Portfolio critique wanted !
Hi everyone, my name's Karla Zero, I'm an animation student who's just about to graduate.
I'm working towards becoming a 3D environment artist for games.
I know that there's plenty of talented people on here and I'd love to get some constructive criticism on my wee environment portfolio I've been working on.
The address is: www.karlazero.com
Just anything you can think of would be good!
Is it easy to navigate? Should I get rid of some work that's on there?
Maybe there's better ways of displaying my work-suggestions? etc.
I'd really appreciate any info, help and criticism you could give me!
Be harsh!
Thanks!
I'm working towards becoming a 3D environment artist for games.
I know that there's plenty of talented people on here and I'd love to get some constructive criticism on my wee environment portfolio I've been working on.
The address is: www.karlazero.com
Just anything you can think of would be good!
Is it easy to navigate? Should I get rid of some work that's on there?
Maybe there's better ways of displaying my work-suggestions? etc.
I'd really appreciate any info, help and criticism you could give me!
Be harsh!
Thanks!
Replies
First http://www.jonjones.com/2005/10/07/your-portfolio-repels-jobs/
short: HTML only, 2 pages: portfolio and resume.
I agree with everything you said. I had someone the other day tell me that about my site too... to break it up into multiple sections, tons of links, banners etc. It just complicates things.
Put your best stuff first, only your best stuff on your site. Specialize too.
The jonjones article linked above is excellent.
I also think it's best to choose subject matter that isn't ubiquitous in real life (guitars/drumsets/staircases) and if you are then try to pick something that at least stands out and looks memorable
But seriously make some game ready scenes in a game engine
Also(like others have said) perhaps try taking these things and making them game ready. Also a lighting and composition pass might help make things more memorable.
But I'm learning. Once I'm out of uni, I'll have time to learn some more and create something game ready, which I'm really looking forward to doing!
Aside that, I will definitely work on the site presence since it obviously doesn't appeal!
Thanks for all your replies and honest opinions! Really appreciated!
Well, what do you really want to do? Animation or Environments for games?
I definitely want to do environments for games.
When I started my animation course and began to learn 3D Art, I realized that environments is something I really want to do.
So aside from working on my short films for uni, I've been using my free time to learn about game development and environment art for games and just creating enviro work on the side.
That's great, a lot of time students can have a hard time focusing on their desired discipline. You kind of have to in this industry today. The more you focus, the easier it will be...
Tell a story with your environments. I see you're doing that already; you just need to put it into a game engine now and show some more technical (game related) breakdowns of your work.
I recommend getting the free Crydev engine. It's similar to 3ds max and very easy to use as an artist. It also produces great work.
Alright kl, yeah I could try that. Do you have a link for it?
Yeah, definitely over the summer I'm going to try and put some work into a game engine and see what I can do. I've been wanting to get this done for a while now.
Thanks for the tips as well, will try that for sure!
Looks like your beginning to be a well rounded artist to say that least since your learning animation which is always good, you'll have that skill if it is needed down the road when and or if you land a gig doing environments. Also looks like your not a bad prop artist and are you working on your lighting with your renders? Looks like It to me in some of your images/renders.
I like the conceptual studies you've posted, I took a look at your blog and you got some characters you haven't posted, granted they are not finished as in textured but if you were to do some coloring for those designs I think you could stick them in your portfolio just as an added bonus/show of your abilities but that's your choice.
Looking good hope to see more you have a nice amount of skill you just have to focus on one thing which as far as I read from this thread is your environment work.
Hope this helps.
I'd get rid of the "Website under construction" tag.
I'd say that your "Without a Soul" project is your strongest; I'd move it to the top. "Kitten" seems the weakest - it almost seems incomplete; I'd move it to the bottom.
I do disagree a bit about the idea of placing everything on a single page - I prefer a two-level system, with each project on it's own page. I just find this lets me have more pictures for each without creating one monstrous page.
Your materials overall seem a bit simple - aside from some subtle reflections in "Music Stage", they all seem to consist only of a diffuse color. The glass in the windows and picture frames would certainly benefit from a gloss map, while the metal and glossy paint should have a specular map. The instruments could certainly use a normal map to show additional details without the expense of geometry, and wear and tear should be visible in the specular, gloss, normal, and diffuse maps. Overall, I'd say the textures are at the 80% stage; unfortunately, that final 20% takes 80% of the time, but are really necessary if you want your work to excel.
In addition to the wireframes, most artists include information about the scene (polygon counts, textures used, and texture sizes). They also include the texture maps, often combining all the sheets into a single image split vertically or diagonally.
Make sure you include your name, engine used (if rendered by an engine), and contact information on each image. Another reason to stay away from Flash is that it's more difficult for somebody to download the image for offline viewing. I'd also include much larger images when the user clicks on the thumbnail - 1280x1024 at least; you've worked hard, why not show off?
Rather than linking the contact information on the banner to the "Contacts" page, I'd link them directly. Thus, link the email to a mailto: link, linkedin should go to you linked in site, etc. Personally, I'd be reluctant to include a phone number in the contact information; when somebody likes your work and wants to do an initial interview, they usually coordinate that through e-mail (scheduling is much simpler that way).
Your About page seems to be a combination about/resume page. I'd separate the two, having the about page as a discussion of your dreams/goals/ambitions and life story and the resume as a standard CV. You might also want to create a downloadable version of the resume (typically in PDF format nowadays) and have a link to it at the top of the resume page.
I'm not a big fan of black & white backgrounds - a medium gray is often a better choice. The banner with your name and title is also a bit barren - many artists use this area to showcase their work.
http://www.galen-davis.blogspot.com/
http://www.brameulaers.com/
http://www.ilyanedyal.com/
http://www.mayvin.be/index.php
Hope this helps out!
thats an actual necklace and its the creeper from minecraft :P
yeah I work on the lighting as well, I use different lighting techniques, and depending on the project, I use the technique that will be most appropriate.
Yeah the characters are finished, rigged and animated. Basically the short animated film has been rendered, composited and finished. But I've been told not to put any of the other work I've ever done in my portfolio, just put the environment work in it, because after all Im after is an environment job, so I need to show it through the portfolio, all my generalist skills is just a bonus.
Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Thats the kind of thing I had going on, each project had its own little space, but after the comments last night I just piled it all into one page. But I suppose having everything on one page, would be a lot easier for someone to just scroll through the work rather than having to click on different pages and wasting their time with it.
yeah youre right about the materials used, then again I had to go with the style of the film I was creating the work for, but Im learning it all, and Im gonna try and get my work into a game engine and see where that takes me!
Anyway, all your suggestions are really good, and I will apply them to my work and to my site. I really appreciate your time youve put to have a look at my page and to share some great tips and feedback, really useful!
Yeah these are some great sites! Thanks for sharing the links!
The 1st one is the kind of thing Ive had going on, where each project would have its own page and more work of it in there, but Ive been told that theres too many pages and all, and to make it all simpler; with one page for the whole portfolio, so for now Ive just done that.
I have now a much better idea of what I should be doing with my work and how to present it as well. Just the info I was after!
I really appreciate your help and time guys!
So thanks again everyone!