Portfolio Critique?

LuminousBoy · Jul 2015

Hey everyone, I'm fairly new to the gaming industry, looking for work as a concept artist (really anything in the 2d art department). I'm really gunning for an in-house job somewhere but i have little experience. I've got a little bit of experience but I need to figure out how to better tailor my work to game design.

In any case I'm really trying to nail down what I need to do in order to lock up an in house job and any advice would be really appreciated. My portfolio is here https://luminousboy.carbonmade.com/.

Thanks for your time guys

mannygill99 · Jul 2015

Wow! just wow is all i have to say .. best portfolio ive seen this far... Ive only took a look at a few portfolios though

Benwiddowson · Jul 2015

yup, i love your stuff man. Wish i could help you on the getting a job part, i am in the same boat. Essentially, some things i see that are missing from your work are finished environments and full color, full body, finished characters. You've got all the skills, but try doing a few characters with explorations of color, texture, and detail. For environments, just do a few more like your sunset one. I would also recommend doing more technical pieces, like weapons or props!

The other thing to do is get out there and start making accounts on every art site and forum on the net! make sure you get seen!

Popol · Jul 2015

Hey, your illustrations are gorgeous!

If you want to work in the video game industry, what's missing in your portfolio are actual concept arts. Something precise that the 3D modelers can actually use, where there is no guessing games. Something like this :

guildwars2_armor_light_armor_04_concept_art_by_donald_phan.jpg

guildwars2_armor_light_armor_04_concept_art_by_donald_phan.jpg

Now, I'm not a concept artist but I'm a character artist, so that's the kind of stuff I expect from a concept artist.

LuminousBoy · Jul 2015

Thanks for the advice guys! I definitely have some orthos and stuff like that around I'll throw them in. Some of them are still under NDA but I figure I'll do some on my own.

Daew · Jul 2015

Sweet stuff. Just a tiny nitpick, do you think it would be better to have your name and contact (email) replace "volume and definition." Just to make it easier for employers

Grumpntug · Jul 2015

Huh. I haven't seen portfolio that scrolls side to side like that... I think I kinda dig it. I think the navigation on the left feels a bit lackluster. There isn't a clear cut button to take me back to the main page (I know volume and definition does that but that doesn't say "go back" to me)

Overall though nice work and the layout is cool. May have to steal the concept from you some day :P

pakkit · Jul 2015

Nice work.

gavinli · Jul 2015

Hey LuminousBoy,

How are you getting on with the non-NDA orthos? I agree some other work more closely linked to the 3D pipeline would really help whereas these are pretty spectacular but would be better served as an illustration-based portfolio. Your skills are really promising and you could make a killer card artist if you chose to go down that route!

As a nit-pick I think it'd help to play with the forearm proportions of the magic fists illustration for a more convincing foreshortening.

Keep perservering! Judging from your work quality it's only a matter of time and opportunity

Best regards,

Gavin

Blizz_kathyz · Jul 2015

Love your art style, gorgeous paintings! What your concept art portfolio is strongly lacking in is the visual development side of concept art. You are mostly showcasing illustrations. The Art Director wants to see you give them many variations on a concept, ability to iterate, quickly render, and polish when necessary. Don't just show your final piece, show your thumbnails, your painted sketches, color studies, etc. Concept a variety of characters, environments, props, armor, weapons, trees, rocks, pillars etc. Show the ability to break down a character or a scene and concept out various iterations of the idea. Deliver what you're asked for, but also try and inspire the Art Director to go in a different direction if you can. Some studios look for character Concept Artists but more often than not I see the need for Concept Artists who can develop both props and environments as well as characters. Every studio is different but it's something to keep in mind.

Hope this helps!

MykulJaxin · Jul 2015

I haven't read what everyone else said yet, but here's my two cents:

I was very confused by the initial design of your site. Visually it looks nice, but navigating wasn't instant for me. I clicked on digital and could see there was more art on the right but I couldn't figure out how to get over there. I was clicking and dragging around but nothing was happening. If the design of your site is keeping people from seeing your work, that's a problem. I figured out later that the scrolly thing was on the bottom of the screen and I could scroll with arrow keys, but I might think about those design choices.

Second, never vocalize your weaknesses to us. In public speaking settings, people will stand up to talk and they'll be like, "I'm so scared, I don't normally talk in public like this..." or whatever it is, and I INSTANTLY begin to tune out. I don't trust them because they essentially told me they're not trustworthy. You say "I focus mostly on character design but I am beginning to branch out." You don't need to admit that! Just focus on your awesome art, and post different stuff when it's finished! If you tell strangers you're weak, they'll think you're weak.

Finally, have confidence in your skill, don't be a weenie! You've got good stuff happening on your site, you're doing fine! Your words reminded me of EarthQuake's post, How to Post on the Internet. Look for the part where he talks about "Imposter Syndrome." Apparently, it's a thing that we as artists rarely feel good about the work we do. Listen to the praise in this thread, have confidence, and run with it! You're doing good stuff, my friend. Keep working hard and pushing your limits!

Portfolio Critique?

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