Need portfolio feedback and/or general advice
polycounter lvl 11
I have been working on creating a portfolio so that I can start applying to jobs and Ive reached a stage where Id like some advice. From my own search on polycount, the average consensus for the amount of pieces in a portfolio has been 3 to 4 of my best pieces. This obviously assumes that the pieces in the portfolio are well targeted for the job and/or show diversity in artistic ability.
The thought of applying to a job is a bit intimidating for me. The question I find myself asking often is whether I am ready (in terms of work quality and quantity). I dont want to apply to jobs when I am not artistically ready, but I also dont want to avoid it when I am.
Would love to hear your thoughts, any advice is appreciated.
You can see my portfolio gallery here: http://leinadirabka.blogspot.com/
The thought of applying to a job is a bit intimidating for me. The question I find myself asking often is whether I am ready (in terms of work quality and quantity). I dont want to apply to jobs when I am not artistically ready, but I also dont want to avoid it when I am.
Would love to hear your thoughts, any advice is appreciated.
You can see my portfolio gallery here: http://leinadirabka.blogspot.com/
Replies
- You might want to put your name, website and some info onto the pieces itself, not as text next to images. If people like your arts, they will download images and then dunno who make them.
- 2D Gallery is quite weak. Remove it for now ?
- Get Resume in downloadable PDF file as well. If they like it, they can download your info and pass it along to hiring manager.
- LinkedIn ?
- Personally, I like clicking on a Project to see more images of it, but if you like putting all images on Homepage, that is quite fine as well.
- Oh, if you can, would be nice if each project has at least 1 beauty shot. Pose the characters you make. Anything, just not in a T-posed (or 45 degree arms down pose).
I went in and added a download link for my resume. I am currently in the process of changing all of the images so that they have my name and email in them.
Having my own domain doesn't seem necessary. Blogspot does everything that I want so far. It allows for an easy to use layout and provides most of the benefits of having my own site without the cost and hassle.
The 2d gallery is something I plan on strengthening, I'd like to hear more about this in particular. Hopefully I can get a few more people to input on this one. Should I remove all of the current work, or just some of the weaker pieces? While my 3d is a bit stronger I had previously thought they (the 2d gallery) would only help strengthen my artistic diversity.
I have a linkin, but I am still a bit new so I am not sure how useful it would be. I don't have any notable job experience, most people using it seem to have a lot of connections from previous professional work.
Yea, for my layout I wanted the least amount of clicks for viewing my images.
The beauty shots is a good idea, I'll look into it since I'd have to revisit some old files. It's either repose all of the characters or make a new one before the job hunt.
I think this post needs a bit of balance, so here is some current art to balance all of the text. This is my new character that I started working on. It's mainly for diversity since all of my other pieces are sculpted.
Still WIP, I'd love to get some more opinions on some improvements or some general advice.
The feathers around the beak & eyes should have a fuzzy look.
The lines separating the feathers on the back should be much subtler, possibly handled entirely in the normal map.
Unless this is a very young bird, the feet should be covered in feathers as well, leaving only the claws exposed.
On a more general note, it's always best to cull everything but your best work. You want to focus on showcasing quality, rather than quantity. I'd also recommend rendering within a real-time engine.
Domain name doesn't affect your blogspot or page layout. It's just what people type in the URL to see your site. It just adds a bit more professionalism to your site.
Like or
Instead of, I don't know, maybe Just an extreme exaggerated example, btw :P
or something xD
Put the troll first its the best. Then generics characters later.
Also what type of company are you looking at? mobile or next gen developer? I think you can secure something in the mobile scene. But for AAA you need a lot more detail in your models.
Everyone is talented here including you. The ones that rise above the rest practice until their hands bleed!
PyrZern: Yea, I agree. Eventually, once I get a bit more experience, Ill get my own site. For now I just want to work on producing better work.
Looprix:
I have spent the most time on the 3d aspect (modelling/sculpting), so thats where ideally Id like to get started. Ill most likely scrap the 2d painting section, add more concept work and focus painting 3d diffuse maps instead.
K, Ill move that guy to the top
As for the kind of company Id like to work at. It comes down to the employees working there. One thing that excites me about a studio is being surrounded by artists/people who I can then learn from and improve my overall abilities. Mobile and next gen development are both extremely exciting, Id probably lean more towards AAA. But like you have said, I need a bit more detail. After this owl Ill sculpt something with high detail to try to get a more well rounded gallery.
Thanks for all of your feedback, I agree polycount has amazingly talented people. I wouldnt be anywhere near where I am today without all of the help Ive received here so thank you and everyone else on polycount!
Also experiment and watch tutorials now and then so you can work smarter not harder. I mean do work hard too, ha!
This is more or less a generic feedback and not anything too specific.
The first thing you want to realize is that most Lead artist and HR people are viewing hundreds of websites looking for the one or two positions to fill. So you need to have your Best representation of your art on the page.
The key here is when potential employers look at your website they don't remember you by your awesome textures or that one awesome model, they remember you by your worst piece of work. I can't stress this enough having good quality pieces but a small number of them is much much better then having lots of trash with only a few good pieces.
I see you are trying to get a 3d character artist position, that is a great goal, but a super lofty and hard one to get. I suggest (take this as it is just a suggestion) that you shift gears to being a 3d artist focus on making props and objects like that pistol you are making (Found on your blog). Make hero items and throw them on the site. I say this because entering into the industry as a green character artist straight from school just does not happen. Not unless you are better then the average character artist that is currently employed. Keep on cracking as a 3d artist until you get your first gig, and then become friends with the character team and then learn from them then with the experience and one on one feedback then change your website to say 3d character artist not 3d artist.
I personally would AXE the animation tab. Your title says 3d character/generalist so I was looking for models not animation. I know 3d generalists do animate but where I work, they don't all that much and when they do, it is not characters. But if you want to be an animator and your heart is set on animating and making characters... have more examples of animation.
So I won't get into the characters because this is a portfolio crit and not an art crit, the only thing I would suggest here is don't render wire in Marmoset, it Tris everything and makes it hard to look at the poly flow. I CAN see that the polys are flowing the correct way in areas, but I took the time to look, while most employers will see that it is covered in black tris and scroll past it without giving it a second glance.
Lastly it is cool that you were a wrestler, and placed 1st place in martial art's comp, but unless those skills are directly related to the jobs you are applying for then I suggest you don't show them. I was in the military and did some stuff over seas and got some medals for what I did but I would not put that on my resume, only if I were applying to a military contractor who needs 3d artist for some reason would I place that on my resume. So little extra things like that won't really help you at all. So if they are not helping you cut it off.
looprix:
Ok, I wont scrap the 2d section
dand3d:
Ive made notes of all of your feedback, Ill make sure to do all of what you have said since I agree completely. Ive struggled with many of the points you have brought up. Ive had the same understanding in terms of the kind of positions available for entry level job seekers. That is why I originally started creating the gun, but then realized I wasnt having as much fun. One thing Ill most likely do is have more props with characters. I dont mind taking an extra year or so to get good enough if it means I can do what I love most.
Thank you guys, I really cant say it enough, I really appreciate all of your advice.
Take the troll for example, the HP model is very well done. I'm no master at anatomy and nor did I stare at it for long but it look good and it looked convincing. I feel the low poly model could really be pushed more by adding detail in Photoshop instead of just adding what looks like a basic poly paints and combining all the bakes. Some things I would consider
-Adding more details (can either sculpt it and bake it or texture it in photoshop)for the materials such as the skin, cloth, and the leather belt.
-Try using a cavity map to bump out the detail (you can also overlay a cavity map onto a normal map)
-You can also generate an AO map using ND02 and get an AO bake that holds much more detail information.
-Try hand painting in some more lighting information into the texture
-Some fun things to try is to bake out some zbrush matcaps and see if they help pop anything. It's also fun to play with more contrasting colors like blue and orange to really make it stand out.
-Usually the characters face is a high focal point, so I would try adding a little more 'bling' to his head. Maybe a nose ring or some face paint...something to give the character a bit of well...character. Give him some tools or some props that tell a small story. You could give him this bone fishing rod and maybe this strung together sack and at his feet there could be fish bones. It really helps give the character his own feel.
-You can try posing out and rendering a more action shot to show as your main picture, then follow up with the turnaround and wireframes.
-I would look up some free eat 3D tutorials or something on rendering in marmoset. I would go so far as to say to give your characters a little mini stand like an action figure to help put the character in somewhat of an environment.
-lastly the troll texture seems a little dark, I would try bumping up it's levels
I don't really think having your own domain is absolutely necessary. It's not like you would someone will look at your portfolio and think man if only he had his name in the url we would hire him. Focus on your work and getting your name out there first and foremost.
Thanks for all of the help guys! Hopefully my new texture on the goblin is an improvement.
This is the updated textured goblin:
This is the old version of the goblin:
Just my quick thoughts before I log off here