[Portfolio] Sarah Taylor
Hey everyone!
So i just setup a portfolio (its far from finished, still very WIP) but i wanted to get an idea of what people thought about the general layout
http://sarahtaylor3d.weebly.com/index.html
Now please understand before you crit, that there is no real art yet and that is not my main concern at this early point (yes i understand art is the point of a portfolio). I am focusing on the best layout/format right now as having read a decent amount of other portfolio crits, functionality is very important.
I do have some questions as well.
1. I know it is bad to have to many subsections, but i am curious if i should add for eg, a link on each prop to another page with the textures/breakdowns? Or similarly when i put environments up, if there should be another page linking from that with the assets and props that are in the scene.
I am aware of to many pages being bad, but if its all on one page, how long can the page be before its annoying? Peoples thoughts on this would be awesome.
2. Do you guys prefer pictures down the page one after the other, or a slideshow type presentation?
3. Is there anything that bugs you/You don't like about my site, if so, what should be changed/done better?
4. I have a small amount of other work, including 2d and character art. That isnt what i want to do though. Is it worth showing at all (just the best out of it) or should i just leave it out? I have a feeling i should leave it out and just fill my portfolio with environments as soon as i get a chance, but should the other stuff be in there till then?
5. Are you mad at me for showing a portfolio with no real art yet
Thanks so much in advance for any input!
UPDATED:
Stuff to add
- Art (duh)
- Flythroughs of my new environment
- Resume downloads as doc and pdf
New stuff to add/change (based on feedback)
- Consolidate all text to be the same font
- Reduce size of the header gradient
Issues to investigate
- Some people are having an issue with the background flashing. Any info regarding that would be appreciated. (eg: browser type, device you looked at it on etc.)
Changelog
13/6/2012 - Portfolio created, basic placeholders and contact details added
18/6/2012 - Investigating an issue with flashy background for some people
- Changed layout to be one page for now. You will be able to access wireframe/texture sheets etc by clicking on the beauty render soon
8/11/2012 - Added latest school project, still more to add there including a flythrough and gameplay.
- Recomplied my prop assets to include lowpoly/texture sheets in a more eye pleasing format.
- Changed format of the website slightly
So i just setup a portfolio (its far from finished, still very WIP) but i wanted to get an idea of what people thought about the general layout
http://sarahtaylor3d.weebly.com/index.html
Now please understand before you crit, that there is no real art yet and that is not my main concern at this early point (yes i understand art is the point of a portfolio). I am focusing on the best layout/format right now as having read a decent amount of other portfolio crits, functionality is very important.
I do have some questions as well.
1. I know it is bad to have to many subsections, but i am curious if i should add for eg, a link on each prop to another page with the textures/breakdowns? Or similarly when i put environments up, if there should be another page linking from that with the assets and props that are in the scene.
I am aware of to many pages being bad, but if its all on one page, how long can the page be before its annoying? Peoples thoughts on this would be awesome.
2. Do you guys prefer pictures down the page one after the other, or a slideshow type presentation?
3. Is there anything that bugs you/You don't like about my site, if so, what should be changed/done better?
4. I have a small amount of other work, including 2d and character art. That isnt what i want to do though. Is it worth showing at all (just the best out of it) or should i just leave it out? I have a feeling i should leave it out and just fill my portfolio with environments as soon as i get a chance, but should the other stuff be in there till then?
5. Are you mad at me for showing a portfolio with no real art yet
Thanks so much in advance for any input!
UPDATED:
Stuff to add
- Art (duh)
- Flythroughs of my new environment
- Resume downloads as doc and pdf
New stuff to add/change (based on feedback)
- Consolidate all text to be the same font
- Reduce size of the header gradient
Issues to investigate
- Some people are having an issue with the background flashing. Any info regarding that would be appreciated. (eg: browser type, device you looked at it on etc.)
Changelog
13/6/2012 - Portfolio created, basic placeholders and contact details added
18/6/2012 - Investigating an issue with flashy background for some people
- Changed layout to be one page for now. You will be able to access wireframe/texture sheets etc by clicking on the beauty render soon
8/11/2012 - Added latest school project, still more to add there including a flythrough and gameplay.
- Recomplied my prop assets to include lowpoly/texture sheets in a more eye pleasing format.
- Changed format of the website slightly
Replies
So basically what I have on my site. Just images and videos to scroll down and look at. Anyway only show work that is important regarding your role. So don't even bother with the 2D stuff unless it's important like say a game design idea that puts your thoughts across.
Basically it's best to "Kill your darlings" which if you dont know means only choose your top work and kill the rest, even if it hurts.
Regarding your blog, not that I am one to talk but try your best to keep it updated with your workflow and stuff. Some employers look at blogs to get an idea of the person behind the designs and also to see how they created their work. I should really do that as well, I've fallen behind heh.
In the end a nice website helps but even a white background with a long row of pics is better than nothing. Concentrate on your work if you can.
Also, i would resize all your beauty shots to have the same size, it's disturbing to have a website with undefined width.
And i have a sort of bug with your background pattern : it seems to flicker, only when i'm at the top of your website. You should remove it and pay more attention to your work than to your presentation and small details.
Look at polycount, flat colors and very clean layout, that's all. And that works well to highlight the works of artists there.
@ Habboi - I'll make sure to keep my blog updated as much as possible :P
@ -Em- I also prefer the darker layout. Im assuming by pattern you mean the darker strip over the title area. I cant see any problems with flickering on my browser, which browser are you using?
I'll make sure to change all the images to be the same size
I normally like a little bit of organization when i personally look at portfolios but it looks like the general consensus is no sub pages. I do really like Tor's layout, i will think on this more.
Thanks again everyone
I personally liked a different colours at the header at the top, thought it looked nice, but people seem to dislike it? Compared to what Ive seen i thought that it was rather minimal aswell, but i appreciate the input.
I'll put my images on one page for now, i agree that's a much better idea until i have more work. I think i'll take more of a Tor Flick design element, people seem to like it better.
@ Perna, What do you mean by site font exactly? The default font for the site im guessing? I'll definetly try to make the font over everything the same!
Edit: Ok so it looks like i need to edit the HTML to remove the header colours. I'll figure out how to do that later. Not a code person
The work you show is good, but could be even better.
Keep it simple. Put images, or thumbnails a lot on one page, but show enough that piques interest, or show the whole thing.
Realize that art directors and recruiters will have to sift through hundreds of these and as they do so they just want to get straight to the artwork.
Some small amount of design skill is necessary, but your artwork will speak for itself.
Also keep in mind that you should only put stuff on portfolio that represents you and your current skill. Try not to put school work or unfinished work on there.
What is even more impressive is if you have whole environments full of assets rather than one piece at a time. I personally like to see how everything fits together, from the color palette choices, to the design aesthetics. Good luck!
You could also show your wireframes and textures flats to show you are making things efficiently.
@Vert - Im finishing my last year of school right now. my final project is to create an environment in UDK. I am working on my portfolio and personal stuff at the moment, once it reaches a level im happy with the art side of it will be filled up.
I want to get a variety of enviros done to show i can do a large variety of things. When the time comes for artwork, i'll definitely be getting advice and crits on polycount.
@ Garriol - I agree, i hadn't thought about different browsers and mobile devices etc when i first set it up. Thats definetly something i need to look into. I have no idea why my page has a flashy background for some people. I'll need to figure that out.
As i said before, i have plans for environments. I definitely want to have screens for the whole environment and then it broken down with the smaller props.
@ Ceebee - It would be great if anyone experiencing these issues would let me know what browser/device there using! I get the fact its not working for ya, but your not really doing anything to help me figure out why
@ Crumb - Thats on purpose. Im still finishing school right now and ive been debating moving countries. I wasn't sure if i should state that until id figured it out.
I'll remember do some wires and and show flats when i get some more works up!
Thanks everyone. Appreciate the idea and thoughts. If anyone has any idea why a weebly website would be flashing to some people but not others, let me know
You know what makes something pop? Contrast. If you don't have that contrast in the image, then get it in the framing device.
See flicks portfolio there, with the white background? Crazy that he'd frame everything in black. And for every example like flicks there is an equal and opposite example of a black background working just as well with very similar images as long as you keep contrast in mind.
With that out of the way ...
I realize that Weebly is a CMS, but have you considered using a content management system installed to a personal address? Wordpress, squarespace or, my favorite, indexhibit?
If you haven't, you might.
- The URL could just be your name, which is a bit more professional and personalized than a .weebly address.
- They don't any coding to get up and running.
- With minimal coding you can get a very nice, very personalized site.
- They are easy to add content too without having to spell out the HTML.
- They're already optimized for use with mobile browsers and multiple desktop browsers.
- They have good support and communities.
- Also, and I find this one particularly helpful, they allow you access to statistics about who is coming to your site from where, and what pages they visit when they're there, so you know what people are interested in when they visit. For instance I quickly learned that nobody was checking my 'other works', or 'non-cg' links, and I managed to cut back on a couple other areas too, I also uploaded more 'anatomy' because that's the second link most people would go too after my front page.
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Just another option.
@ Ysalex - I had not actually heard of any of those sites you mentioned.
I do know that you can remove the .weebly from your bar if you upgrade the account. Most websites like that have paid options to make the sites more professional, which was something i was considering once i finish school. I picked weebly because its fairly intuitive, and easy to setup, has a nice little inbuilt blog feature which i wanted to have, (and is also a criteria for my school assignement to document and learn a topic of our choice then create tutorials all posted on a blog.)
I would prefer to stick with weebly for now, unless i cannot figure out the flashy background issue people are experiencing, but i will note those options down for later investigation thank you!
I would like feedback on which of Perna's images their post you liked the most, dark or light BG
Personally I like the lighter better. Your pieces are a bit underlit, so in the dark images the black kind of bleeds into the models.
Beyond that I'm just partial to lighter websites. Friendlier, more professional, easier on the eyes, and clean. I know some people think it's boring, since 90% of all websites are white or <10% gray, but I think that's for a reason.
If you want to go darker, consider relighting your images to show off more spec around the edges, so that you get a nice crisp contrast against the void.
Updated to have all the art on one page. Each is clickable to see texture sheets. This stuff will be replaced when i get some new work up, working on my final project for school right now and we're in the planning/blockout stage so there isnt anything new for a little bit.
I am learning sub-d modelling in my own time right now, So hopefully when i get new objects up there will be high poly > low poly and wires > texture sheets etc for each object to fill the site out. My final year project will be my first properly done environment, so im putting all my time into making that awesome and learning UDK for it as well.
Any crits on the actual props i have right now is also appreciated. I am not happy with my barrel at all, it was my first attempt at wood and im going to make a better one soon. I am fairly happy with the other two, though my canister feels like it is a little, grainy?
Bedtime. Love all the feedback, thanks again guys!
Let me use your own logic here: There's a reason why pretty much all image viewers, website lightbox viewers, 3d editing software and image editing software use dark/black backgrounds. Have you ever seen an image viewer that defaults to a light background, ever, in the history of space, time and dinosaurs?
Just looking through my own toolbar, I screenshot' and used photoshop to figure some of this out, other is eyeballing:
Maya - Gradient blue, 20% dark top, 80% dark near bottom, 60% dark midline.
Max - Grey, 50% dark.
Mudbox - Grey, 30% dark.
Photoshop - White and grey checker
Illustrator - White
Silo - Gray, 20% dark.
Marmoset - Default 40% dark.
Photocentric websites (sites that are at least partially dependant on images, excluding google and bing), alexa rank between top 1 and top 60
Facebook - White
Amazon - White
Tumblr - Mid blue - 50% dark
Flickr - White
Xhampster - Dark, a porn site apparently.
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I think my own logic stands. You comment about viewers and the theater are a little strange in this context, since they don't exactly turn the lights down to tell you where to look, but so that the projector doesn't have to compete against the glare of the lighting. Online viewers/lightboxes are similar in that the objective is to highlight a single image -- that's why viewers don't scroll horizontally. But this is a horizontal loading page, not exactly the same thing. Still, I get the point you were trying to make, I just don't think it's as salient as you believe.
And if you read my post above, you'll note that I said it has to do with the image framing and contrast, so I'm not advocating white backgrounds for all, just for those people who can make it work.
Your own very light website makes it work very well, actually, using the black frame as a contrast device.
Anyways, I wasn't really fond of the condescending tones in your post, but I'm trying to look past them because you otherwise have said valuable stuff. She asked us for our opinions and I gave mine, so need for the hostile overtone.
I will test a variety of things and pick which one i like the most, since there seems to be a fairly equal 50/50 on light or dark background. Then i can adjust my images and image background to give the best effect.
The gas canister uses a 1024 texture which is completely over the top unless it's the size of a player. The normal map has one line on it which seems like a bit of a waste, if that's all the detail you're going to have there you might as well model that in since the extra triangles it would take to add it would probably be cheaper than an extra 1024 texture.
Don't have "Coming Soon" images on your portfolio, just makes it look unfinished.
The text on your images is slightly blurry.
Personally I don't find anything wrong with your colour choices as it is right now
First, I acknowledged the background colors of all the software in my toolbar as they were, and I had no problem with the fact that they are all basically neutral.
You though went into Maya and grabbed the darkest screen you could find (which happened to be the hypergraph), ignoring the main modeling background. I find that kind of disingenuous, among other things.
Second, you excluded any website that didn't make your point despite the fact that all those sites I grabbed I grabbed simply because they are image centric, since it has nothing to do with art.
Third, you disregarded my point about lightbox viewers, just so that you could try to make it seem as though that sites I found aided your argument, which they do not.
To make it easy on you:
Online viewers/lightboxes are similar in that the objective is to highlight a single image -- that's why viewers don't scroll horizontally. But this is a horizontal loading page
In Facebook, and in flickr, both sites array their images against white backgrounds.
So no offense, but for a guy who takes the pains to keep mentioning that he's 'subjectively fond of white, but objectively knows better', it sure comes off as odd that the only tools you have to argue is by a.)skewing actual facts that anyone can look at, b.) ignoring the arguments that you don't want to hear, and, c.)ignoring any data that does not support your argument.
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I'm gonna turn this thread back over to Sarah, since you and I aren't getting anywhere. I love your website by the way, you guys have some great work on there.
Looks awfully like this one by PhilipK...
Plenty of people most their models from tutorials on eat3d or 3dmotive and put em on their portfolios when there starting out. Not much different.
I am currently working on artwork right now and giving the website a rest till i have more things to put on it. Thanks for the help so far everyone.
Id still love to know whos getting the flashing on my website and what browsers there using!
Any more comments are appreciated!