How to improve my Portfolio.
polycounter lvl 13
Hey Polycount,
I have recently hit the infamous 'Creative Block' and struggling to find any form of inspiration to go out and model/sculpt an awesome object. My portfolio isn't as strong as I'd like it to be, but I feel I have the fundamental skills there (correct me if i'm wrong).
I was just wondering if anyone could possibly shed some light on an area they feel I could work on, so I can:
A) Flesh out my portfolio and remove some of the weaker pieces.
Improve my modelling skills in the weaker area.
Thanks for your time
I have recently hit the infamous 'Creative Block' and struggling to find any form of inspiration to go out and model/sculpt an awesome object. My portfolio isn't as strong as I'd like it to be, but I feel I have the fundamental skills there (correct me if i'm wrong).
I was just wondering if anyone could possibly shed some light on an area they feel I could work on, so I can:
A) Flesh out my portfolio and remove some of the weaker pieces.
Improve my modelling skills in the weaker area.Thanks for your time
Replies
What is your niche?
As an Environment Artist, I find going out on excursions to be nice for getting ideas. Another thing I do (but I'm starting out) is go play a video game, find a neat spot. Screenshot and study it, and try to recreate the entire scene or something you find interesting in that scene. Good luck!
Nice portfolio. Some solid work.
I would add reference material you used for many of your pieces. This way we can see how closely you followed the reference and maybe tell you which areas to focus on in the scene.
You should always be aware of the player path, and how to easily direct the player along this path with your art work. We should be able to recognize the player path at a glance. For most FPS games that is
Also your site organization is weird since there's different styles of props and such under single thumbnails
I've been thinking more about the George Carlin approach, always working on new shit
[ame="
And Jon Jones suggests all artists update portfolios quarterly since that's when most layoff or hirings happen
He...seems like a...nice guy...haha
here is my Portfolio link - www.cg3d.carbonmade.com.
Tairii- I don't want to narrow my options by having a niche. I just want to focus on my weak areas on my portfolio. I fully agree with you about going out to find new stuff and also playing games for inspiration which I haven't done in a while.
Cojax- thanks, I always seem to veer off with making a level. Thats why I have reverted back to basic modelling and then building my work up into small scenes. Composition is always key and is something I need to refine.
Cholden- I will have to re-arrange some of my work in order for it to make sense as it is messy in some areas, and thanks for the link/advice. I'm trying to work on some new stuff right now before I start my internship at Sony, where hopefully I'll pick up some neat tricks.
I'm not overly sure where I stand in terms of finding a junior position but after killing myself browsing through some of my favorite artists work, I feel slightly deflated and end up trying to emulate something similar to theirs. Do you think this is a bad thing?
Do you think my portfolio lack hard surface knowledge? It's an area I fell I should work on.
Just do stuff that excites you. I find for personal work when I'm excited about it I push myself harder and set a higher bar. If you don't like hard surface don't do it. If you think you might then try something out and see what you think. I really enjoy doing sculpted, hand painted, stylized pieces. That's what I started leaning towards. Sure it's creates a bit of a niche. But that's not a bad thing.
Try giving The Dip by Seth Godin a read.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Dip-Little-Teaches-Stick/dp/1591841666"]Amazon.com: The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) (9781591841661): Seth Godin: Books[/ame]
It's really light and fast. I finished it over a weekend. It made me rethink my whole personal art approach at the beginning of this year. I've also had the most fun making portfolio art this year more than other years too.
Enjoy what you do cause you'll be more passionate about it and what to do it more.
Try something new and different. Maybe go for a different art style than you're used to.
Or pay homage to a movie or something that you really like.
Challenge yourself to create a piece within a set amount of time everyday. Something small, and quick, and fun, and then move on.
And if you're lacking for inspiration, get in the habit of visiting Polycount's "What are you working on Thread" everyday, or Cghub, or CGtalk, and look at the work contained therein. That never fails to get me started on ideas
I think you have some fairly solid hard surface pieces. Making them better is going to be a mixture of getting critique's (more dirt, more damage, less cleanliness), and coming to realizations internally through practice
I was curious about the lack of wire frames for models you have. I would be curious to know/see those and also programs used??? /shrug
Good luck!
Gonna give it a read myself, will let you know how it goes.
Jeff - Great Pimp on the book Jeff, just pre-ordered the book too. Maybe you should inquire about some form of commission
Chris is right though, the org feels a bit odd. Otherwise, just more and better content.
The pipe layout also seems a bit strange in that one underground scene. Some parts are okay but others are very hectic looking. Even in nasty congested setups like this: http://industrialprocesspiping.com/images/1700tk.jpg You can still see where stuff comes and goes from. There's a directional flow. Most of your piping is all over the place. Also, some color variation could help on it. Also seems unnaturally saturated (red), considering the env it's sitting in. I'd expect worn color, paint and more dirt.
yeah, i agree, but you can't just keep making the same type of shit, and call it "new". People have to learn to change their palettes.
Things I have changed:
1) I started timing myself when I work. It sounds silly but I probably wasted a good 2/3 hours just browsing Polcount/ Forums / social network sites etc.
2) Take regular breaks: I usually skip a meal (not on purpose) by over working myself and watching time float by. By taking a step back to relax for 15/30 mins I can then come back with a fresh outlook to modelling.
3) Not over analysing the concept. I've started break down the concepts into manageable portions that I can work towards. (looking and the smaller pictures within the large)
4) Finally, If in doubt ask someone/ post on a forum. This is the biggest pro for me, because if I didn't ask I wouldn't have received this help.
Ok now thats out of the way:
Josh - The irony behind the piping is that I'm actually a fully qualified Plumber, I guess given the opportunity to go mad with pipes worked against me. I fully agree with you about the texturing, but I had to cram most of that stuff in late notice due to my hand in
Also whats with the cat link to my folio? Trolling? :poly142:
Alberto - I'm trying to change mine and your right. I've spent many occasion modelling and once finished scrapped it as it was no better than my previous model. Your work Is inspirational by the way, I strive to have that type of competence in my work :poly122:
ScudzAlmighty - I don't want to use the Aztec UDK level as my main header due to it being 'level design' using the UDK assets (this was a University project) and it doesn't showcase my ability to model. I'm working on some Sci-Fi weapons atm to add a little bit of diversity to my folio, then I will start to make small scenes. Thanks for the advice / crit dude
You're selling yourself as a modeller, not a level designer. Most people are assuming you made that from scratch.