Adrian Smith, a famous artist in CG industry, pays great attention and support to Share One Planet competition. Invited by the Organizing Committee, he painted the poster artwork of Portrait Category for SOP. Yangtse Alligator, the endangered wild animal of China, is the character of Adrian’s artwork. He paints this animal’s appearance and its living environment with great patience and delicate skill, in the hope of call for people’s attention to the wild animals.

Poster artwork of Portrait Category of Share One Planet competition, by Adrian Smith

Next is the interview with Adrian, from SOP Organizing Committee:

1. With in all those endangered species which "Share One Planet" competition focuses on, why you picked Yangtze Alligator for your poster? And how the image takes shape in your mind?
The great reptiles of our rivers, jungles and forests have always appealed to me. The larger reptiles such as the 'Yangtse alligator' are very much kings of there species. Beautifully elegant as they cruise through the water and terrifyingly vicious when tackling its prey and then caring and tender when bringing up its young.

2. What are you trying to tell viewers through this poster?
Firstly I’m trying to convey the beauty of these animals while hinting at the life and lifestyle of these great lizards. Hopefully I’ve managed to put across a quiet moment in the day of a parent alligator.

3. In the poster we find unusual perspective. The adult alligator, the dragon head and the baby alligators locate in three distinctive levels. Why you apply such design?
My original plan was to have it so the first thing that attracted the viewers’ eye would be the young alligators in the foreground. This would show the hope that is still there for these endangered animals.
Then the eye would hopefully carry up to the half seen parent alligator showing the animal in its prime.
Lastly I wanted the old statue/carving to both show, firstly the passing of time and also to show that throughout the centuries these animals have been respected by the common man.
The rising water level is to show how we must be more careful in how we treat our shared environments.

4. In traditional fine art details comes from observing actual subjects in nature, in life. When it comes to fantasy arts, sometimes the artist is building something doesn't exist. How to achieve believable details in this instance?
I suppose my approach to fantasy art is to take something in reality and twist and stretch the idea in my mind and then put that onto paper. Then we have a object or scene or character that is strange and unearthly on first site but then we see similarities or hints of things in our real world. This helps sell the fantastical idea to the viewer. I suppose I have done the opposite with the 'Yangtse alligator' illustration as I have shown a placid scene with the alligator and young but then added the fantastical looking Chinese dragon statue/carving.

5. Is this poster your first creation with environmental protection theme? What's your idea of "eco-friendly"? For you what's the ideal living environment for human?
Ideally I think it would be best if we can live in harmony as much as possible. Use our great minds around the world to do more with cleaner energy. Take more care in where we build our homes and factories. Whatever us taken from the environment should be replaced or something added to environment in a positive way to balance out what we have taken in the first place.

About Adrian Smith: