One of the most inspiring digital art online communities is the CGSociety.org Society of Digital Artists. There you will find high quality artwork from professional and nonprofessionals in all genres of digital art. Although emphasis is on 3D digital art and topics from the film industry, the 2D artist can find much to keep them interested including matte painting, cartoon and character drawing in several styles. The feature of the site that I enjoy the most is the gallery, where you can freely view high quality artwork posted by CGSociety members. The gallery is divided into four categories: 2D, 3D, animation and post artwork. I keep the gallery bookmarked and visit on my coffee breaks.

CGSociety membership comes in two forms. The free membership requires only registration and you get access to the forums, more articles and your own CGSociety portfolio. Your portfolio is a great way to participate in the community and show your best work to the world. The free membership includes storage for five images in your portfolio. The second option is an annual paid membership which includes discounts on training materials, software and partner discounts. You also get an unlimited portfolio.

Besides the gallery, the site has other features including exclusive articles, product reviews, featured artists, events and contests, reader projects and some great tutorials. The online store has 3D models, software, textures, books and training DVDs. Sign up for the CGSociety newsletter for the latest updates and promotions.

One nice feature is the CGJobs job board where job seekers and employers can match digital art jobs in venues including games, graphics and animation. Your CGPortfolio can be integrated with your job application allowing potential employers to view your portfolio and application together. Other features of the job board include filtered searches, job alerts and one-click applications. You also can store multiple resumes and cover letters to better target your applications to a specific job or venue.

CGSociety has some great online workshops taught by well known professional digital artists who work in the various fields of computer art. Most courses are eight weeks long and come in both video and text formats. Weekly assignments help the students to apply newly acquired knowledge to real world projects and students get help from the instructor and fellow students in the dedicated forum. Most workshop courses are for 3D digital art but you will also find some for matte painting, composition, color theory, lighting, film visual effects, photorealistic textures and more.