[Portfolio] – Dan Tyler - Character Modeller

MephistonX

Mephworks.co.uk

Just rebuilt my portfolio because ive finished uni and need to start applying for jobs

also going to use this as a wip dump for some smaller props that i plan on adding later

so any comments/advice would be appreciated

cheers
Dan

megalmn2000

I would take off the Transformers (car), it's not the same quality as the others.
Also, take out the Dino Dave from the drawing section, since it's 3D and not a drawing.
Your header doesn't work, probable a HTML error. Write this down if you want people to send you a message with a e-mail editor:
<a href="mailto:mephistonld@hotmail.com">Your e-mail text</a>
Otherwise, the site is easy to use, which is good.

Tenchi

I like the website layout, clear and good access. It clearly says you are a character modeler so I would leave out environment work, especially as it's not as strong as your character work.

your 'drawings' gallery has Dino Dave from your characters section next to an 'under construction' sign. Should that be there?

Maph

Yes, leave out the environment work.
Also, those little grey boxes under the character thumbs; show a little preview on there. I didn't even know I could click on them until I accidently hovered over it and saw my cursor change.

The work itself still needs a lot of work. Your anatomy is quite lacking and so are your texturing skills, but practice makes perfect!

LRoy

Yeah I definitely did not notice what the boxes do. You should just put the wires and maps in with the rest of it when you click on the character.

Rick_D

why do i have to click back to view more images from the same asset, why can't it all be on one page? this prevents me from opening stuff in a new tab, and also from linking people to specific pieces easily.
why do the images load in a window that isn't big enough for them and makes everything look blurry, and then i have to click to enlarge them?
if you have to have annoying popup windows why can't i cycle through the images associated with a single asset, why must i close them?
why does the position of the background jump around when i change from charatcers to environments to drawings to about?

the about page is a huge ramble and has a duplicated paragraph, also nobody wants to know your life story and they definately don't care about a grinning mugshot.
you need to have the list of thigns you worked on up front, follow it with your skillset, then end with a nice punchy couple of sentences stating why a studio should hire you over all the other people applying.

also the grey text on a grey baxkgroudn really does nothing to sell you.
also make it easy for people to email you, and don't have a phone number that is embedded in an image. you think your average HR person wants to type out a phone number becaus eyou wanted to have something flashy at the top of the screen?

the rule of thumb for a portfolio is that you make it possible for your potential employer to see everything you have with as few clicks as possible, and your website needs have simple and obvious navigation. the more clicking someone has to do the worse you are presenting yourself.

MephistonX

megalmn2000 wrote: »

I would take off the Transformers (car), it's not the same quality as the others.
Also, take out the Dino Dave from the drawing section, since it's 3D and not a drawing.
Your header doesn't work, probable a HTML error. Write this down if you want people to send you a message with a e-mail editor:
<a href="mailto:mephistonld@hotmail.com">Your e-mail text</a>
Otherwise, the site is easy to use, which is good.

Cheers for the code! I’ve now put that in and changed it, the dino Dave thing is just a placeholder so I can grab the lytebox code from it - and the reason I have the transformer there is it’s my only real example of sub-d work - should I make something new to show I have those skills or keep it?

Tenchi wrote: »

I like the website layout, clear and good access. It clearly says you are a character modeler so I would leave out environment work, especially as it's not as strong as your character work.

your 'drawings' gallery has Dino Dave from your characters section next to an 'under construction' sign. Should that be there?

Cheers, that’s what I was aiming for - does taking out the environment work not limit my employment prospects though? - But it seems to be a popular idea

yes I need to finish off that section - that’s just me being lazy

Maph wrote: »

Yes, leave out the environment work.
Also, those little grey boxes under the character thumbs; show a little preview on there. I didn't even know I could click on them until I accidently hovered over it and saw my cursor change.

The work itself still needs a lot of work. Your anatomy is quite lacking and so are your texturing skills, but practice makes perfect!

It seems leaving out the env work is a popular idea so definitely something to consider

I thought the boxes were pretty good, I had little preview pics on my old site and it just took forever to load so I thought this would be better - would it be a better idea to put a P for picture or something on each box - like the vimeo one? Or should I just put a lil blurb saying what the boxes are?

Yep, I accept I definitely need some more practice, so I’m hoping this portfolio is a framework to put future improved pieces into.

LRoy wrote: »

Yeah I definitely did not notice what the boxes do. You should just put the wires and maps in with the rest of it when you click on the character.

That’s fair - do you mean make giant pictures with everything or change the boxes to small thumbs?

Rick_D wrote: »

why do i have to click back to view more images from the same asset, why can't it all be on one page? this prevents me from opening stuff in a new tab, and also from linking people to specific pieces easily.
why do the images load in a window that isn't big enough for them and makes everything look blurry, and then i have to click to enlarge them?
if you have to have annoying popup windows why can't i cycle through the images associated with a single asset, why must i close them?
why does the position of the background jump around when i change from charatcers to environments to drawings to about?

the about page is a huge ramble and has a duplicated paragraph, also nobody wants to know your life story and they definately don't care about a grinning mugshot.
you need to have the list of thigns you worked on up front, follow it with your skillset, then end with a nice punchy couple of sentences stating why a studio should hire you over all the other people applying.

also the grey text on a grey baxkgroudn really does nothing to sell you.
also make it easy for people to email you, and don't have a phone number that is embedded in an image. you think your average HR person wants to type out a phone number becaus eyou wanted to have something flashy at the top of the screen?

the rule of thumb for a portfolio is that you make it possible for your potential employer to see everything you have with as few clicks as possible, and your website needs have simple and obvious navigation. the more clicking someone has to do the worse you are presenting yourself.

ok - you can view all the images in the lytebox's, some are using lyteframes so that I can embed vimeo clips - which causes the resizing problem, but u can still click next and previous at the bottom of the window or use the arrow keys. I don’t know why the background jumps around, it hasn’t for me though I’ve only tested it in Mozilla

I’ve spotted the duplicate paragraph and changed it - and I agree with the mug shot and I will get rid - ill definitely try re-organising it into that layout - I’m not sure what to do with the grey text, I thought it worked with the style and was easy to read - what would you suggest? - I’ve fixed the head e-mail issue thanks to a bit of code from meglmn - ill section off the phone number and attempt to make that into a Skype link or something

my old site was literally one page with loads of thumbnails as you have suggested and it took ages to load - I thought this was a step forward - so are lytebox's a no no or?

Cheers for all the reply's people very useful stuff and I’ll get on with updating this evening

mjackson126

Hey Meph, I think it might be a good idea to stay with lightbox for all your images and maybe put your videos in it's own category. The reason I say this is because, while looking through your work the option to go to the next image kind of changes. I always think it's best to cater your website to the laziest/stupidest people out there. A lot of times, people going through portfolios get agitated pretty easily. Just my two cents. Good luck on the job search.

DavidBrumbley

Hey Meph, I think you need to refine the sculpts in the Sculpts section of your site. As of now they show a lack of anatomy knowledge. I'm no character artist but I'm pretty sure having strong anatomy knowledge is a must.

MephistonX

ok ive taken on board what you all said and made a few changes to the site, and also completed the drawings bit- though i need to find my sketchbooks to add some newer stuff to that page

once again all comments appreciated

Mephworks.co.uk