CGSociety

Finding talented artists
As Senior Art editor, Christopher Sloan is responsible for commissioning artwork which meets the requirements of National Geographic both in quality and the communication of information. Finding capable artists is simplified with communities such as CGNetworks. “I subscribed to the CGNetworks web site a year or two ago”, explains Sloan. “I use it to keep abreast of developments in 3D graphic software and to keep an eye out for new talent.”

EXPOSÉ 1
Beyond web sites such as CGNetworks, Sloan relies on submissions from artists and published collections such as Ballistic Publishing’s own EXPOSÉ 1: “I ordered a copy of EXPOSÉ 1 the first day I saw it advertised. For me it represented a unique resource for computer graphic talent. We get a lot of promotional art books here at National Geographic. They are filled with great art, but computer graphics artists are mixed in with artists using other media. Some of these books are three or more inches thick so it is quite a chore to find the computer artists in them, to say nothing of simply lifting them. EXPOSÉ was immediately attractive because it only contained computer art. Furthermore, the art in EXPOSÉ was selected for its quality, so I did not have to hunt for gems of good computer art amid mountains of bad computer art.”

CG in National Geographic
Since National Geographic is such an intensely visual publication, responsibilities are divided into several separate functions where an Art Director at a typical magazine might cover them all. According to Sloan: “There is a director in charge of photography, one for layout and design, one for art, and so on. As the Senior Editor for Art I manage a department of nine people who are responsible for what cannot be photographed. We’re the group that develops the artwork of prehistoric life, ancient civilizations, sunken ships, outer space, information graphics, etc. Anyone who has looked at the magazine knows that we emphasize photography, but between the photos there is often art. The percentage of artwork that is computer generated has been increasing steadily year after year. The reason for this is that the quality of computer graphics available for print purposes has been improving. I think this is happening because training programs for artists are maturing, the costs for software are coming down, and the power of computers in increasing.”

CG credibility
Christopher Sloan doesn’t believe that CG artists are less talented compared to traditional artists. “I think computer graphic artists are just as creative as other artists”, he explains, “but they’re working with a medium that happens to require a significant amount of technical ability and computing power. Traditional media such as oil painting can be fairly technical as well, but artists manage to be creative. I believe that as computers get faster and software improves, we’ll see more and more great art of all types from CG artists. The specific strength of CG illustration from National Geographic’s perspective is its flexibility. I am referring both to the ability we have to modify it with relative ease at various stages of a project and to its digital nature, which allows it to be used on a variety of platforms, such as in print or as animations for web sites and television. As far as CG illustration replacing ‘traditional’ media goes...who knows? My view is that CG tools will eventually replace traditional media, but I hope it doesn’t happen in my lifetime because I love the smell of oil paint. I expect that CG tools and software will behave more and more like traditional media as technology develops. I think traditional media will become the rock art of the future.”

Multi-purpose CG
The National Geographic Society crosses several different media with its magazine, cable channel, web sites and other publications. With CG assets, the opportunity is available to reuse graphics across its different media. “We’ve been experimenting with this and have done minor projects thus far”, explains Sloan. “ The pull-out poster on the history of flight in the December issue of National Geographic and its companion piece on the Magazine’s web site are good examples of a CG project that worked well in both print and interactive form. Larger projects are in the works. We recognize that there is a great potential for crossover CG projects at National Geographic since we have magazines, books, web sites, television, film, exhibits, branded products, education, and public outreach divisions.”

Getting into National Geographic
When looking for potential artists, Christopher Sloan looks to resources such as EXPOSÉ and CGNetworks: “I look for well-crafted creative artwork. What I value most is CG artwork that stands on its own merit without regard to the fact that it is computer-generated. I don’t profess to be a computer graphics expert by any means, but I know good artwork when I see it. Artists are welcome to send examples of their work to National Geographic. What works best for us are mailed printed samples or printouts. CDs are welcome as well, but viewing them may be delayed simply because no one has time to sit and look through CDs. Printed samples tend to get under our noses quickly and thus we can respond more efficiently. We cannot look at emailed images and web sites.”

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