects that drives the industry. This creates a very dynamic and challenging work environment. No one can afford to rest on their laurels, instead you need to continually learn and improve both your knowledge and practical skills. I approach each day with both excitment and trepidation. The excitement is undertaking a challenging problem that hasn't been solved before. The trepidation comes from knowing that you'll have hardly any time in which to do it!

I'm particularly pleased that my job allows me an equal mix between artistic and technical endeavors. All too often in other jobs you get pigeon-holed. I've found that the computer graphics industry is more open and willing because there is no right or wrong approach. You are free and often encouraged to try new ideas and techniques.

Q. Where do you see the industry going in the next five years?
A. The industry will continue maturing and follow a similar pattern to other industries in that regard. There will be an ever-widening gap between small and large companies.

In the past the major cost for companies was their hardware and software. Now it is their staff. In an effort to reduce their staffing costs, many companies are beginning to outsource overseas. For low and medium budget productions this trend will strengthen even further. Computer graphics productions are being industrialized in much the same way as traditional 2D animation. As a result, mid-sized companies will find it much harder to survive. Their inability to cater to small or niche markets like smaller boutique companies will see them losing those jobs. At the same time they don't have the size to efficiently produce the ever-growing number of visual effects shots required for most feature films. The larger studios will certainly take these jobs.

The challenge for larger companies will be to create visual effects as efficiently as possible, at the same time pushing the envelope in terms of realism. At the top end it will be the companies that can produce the shots the fastest and cheapest that will survive. Many will see creating their own content as a means of escaping the typical service-oriented treadmill that they are now on. This will bring in additional revenue that will hopefully allow them to keep key staff during the lean periods.

It is an employer's market right now and this looks very likely to continue. The difficulty facing most artists in the new few years will be how to differentiate themselves from the rest. There are so many schools producing good students that can hit the ground running. In the past the key differentiator was experience. Back in the early 90's the entry level was quite low due to a lack of experienced people. This is no longer the case, which means that existing artists in smaller companies will need to continually update and diversify their skills to remain competitive. Artists working at higher-end facilities will be required to specialize even further as these companies will need to focus even more effort into producing large, complex, films for less money.

On the technology side there appears to be a consolidating of software packages. Products are maturing, evidenced by smaller and smaller updates. Hopefully this trend won't continue and more new and innovative products will be allowed to flourish.

Q. What words of wisdom do you have for anyone interested in entering the world of 3D computer graphics?
A. While the current trend is towards specialization I think it is important that you start with a solid foundation. This foundation is a good understanding of computer graphics concepts and principles. Learn mathematics and programming. It is easy for artists to be overwhelmed by the shear amount of material that needs to be learned. Don't be discouraged and remember that it takes many years to become proficient. Develop your craft at your own pace but most importantly don't ever stop learning. The more diverse your knowledge the better equipped you'll be to take more complex problems.

Most importantly, always question the status quo!