[Portfolio] – Ognyan Zahariev, Environment artist

Ognyan

Hi guys! I am looking for critiques on what I have in my portfolio so far. More stuff is on the way and will be online soon but this is what I have for now - http://ozahariev.blogspot.com/

I am looking for job in the UK right now.

Thank you for your time and comments!

jocose

Your stuff looks great. Lighting on the scene with the arches is a bit washed out though IMO. Try pulling it into photoshop and adjusting the levels and see if you can get some darker darks in there.

PredatorGSR

Yea I second that, the work looks very solid, although I think your lighting is letting down your textures. They feel kinda bland.

On the store building, I'm not a big fan of the images of the interior, and the leaves seem to be only lined up on the edges in a way that feels very artificial.

The textures on the courtyard feel very flat as well, do you just have a diffuse texture? Not sure exactly why it doesn't look good, maybe the lighting.

SimonT

nice! really nice assets!

Illusive

really like the cloth on the cardinal! those details looks awesome.
don't really like the textures in the store windows though they look like they have different lightings and don't really look unique

frubes

the first three camera angles of your courtyard show the repetition on the roofing of those archways really badly. Also the window textures on the building are not working particularly well as they stand out and are noticeably repeated.

The steampunk pc is interesting, but again, the texture repetition on the wall is obvious. Also, tone down the bump on the wood in the camera angle which is closest to the floor as its looking too strong at the moment.

As an environments artist it would be good to see at least one more environment if possible to diversify your portfolio slightly.

All in all good job but i would work on the texture repetition and presentation in terms of camera angles and composition of your shots.

Keep it up

achillesian

i think a total redo on arch scene lighting is in order, as well as some adjusted or better lighting on the other building. Statues are amazing, everything else looks pretty par.

Mark Dygert

Some great work in there, I agree with the comments about the lighting it could use some work. Overall you've got some great stuff

My only real beef with the layout is that it seems very thrown together... almost as if you created a blogspot account and threw up some images... That's not necessarily bad since no one really cares about your layout unless it gets in the way or says the wrong thing about you.

Going with a default blogspot layout does seem a bit rushed and it's almost a subconscious recognition, "oh gawd incoming walls of text about crap". Even if that isn't the case and all you have are images, the layout sends that vibe, to me at least... can you tell I'm a little anti-blog?

Just be sure to keep in mind, your portfolio is not your blog and your blog isn't your portfolio and you'll be scored on your art and it won't get in the way too much.

If you have time and you can work on a simple gallery type page it will help.

disanski

Hey Ognyan. You really have some fantastic work in there. Love the cardinal cloth - really really nice job on this one.
I also think that you can spend just a bit more time on the presentation
good luck

Jeremy Lindstrom

also I really am digging your courtyard and all but I think it needs some kind of top or roof, I see lots of concrete ceilings and all from the ground but they look as if they are just empty above them with no top or roof. Looks good though. Everyone else has commented on the other stuff. And I'm not sure if it's just UDK's settings but the textures look a little muddy/blurry could be UDK downresing your textures.

If this was my piece I'd just throw another row of ledges up there like you have on the second story ledge. Just add another row of ledge up top to give it a little more pop.

Ognyan

Thank you very much for all the comments and detailed critiques guys! I find them really useful and I appreciate them!

I realize that there are some problems with the lighting and textures but I am currently working on a laptop and the display s far from perfect... I am going to correct these problems very soon as I have some access to normal monitors

@Vig - I intend to build a better website but it's just that I am currently concentrated on my portfolio content and I will do it the moment I get a spare minute or so

Thank you all again for the kind words and critiques! This will really help me improve my work!

Cheers

Oggy

Mark Dygert

Ognyan wrote: »

@Vig - I intend to build a better website but it's just that I am currently concentrated on my portfolio content and I will do it the moment I get a spare minute or so

That's the right way to do it! Keep at it!

Krynn72

You should upload your images to somewhere that gives more bandwidth. Right now only three are showing up for me, and if I click an image thats not showing up I just get a window with a Server Error message.

All I can really comment on is the statue in the courtyard and the propane tank since they're the only images showing up. I think you're relying too heavily on photos. Especially in the courtyard scene, everything is very obviously photo-overlays. I'd also recommend turning on anti-aliasing for in game captures, and really reworking the lighting to be much less ambient looking. The propane tank looks like its got a really low resolution texture on it, but it says its a 512. Maybe its the photos you used, or maybe a texture filter in your renderer?

Ognyan

Well, I didn't rely that much on photos really and I painted a lot of stuff using custom brushes and masks. I don't know wht the tank looks so low res maybe it needs more sharpening. And yes, Iobviously need to work on that lighting Thanks for your critiques!

whats_true

All your renders from UDK have the slightest blur to them. Throw it in Ps and give it a good sharpen.

Ognyan

whats_true - Thank you! I've noticed this too. I will sharpen it.

yiannisk

Hey i like your work a lot and although some the lighting is a bit on the too bright side on the scene with the arches and i would give a little bit more depth on the windows of the other building, your portfolio looks good enough.

Many amazing artists only have their portfolio on a simple blog or other simple page, and i agree with that notion as the website should not steal the limelight from your artwork. Also i hate all these flash presentations etc. take too much of my time.

Furthermore you wouldn't be hired for webdesign.

Which brings me to the following suggestion, we are not located in UK, but if you are looking for a job send me a message

cheers!

Ognyan

Thank you yiannisk! I appreciate it