Portfolio feedback

Maxilator

Hey, I made one of these threads before but by now it is outdated and bloated so I thought it might be best to make a new one, I'd like to hear what you think about my portfolio, all feedback is welcome! 

https://maxilator.artstation.com/

defragger

hey,

well, in essence your work is great.
From a technical point of view everything is done properly as far as I can tell. You acquired the mechanical skills ....
but your work is lacking some kind of WOW effect. Every image I look at I´m getting the feeling its either not finished or it was done quickly.

Maybe create something from a really cool concept. Or take the gothic-armor and make some worn textures for it or give him some badass cape and a crossbow for example. Arrange him in a really cool pose with some amazing lighting.

Have a look at these for example and you will understand whats missing from your folio:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/eDa43
The first comment on this one is "F*cking cool!"
That is exactly what you want. And this isnt even textured at all. Its just a clay rendering.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/v0Rr3

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EZzbN
You dont need a whole environment to make a character look cool. This concept for example has some sort of story going on.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4P3o2

Maxilator

@defragger Thanks for the feedback, you bring up some really great points! It's probably worth creating pieces with more "flair" as you say and posing is something I've not experimented with too much before since I've only done smaller pieces and not whole armor sets like my newer work.

Maxilator

Any other feedback? Is there anything you feel I should remove?

ZacD

I agree with @defragger that the biggest issue is presentation and wow factor. Almost everything looks like a Marmoset screen grab of a generic prop. You have enough medieval assets, you could start putting together some sort of scene or interesting image with them in it. Grounding your armor sets would help a lot as well, look at the polycount recaps to see how people present their work in visually interesting ways. 

Your medieval building looks way too much like the buildings from the Modular Mount And Blade guide
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/ModularMountAndBlade 
You don't want anything that looks like it was made directly from a tutorial or guide like that. That includes the concrete pillar. 

Maxilator

@ZacD Yes, while making the modular buildings I followed that tutorial quite closely, the pillar however I did without any tutorial or anything like that so I don't know what you are referring to there. I'll have a look at those recaps, it's evident that my presentation needs a lot of work, I was thinking of doing some presentation scenes that I could have my models pose on.
I have had a, maybe misguided, way of thinking of my presentation where I want to show the model without obscuring it in poses and effects, so that the viewer can judge it based more on the model and less on the presentation. But based on your feedback I should have a kind of presentation shot with a lot of wow factor and maybe show the model in a more neutral way in the latter images?

Thanks for your feedback!

ZacD

There's 2 pretty popular pillar tutorials, https://youtube.com/watch?v=yKpmxBXbS4U and https://youtube.com/watch?v=SFVFa3U2W8E 

Yours doesn't look like it was straight from one of those tutorials, but it's similar enough that my first assumption was it was based off one of those. 

A portfolio needs to be able to catch someones eye in the first 5 seconds. And with thumbnail images, that's going to happen with good composition, strong shapes/silhouettes, and good use of color. The following images can be the break downs that show the models without anything getting in the way. 

Maxilator

Aight, I tried to make a kind of scene for my presentations, I didn't make a cooler pose yet nor make the textures dirty, but I hope this is a step in the right direction. 

Does anyone have any tips on how to pose charactes without skeletons? This one but i'd be interested to hear other ways of doing it in a more practical fashion (i've thought about putting the low poly into zbrush and pose it with masking but i've not tried it yet).

Cheers! 

pmiller001

The zbrush rigging is SUPER easy, but I prefer doing it in another 3d package. (Modo in my case!). Usually I end up just rigging the whole thing. 

Stosh

I can't say too much about the posing methods, although once you get a better handle on that with whatever method you choose, I'd recommend relaxing his elbows a bit by bringing them closer to his body.

Besides that, when you put a character or model into a scene, you want them working together as a whole piece. With that in mind, if you're putting the knight into this muddy environment, he needs mud spots, stains, splashes, etc. around his armor. It doesn't have to be everywhere, but at least hint it on his lower legs and feet. 

Finally, adjust your camera's focal point and depth of field focus. It's a nice effect for the background, but his elbow pointing at the viewer is blurred and it's jarring to at least me, not sure if others get the same feel. It's mainly that the elbow closest is blurred and elbow farthest clearer, whereas the leg closest is clear and the leg farthest blurred. It's a mixed message to me. 

Hope that helps 

Maxilator

@stosh As I said I've not yet adjusted the pose nor the textures, but i'll keep the points about depth of field in mind.

Stosh

Maxilator said:

@stosh As I said I've not yet adjusted the pose nor the textures, but i'll keep the points about depth of field in mind.

That's my bad, I didn't see the top sentence above the picture. Anyway, good luck 

Maxilator

Aight, tried doing a bit of reposing now, how is this?

I did this one first but didn't really feel it after looking at it for a while.

Dan Powell

I don't really like the blur in the sword on pose 1. I think it ruins the nice clean feel of the sword a bit

2 feels a bit awkward in my opinion - probably the weakest? 

I think pose 3 is nice, but needs a to be a bit more dynamic. Make him lean forward slightly with his knee slightly bent, as if he's squaring off with someone?


If you're struggling for poses just google something like "knights fighting" and get some reference. I immediately found this picture which is pretty dynamic!

Maxilator

@Dan Powell
Hey thanks for the reply, I don't really find myself agreeing with you that the last one would be the best, but it's all subjective, and yeah, the near blur i forgot to turn off for that image.

I adjusted the pose a bit more it looks like this now, it's based on the "pflug" or plow stance with some modification.

I also did this pose, based on "Alber" or fool stance once again with some modification. I think I like this one the best.

Dan Powell

Yeah they're looking much better =D! Nice job

Tomtegubbe

I think these four stand out as not as great looking as the other stuff you've got on display, I think it doesn't matter so much the amount of stuff you have in your portfolio, if you've made a hundred models it would be enough to post the three best ones imo. To post the lesser good looking ones might be distracting and not a great idea.
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/skeleton-statue (The skeleton anatomy isn't perfect)
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/the-knecht-kriegsmesser (The sword looks a bit cheap)
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/syringe-kit (The specular highlight is too strong and the objects aren't very impressive.)
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/cruelty (The face isn't quite anatomy correct.)

On the other hand I think these look much better:
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/gothic-armor
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/rapier-3
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/fantasy-gauntlet
https://maxilator.artstation.com/portfolio/dad-s-ol-rifle-3dbdc81e-071c-4dd6-ba9b-5e841e6faf78

Really great stuff.

Meloncov

That knight's shiny armor looks really out of place in a muddy puddle. I'd either dirty up the armor or put him somewhere cleaner.

Maxilator

Meloncov said:

That knight's shiny armor looks really out of place in a muddy puddle. I'd either dirty up the armor or put him somewhere cleaner.

Yes as I've said before I'll do that once I get around to it.

@Tomtegubbe
Thanks for your feedback, while I don't agree that such a low number as 4 would be enough for a portfolio, look at the works portfolio of Tor Frick or some other semi famous artist for example they have a lot of stuff in theirs, I do think you're right on the money when it comes to removing some of the stuff that is weaker, thanks for your feedback! 

Maxilator

Textures adjusted to fit the scene, what do you think?

defragger

You are going in the right direction. But he is still standing there like "oh no, I might have accidentally injured someone with me sword". He looks so paralysed.

This might sound rude, but you have to ask yourself, do you want to work in games or in historical reenactment?

make it as cool as possible!

ZacD

Here's a good video about poses for characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmLkVtqjf1A

The main thing is the silhouette could be strong/read better. The hands are getting a bit lost, and it's not reading as threatening as it could be. 

defragger

Maxilator said:

@Tomtegubbe
Thanks for your feedback, while I don't agree that such a low number as 4 would be enough for a portfolio, look at the works portfolio of Tor Frick or some other semi famous artist for example they have a lot of stuff in theirs, ...

no he is right. Portfolio should always be quality over quantity. Tor Frick has worked on so many amazing projects that he can show both quality and quantity but that doesnt mean its necessary nor something for you to aim for right now.

Maxilator

@defragger
While I find it a pretty rude comment, it takes quite a lot to rustle my jimmies. You seem to disregard how many ways a game can be and judge it like every game should be Bayonetta or something, a game with a more realistic slant is not invalid because it doesn't tickle your fancy, it's like someone saying you should put a bunch of spikes on the stuff in your portfolio because they like mad max.
And I don't disagree with your comment about portfolio length, my point was that using an arbitrary number of 4 as the max amount of items is irrelevant as long as it is cohesive in quality, not to say a portfolio can't be bloated.

@ZacD
Thanks, yeah, I can see that now, I'll try to adjust it to get a better silhouette, I would guess adjusting the arms a bit is the main thing, both for the silhouette and the hands?

defragger

@Maxilator
true. Then please tell us where your heading with your portfolio or what you want to achieve with it. The Diablo shot of course is completely exaggerated. But even the most realistic game has to advertise somehow.

Maxilator

defragger said:

@Maxilator
true. Then please tell us where your heading with your portfolio or what you want to achieve with it. The Diablo shot of course is completely exaggerated. But even the most realistic game has to advertise somehow.

Well, I wish to display my work in an appealing way, the work I've done the last couple of months has a realistic historical aesthetic so I'm trying to find a way to show my work that still stays true to what it is.

Maxilator

Aight, redid it again trying to keep in mind the feedback and that video.

RobeOmega

My feedback is not about the pose itself or the cohesiveness between the muddy environment, but instead about the armour itself.

Currently your armour looks like it was made recently (or only just started to come into use.) Armour when used usually acquires dents and has dents fixed throughout its use. Additionally it can (if hit heavily) get longer dents as seen in the second image below.