Local 800 has four main craft classifications: In addition, the ADG has recently included previs artists into their membership.

After World War II, many "below the line" industry labor organizations, including SMPAD, signed on with the IATSE for overall union representation.

Those artists had been pioneers in their field, responsible for devising and developing the methods used to create representational scenery unsurpassed anywhere in the world.

Television, at that time, was in effect an extension of live theater and required a lot of painted two-dimensional scenery instead of the three-dimensional sets used in film.

The ADG Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have been outstanding in the four crafts of the Art Directors Guild.

[11] The Academy Film Archive houses the Art Directors Guild Collection, which consists of recordings from events and fifteen interviews conducted in 2012 and 2014 with scenic artists in which they discuss their profession and projects.