Portfolio up for critique!
Hey everyone! I'm new here. I just graduated from Full Sail University last month with my Bachelors of Science in Computer Animation, which a focus on character modeling. Here is a link to my website! Looking to get some feedback! Thanks everyone.
www.jeffboob.com
www.jeffboob.com
Replies
With that said as soon as I open the page I see about 1/3 of a video playing and your name in gigantic letters. For a portfolio I would have the landing page be your gallery and have the video be an optional thing we get to choose to play.
After all that the next thing is to just keep completing pieces. If you want to get a character artist position you have to be the best of the best. So it will be a tough road to get there, but with enough determination you can.
Good luck!
If these are game characters there are a lot of polygons you dont need. For example, the vikings chain armor is too much and theres probably too any polys in his horns. I'd say you should really work on your texturing. The characters here look like they just have flat diffuse colors which doesnt show much. Cartoony is fine but you need to add more punch to the texture. It looks like you don't have any kind of ambient occlusion which is a huge part of why the texture is so flat. Add highlights and shadows to make things have form and pop.
If you just want to be a character modeler and dont want to texture, then dont put textures on your characters. Itll just bring all your art down if you put flat diffuse colors in there with no real texturing.
I definitely need to work on my efficiency with poly count and I REALLY need to get a hold of texturing. Sadly we didn't really have a lot of focus on texturing so I'm lacking in that area.
Thanks Quack! I'd be interested to see what your last name is haha. I've actually loved my last name its quarky and unforgetable which in my opinion is a great thing.
I'll probably work on the layout some this week and show you guys some progress. I'm also trying my hand at the Arena.net art test, mainly for learning but who knows haha, so I'll try to post some of that soon as well. Looking forward to hearing what everybody else has to say!
Use the UDK knowledge you got in AGT and bring the characters into that for the Screenshots, then place them on the first page above the demo reel. When they see the shots in UDK, and wish to explore further how the sculpt,WF and everything looks, they can continue onto the demo. But get those things into UDK, and start right into your next model. Every asset you add is going to add to your likelihood of scoring that job.
I like the character art though, it does sell. Just make sure they know you are a game character artist and not just a character artist if that's the direction you want to go specifically.
Also, I've never really seen the point of a reel if your skills don't rely on motion. Like the work you're showing here is basically a series of T pose stills...you're not showing how your character deforms, you're not showing a walkthrough of a level, its not an animation demo, etc.
Essentially, you're making it too hard for people to see your work. What I would do is:
-Kill your background. It's a pretty colour scheme, but its distracting. Just go with a solid tasteful colour that is neutral and won't take away from your work.
-Start up with just a gallery. Have your contact information right at the top of the page, then a series of thumbnails and a link to your resume and reel if people are interested.
-for your actual work, you need to show some specs. Like right now, they're either fairly heavy game characters or really low film characters.
-Reduce the types of shots for your characters, some thing like 2 beauty shots, 1 wireframe / construction image and 1 page of texture flats if it's applicable. More like how your last model is presented. Your first 2 models have a lot of filler images that lead the viewer to redundant information (e.g. you have 5 separate images for wireframe turnarounds - just condense it into 1)
-Kill the about me. It's just filler and, to be honest, you're not in a position where your history will get you anywhere. Sorry if that's harsh, but realistically, any useful information will be on your resume and, considering your lack of experience, you don't have a ton of bargaining chips / names to drop to get people's attention.
Really, you just need to let your work be what speaks for you. Get rid of all the fluff that nobody wants and get to work on more characters to show
Gav
Gav please refer to my previous post I made about the reason my site is the way it is. I basically covered most of the complaints you had about it already so no need to repeat myself haha. Also I'm not sure why you had an issue with it loading. It instantly loads when I or anyone I have ever had look at it loads the page, so maybe thats an internet thing on your end. About the about me page, I think its good there. People don't really use an About me page to pimp themselves and drop names, that section should be about the person who owns the site and the art you are looking at. It can give a feeling of what kind of person the employer will be talking to, really it just sets a tone. Thanks for the feedback though. Like I said earlier I'll be posting again once I work on it some.
Hopefully I'll get more critiques on my actual art than the page it self now that anybody new reading knows I've covered why the page is the way it is
edit: art crits- poly distribution is inconsistent. Models are simple and lack several levels of detail consistent with current practices. Also they are smoothed and rendered not presented in real time solution. No sculpts or high res info. No texture flats. Textures are bland and materials need definition. Viking guy is cool.
As for the about page, fine, but as a person who does review portfolios for jobs I can honestly tell you I've never looked at one and thought "This guy sounds nice." Let your work get their attention then show what kind of person you are in the interview.
The main thing to take from this is that these guys want to help you with the layout first and foremost, because they are changes that you can make right now. Your art itself is something you will add to and get better at as you progress and search these forums more (and the amazing wiki they have here). I agree with you about the download speed of the movie, it loads quickly for me too, but despite that, don't use your HD 720 version. Post the H.264 one on VIMEO and link it with html so it doen't matter if they are connection to the internet with a can and two strings, they will get it as fast as possible.
So yeah, if you have any questions, feel free again to PM me.
I actually graduated from Full Sail's game art program in December (and landed a job in April
It's also awesome to meet more people that went to the same school I did. I will most definitely PM both of you guys at some point, gotta keep in touch with fellow graduates haha.
I know the comments here can be a little despairing at times, but you should know that everyone's heart is in the right place. We were all in the same exact boat as you at one point in time.
That being said, just keep your head up! Keep modeling, definitely get a hold of texturing. That's something that is really, really important. Spend a lot of time on these forums and make sure you find some work that you find inspiring.
For gods sake though, don't stop doing 3D just because you've graduated and have a demo reel. Keep working through this, through your down time. The absolute ONLY way you get noticed is by standing out, and that means long hours, and relentless pursuit of your craft. Neither of those are difficult, but they are both hard.
Never abandon projects, because the part in the middle, where you're unsure and skeptical of your work is a learning process. That's something you have to teach yourself to persist through. Keep iterating, keep asking questions, and read as much as you can. I know (guarantee) that you will find Polycount to be a way, way, way better influence than Full Sail was. The bluntness is what sets this place apart.