h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello Dmitri, thanks for the link to André Castaigne's site! I gave it a quick look, will give it a longer look when I have time, it inspires me to work harder at my own sketching and painting.

Great, Willem. I thought he was worth a look.

Hi I took a more thorough look now. Love those cowboys dancing with each other heh heh! I wonder what *did* they do? Anyways ... they don't make them like they used to (illustrators I mean ... but cowboys too maybe, who knows). To think in those days, books or magazines pretty much had to have illustrators. It is incredible but even just a couple of decades ago there were many magazines that had more actual painted and drawn illustrations than photos (I have some here as proof). Now ... it's photographs and even photoshopped photographs. But illustrators can *still* find work. But I still find those old-timers to have *something* that I'm just not seeing any more ... or at least not very often. There's more to an illustrating than just 'verisimilitude'. There's an unquantifiable aesthetic element. When I look at some of my old books ... old magazines also ... there's a gorgeousness to the art, that just doesn't seem to happen much any more. I am *still* trying to achieve this in my own art. There is still much that the gifted illustrator can give to the world. The right kind of illustration to a book ... whether it be historical fact, or fantasy, or didactic science ... reveals the beauty to the reader and makes him *want* to read, to immerse himself in the story or the information or whatever. At least ... that is how it was with me. But I think it's still the case. When I look on the 'net ... good pictures on a website still have the power to attract views. I am obnly hoping that my paintings here also encourage a person here and there to keep reading The Post and to keep visiting h2g2!

I know yours do that for , Willem. Which is why I tell the Edited Guide that they can't have them *first*.

But you're right - those are amazing illustrations, because they do what you say: draw the reader in, and add to the text.

They give you a sense of time and place, as well, I think.

Thanks Dmitri I will try and do my part. I'll see about some more Guide Entries as well, using the pictures after the Post had its shot!

It is incredible to think that sports magazines once had to do with paintings or drawings rather than photos. And what a challenge it must have been to the illustrators. And they rose to that challenge!

I wonder how many h2g2-ers can read the Greek writing there. I can thanks to having studied physics!

Hey, see, science is good for something!

I used to tell my students they'd find it easier to read Greek if they belonged to fraternities - in the US, fraternities and sororities have Greek letters as names, such as Kappa Kappa Delta...so they learn their Greek alphabet.

Good point. I hadn't thought about it, but making a sporting event seem exciting with a good illustration must have been a challenge. Angles, expressions, the right moment...you'd have to know the sport, as well, like this one with the fencing.