Recent graduate modeling portfolio in need of feedback.

reereen

Hello, I am a recent college graduate trying to get a portfolio that is acceptable to send to companies in my application. I've been applying to positions over the last couple of weeks, but haven't heard back from most of the places and I have no idea why this is the case, so I'm trying to get some feedback to see what I can work on to improve my portfolio.

If there is any works that I can improve on or any presentation advice you can give to me, please elaborate as much as possible so I can learn from it.

This is what I have so far:
http://www.aureenchowdhury.com

Here is a turnaround reel. Going to switch it out as I add more to it:
https://vimeo.com/221857799

JordanN

I'm using Chrome web browser and right clicking is disabled on your site. That's not good for trying to save images or try and view them larger. I would fix that immediately. This is because if any potential employer looks at your site and might like something, they'll want to save your art on their computer. Also include contact information and your name on all portfolio pieces to assist with that. 

I'll be brutally honest when I say this. I like that you chose to work on very distinctive and original art pieces, but I can also see why it's incredibly hard to get work with them. You're going to have to adopt a style that's actually closer to a studio you want to work for if you want a chance at replying.

Since stylized/hand painted seems to be your interest, why not create new art pieces based on cartoons in the industry? Especially since you're in California! There are a lot of opportunities to work on cartoons there!

If you don't want to main cartoons, I would suggest heavily improving your realistic art. I would suggest working on more complex hardsurface props than a knife. Look into modeling a car engine, a train, the inside of a camera or a Tank. 

For presentation purposes, also try and improve your lighting. Both your gun and cookies show that better than just the plain knife that's lit with only lightsource.

Other things I would suggest:

-It's easier to narrow down your portfolio into a specialty. So if you do character art, it should mostly be just characters. If you want to do an environments/props, you need to only show those. Trying to do both while still being at College level puts you into a "jack of all trades master of none". 

-You can also work on your sculpting. Don't put sculpts in your portfolio that look like they were made in 5 minutes. It's good you're learning Zbrush but you need stronger pieces. Especially for character art, you need something that shows you really know how to sculpt amazing anatomy and complex detail that you can keep up with in an actual work environment.

-You have a lot of 2D pieces. 2D is a good thing to have but when seeking a job, you need to keep it to a minimum that are really really good and shows you have a strong understanding of the fundamentals. Focus on 3 good drawings/painting if you have to. Don't just put down sketches or anything that looks whipped up in a few minutes. 

-Demo reel should reflect your best art. Make it 30-60 seconds in length showing 3-5 environments or characters. It also needs to show complex breakdowns. Wiresframes, textures, post processing and composition etc.

Competition for jobs in either TV or Game Industry is intense. Follow professional artists who are currently employed at a studio and study their work. Aim to create all your art at their level and then apply. 

Laughing_Bun

I think you have a classic case of quantity over quality. Its a struggle for everyone (myself included) Especially when you are trying to build out an appealing portfolio the first time around. Browse artstation and find some portfolios of young industry people and see how you stack up.

The zremesher geometry is honestly a turn off to most game developers. Its a useful tool for sure but it doesn't indicate that you have an adeptness in a game pipeline. It comes off as easy and almost avoiding the tedious but essential work.

on a similar note your portfolio is sort of monotone in terms of showing similar workflows and styles. The style seems to be more targeted towards animated films but your work is stuck in the middle somewhere.

Browse linkedin, job sites, art station and ask yourself these questions:
What do companies really need/Current trends?
What you want to do?
Is there overlap?
are you displaying those skills?

Your work is far from bad but you will have a lot of hard work ahead, Good Luck!!!!