 He worked with Tom Tjaarda (designer of the De Tomaso Pantera) at Dimensione Design in Italy (1985–1986), and then worked with Industrial Light & Magic, modeling Klingon ships for "".He worked with designer Ron Holland for three months (1986–1987), which led to Barnett's apprenticeship with Jon Bannenberg for nearly seven years beginning in 1987.Barnett later said of his style that, in his career, "if there was one man who influenced me most, it would certainly have to be the late Jon Bannenberg."