CGA

Synonyms:	Digital Art
See also:	Photomanip
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CGA (Computer Generated Art) is a term used in K/S fandom, primarily in the letterzine The K/S Press, to describe photo montages, photo manips, and other art done with computers using photos of the actors. Computer generated art and CGA (sometimes short for computer generated animation) were also common terms in non-fandom contexts, though the meaning was broader (all digital art) or different (digital animation).

First Known

The first known photomanip in a media zine was in a K/S zine, 1994 in T'hy'la. From Dribbling Scribbling Women: The History of Our Art:

Kathy also printed the first CGA to be published in K/S fandom. She tells us, “I published several CGAs in T’hy’la 15 (May 1994) to accompany Amanda W’s story ‘The Kiss.’ The CGAs were created by her husband, DJW. I do not know the name of the photo manipulation program he used, but it was the first time I encountered this concept. I visited her during this time and her husband demonstrated the program to me. I was fascinated by what he was able to achieve, and even more so, by the implications of what similar programs would be able to accomplish in the future. I recognized right away that this was a new art form. I knew immediately I wanted to print work of this type as well as traditional hand artwork.

Examples of Use

2004

There are two art pieces inside the zine as well. One is computer generated art by Helen and one art piece is by CAZ. (I'm not sure whether this is CGA or a watercolor painting to be honest).

2007

Here’s an artistically presented CGA that really shows some of what you can do with the medium. It seems simple enough, a pic of a nude man reclining on a black sheet of some sort. But there’s just small glimpse of the face of the man, and we know from that, that this is Spock.

But we also know from the body type that it’s him. This is so crucial in doing CGA, picking the right body type, and of course that’s just the beginning. The pose needs to speak the character as well, the angle of the head must be just right.... CGA artists have their own set of problems to deal with in creating a good composition.

Her CGA’s in my opinion add the extra scenes just as a good writer fills in the missing scenes in each episode.