Student Seeing Portfolio Review for 3D Artist Position in Games
polycounter lvl 9
Hi,
I am currently a 4th year Student Getting very close to graduation with a Bachelors in Fine arts.
I am asking if anyone would be willing to look at my portfolio and see if i have what it takes to work for a professional game company such as Epic, 2K, EA, Ubisoft or even smaller companies?
I have been modeling for 2 years and have put countless hours both in and out of school, I have been Self taught in best modeling practices, efficency and work flows, as well as the pipeline of other aspects in the games industry.
My school was very shady and is now in a teach-out, meaning that it will cease to exist after 4 years. I will not let this get me down. I have been constantly trying to increase my skill set and knowledge of my profession to achieve quality standards that the game industry is asking for.
Here is a link to my Portfolio Site
Link:http://davonaallen.wix.com/davonaallen
I am currently a 4th year Student Getting very close to graduation with a Bachelors in Fine arts.
I am asking if anyone would be willing to look at my portfolio and see if i have what it takes to work for a professional game company such as Epic, 2K, EA, Ubisoft or even smaller companies?
I have been modeling for 2 years and have put countless hours both in and out of school, I have been Self taught in best modeling practices, efficency and work flows, as well as the pipeline of other aspects in the games industry.
My school was very shady and is now in a teach-out, meaning that it will cease to exist after 4 years. I will not let this get me down. I have been constantly trying to increase my skill set and knowledge of my profession to achieve quality standards that the game industry is asking for.
Here is a link to my Portfolio Site
Link:http://davonaallen.wix.com/davonaallen
Replies
So the stuff that I actually can see is some props with dDo textures. That just doesn't cut it. If I would look at this for a internship review I would't bother, that's the actual truth. Cause the only thing that you have proven to me from these images is that you can do some highpoly work and use a automated texture tool. Maybe you can texture, but I've (as madeup reviewer) already closed your site. Something I did when I saw the props and that one breakdown from dDo.
If those props where part of an environment which told be a story, it would be something else. I would still not be sure if you could actually texture, but you proved that you could bring everything together.
I don't know what you want to do, but putting some 3D models out and then hope Epic will put a title and a job in your lap is not very realistic. Do you want to do vehicles, then learn sub-d modeling like a boss. Learn how to bake like a boss. Then learn how to texture the shit out of it. A semi-highpoly car without any really textures isn't something that will get you hired.
So pretty much, what do you like? Environments, structures (sometimes that is the same role), weapons, vehicles, characters, textures? Think about what you like and what you are good at, then get fucking awesome at that area, then apply for those jobs.
If you'r into environments I would do a few of the Community noob challanges polycount got. That's a great start I think. A lot of people that's in the same spot to.
The meshes look like they are off to a good start. But your presentation / finishing on them is letting it down. I would not post the time it has taken you to model them, as you've not spent a lot of time on them and it kind of shows, like you've got a great start then moved on.
Take the extra time to finish them off. Things I would look at:
- Smoothing groups, looks like the whole mesh is one group.
- Poly distribution, I would hazard a guess that over half you polys are in the wheels on the ferrari and bmw. For low poly vehicles, you should really be baking the wheels onto a flat'ish poly dish. Do a nice high res wheel and bake it down. This will save you a lot of polys and look much nicer.
- Add a texture sheet for lights / badges / handles etc
- Look at braking up the materials so there not one solid material. The underside / wheel arches etc could be black (ferrari)
Also for some reason, when I view your vehicles in the 3d mode they are very dark and look nothing like your preview. I'm using firefox.
Hope that helps, keep at it and learn from the pro on here, they have a lot of knowledge, something I wish I had found at uni 10 years ago!
I just have a small comment here, about your gun, I was actually surprised to notice that nearly 1/4 of your texture sheet is filled with only screw heads. This is the typical place where you should have made texture for only 1-3 screw heads (So they are not all 100% identical) and then overlapped the uvs.
About the website I am not a big fan of the navigation either. I don't think that "verold" 3d preview should be the main piece of art for each of your props. Also, it is really slow to navigate in each gallery, you put your cursor on the side then wait, wait, wait, for the pictures to slide.
I have decided that my work is no where near good enough to progress. but I dont know what to do.
ive watched Gnomon, Digital Tutors, Eat3d,Cg Academy,CGW and many more tutorials online and cannot seem to get anything out of their videos other than better modeling techniques.
I do use ddo but im not just hitting the d button then letting whatever pops up become final. im taking the time to meticulously find the right grit dirt rust for pieces and making sure the colors match the reference as well as finding proper ways to use images instead of slapping them on there and using the sliders to find a level of detail that makes sense.
For the gun I baked the ao and normal in max, I usually let xNormal take care of that then get the rest of my maps from ndo2 but even then i meticulously mess with the slides getting something that feels right.
I don't just hit the button then go "welp looks done".
ok my cars aren't done ill work on that.
but even then once its time to texture it wont matter because apparently no matter what i do i texture like someone who doesn't know a thing about how maps work.
Even though i've learned and relearned how every map works inside and out but my ability to show it seems hampered because it ends up being the ddo procedural textures that come out better than what i can do,
i am upset, i am frustrated
I thank you all for you critiques.
I seriously think that i may need a tutor,
I need a tutor in texturing.
1. Skip the games section. Unless you want a job as a programmer I think this section would only hurt you, as to be honest the games look sub-par. Besides do you really want to show something on your portfolio that you just spent 2 days on?
2. Strip away lightbox and just let me open the images in a new tab and save them (very important). Also while your at it strip away the slow scrolling between the thumbnails (as others mentioned) and just go with regular static images. Ain't nobody got time for dat scrolling.
3. As others have said the environment is too dark. Either relight it/brighten it in post or just skip out on it completely. The little that you can see in the images look mostly like a low-fi forest with an untextured building so it seems like it could be lit badly to hide the quality of the assets.
4. As others have said skip dDo and learn manual texturing. I'm sure dDo is good and all but it shouldn't replace manual skills. Use dDo to speed up the workflow after you've learnt to do texturing manually if anything. Here's two texturing tutorials I found great:
Xoliuls Dozer
Alec Moodys Tank
Keep working and constantly try to challenge yourself with projects that look to be above your level and you'll eventually get there. Good luck!
This isn't true and it never will be. The best part about choosing to be an artist is you can always progress. I realize why you might feel panicky. You're about to graduate and you're maybe feeling like you have failed somehow if you don't get a job right away, but that's just not true. I second what aajohnny says, take a breath and learn the value of patience.
As for my critique, I also think the environments are too dark and I personally would rather look at flat large images of your props instead of loading the lightbox.
Don't see this as discouraging, just see it as extracurricular activity outside of your degree
Im feeling a little iffy because to me it seems that people don't know what my site is capable of..
I designed it so that you can see items of relating age such as sci fi, modern or fantasy instead of having you wade through stuff you dont really care for im trying to cater to the lazy who want everything on one page and only wanna see certain things. You can click images and see them up close. You can click to get bigger images and then look at the 3d model for closer inspection.
Verold has the ability to show all kinds of mapping so its more than just look at my textured model.
Others are saying its too dark unless its only the environment they are talking about which is then confusing me.
The only one i can positively ID as dark beyond reason is the environment.
Also don't show WIP models. Making a lowpoly car without textures isn't that difficult so unless you finish it (that is texture it) I would advise against posting it on a portfolio. I'd add an exception for highpoly models as they are more difficult to make and can have some value on their own without textures.
I too am just a student, so take what I say with a grain of salt as well.
A) Just seems like unnecessary info.
Really take on board what people are saying about the layout and how the site looks. The people who will hire you are incredibly busy, making there job any harder than it has to be will just see your work being skipped over. Nobody has said that your site is good or easy to use.
Think long and hard about what you want to do. Not just games but what area? You will need other skills besides what you focus on but if you can't do one thing better than anyone else then you will struggle to stand out.
Finish work. Learn how to texture by hand and light to a good standard should be your first points to look at.
It will come together but will take time and effort. Get lots of critique and feedback from this and other forums.
A. If you only showcase textures made with Ddo, they might think that's all you know. How would you fit in to a company's workflow if they don't have a commercial license for Ddo.
B. Kinda stated above but, Ddo can be kinda of a gimmick(I love the program don't get me wrong) but if you start out texturing using Ddo instead of doing things by hand, there's a lot of information you may just skip because the software handles a lot of it for you. The best analogy I can think of is like cheating on tests in school. Yeah, you get a good grade, eventually you'll graduate, but you haven't learned anything.
C. For people that have a lot of experience with Ddo, its really easy to tell if people are being lazy with it. And its really easy to get carried away and add way to much unnecessary details with it.
On topic: I agree with what the above posts. Navigating that site is really annoying; having to mouse over the side and just wait. The first thing I thought when I saw your car models was "are these finished?" From what I've learned, you generally, if not always put your best, and finished work up. WIPs are for blogs and things like that.
What I do, is I look at the portfolios of people on here who have jobs in the industry and see what kind of work they're showcasing, and set myself up to be on par with them. (Or better, this industry is competetive
Don't take any of the criticism or feedback on here personal, this forum is full of real industry professionals. Anyone who is willing to provide you with feedback or critique, is only trying to help you.
1) Get a wacom. Mouse is no good
2) forget about ddo as some have already mentioned. I've used it for a while but i have ditched it now because my texturing isn't that great either and i have learned absolutely nothing while using it. It's a tool for people who can already texture better then that by hand to speed up their workflow.
3) What currently helps me a lot to get better at texturing is to get into digital painting/drawing. It helps so much to get confidence in using the wacom and you learn a lot about using the photoshop brushes/colors/blend modes/masks etc.
Other then that it's just practice, practice practice. You said you put countless hours in. How much is that 1000, 2000? Make it 10.000! I bet you will be ten times better then. So stick with it. Even if you don't get a job now as long as you keep determined and continue to put in "countless hours" it's only a question of time to get there eventualy. Maybe not next year, maybe not in two years but maybe in 3 or 4 years!
For the time being prepare to look for a job in a different field beacuse realistically it will be very hard if not impossible to get a job in the gaming industry with your portfolio as is.
This is not the only first step you can have for your career, you could start to work for a smaller company, and slowly with the years, climb your way up to the job you always wanted. This is how a lot of people are doing it. Even if your first jobs are far from what you like, you can keep building your portfolio at home.
You could also try to join a team, some modding project, or indie game (But pick it well, you need to use it to learn new things and practice your skills, put the bar high. A project that already look cool and convince them to let you work with them.) Those kind of projects are not as good as a job on your CV, but it is better than studies and than doing nothing.
Spend a week on one asset rather then a day and see how much better it looks.
I would much, Much rather see a handful of finished (if anything ever can be as an artist!) polished and well thought out assets then pages of quick wip assets.
Take one, and get it to a level you would expect it to be at in a game.
Do Not give up, you've got a great opportunity here to improve and learn, so grab it by the balls and go for it.
The reason i post the times is because that's what I've been told to do from other resources because speed and efficiency are key and integral to working with a team.
I have looked at various professional portfolio websites
http://www.bs3d.com/index.php?page=3
http://timspanjer.com/
http://anakessel.weebly.com/
but I didn't want to be a complete copycat of their style and individuality.
also i don't mind working for a small studio so long as i get to put my skills to use and not end up at target for the rest of my life striving for my true career path.
i am currently working with two teams on small indie projects but im not being paid for them and if the game never releases then ill definitely never be paid for them.
so my goal is to do them for the experience,to show i can work with a team to finish a product, im also doing the same at school but the lack of motivation at my school far beyond exceed my level of determination as i cannot carry a team no matter how much i may be able help them understand concepts of simple game design.
i have a wacom tablet and have been using ctrlpaint.com to study drawing fundamentals from the beginning as well as gnomon tutorials and andrew loomis books.
ive made high poly models of every item in my portfolio so should i show those instead? should i show both??
If you've got highpolys of the cars then I'd much rather look at them, than untextured lowpolys. Preferably you should only post finished projects. If you for one reason or another don't finish the project, yet really want to show it off anyway then just post the highpoly. Otherwise it'll look like you don't finish your stuff.
You don't need to copy the successful portfolios of others but you really need to keep in mind that it should be as simple and fast as possible. Everything that goes against those two principles will be detrimental to your portfolio in my opinion.
As far as your portfolio goes it needs to be completely revamped. I'm not going to lie I did not bother to look through it very much because a lot of it was dark and none of it really seemed all that interesting which means a studio will probably skip right over it because they are too busy.
What you need to do is go through and ask yourself "is this cool?" If not then you need to scrap it. If you think it can be salvaged then keep it and quadruple the time you spent on it. Next you need to find either a really cool scene or individual asset that you can start working on and make sure you can handle it. You need to knock these portfolio pieces out of the park so nail it and make sure its cool. If you get 3 or 4 really cool pieces then you would be on your way.
Another thing you need to work on in presentation. If you are spending 10 hours modeling a car then you should be putting 2 or 3 hours into presentation. I want to see beautiful renders and wireframes. You should be spending a few days on piece though not a few hours. Keep up the work and don't give up. Really try to push yourself until you can step back and look at your own work and say "wow that is cool."
http://www.digitaltutors.com/subject/3d-texturing-tutorials
I think it awesome that you've started working with mod teams. I'd say that's one of the heaviest things you can have, as a student, in your CV. Just remember to focus on the things you want to accomplish. And don't rush your objects! Just don't! Cause you wont learn as much.
My complaining about dDo is pretty much exactelly what Scizz wrote. I have colleagues that are awesome at texturing that use it as a complementary tool when the produce. But showing textures that is only done in dDo or looks like they are (without stating how much you've actually done by hand) makes me assume that everything is done with dDo. With other words, I assume that you can't texture.
I would want you to answer the question What do you enjoy creating the most? Make a list if there's more then one. If you know it's easier to pinpoint what to focus on. Things to focus on in stages could be material definition, hardsurface highpoly modeling (advanced shapes), modular workflow for textures and geometry or human anatomy studies.
If you know/decide what you want to do, it's easier for you to pinpoint what you need to learn to reach a certain level of skill.
Show that you are determent, list what you want to achieve, get a good concept/draw one your self and do prep breakdowns of what needs to be done. Do that in a thread here on polycount and you'll get feedback. (A lot of times people with less skill doesn't get much attention, but if you really show that you've prepared as much as possible, people will engage and you will get feeback. We are all progress junkies here at PC).
I Personally love to model from a high poly to low poly and low poly to sculpt methods making sure the model has all the detail necessary to create very interesting AO and normal bakes.
I like creating props mostly because they are smaller items with lost of interesting characteristics in each piece and most people don't care about the smaller things other than weapons, its usually about the characters.
I love looking at background items and environments.
I wanted to be an architect when I was younger and I saw that with art I can carry that passion over to a much larger audience without safety hazards preventing me from making something stable or able to be seen as unique.
i focus on basic props because I feel starting from something known and making it right would be the best way to transition into something unique, but the longer I've been doing it the more it became about matching the quality of the pros.
most of you on here are people i admire because your art really showcases the individual that made it.
i do need help texturing and drawing because it seems like it brings my modeling and high poly work down significantly
I really do try to go for the best workflow,topology, efficiency practices but I feel it never gets the light of day because my texturing skill set is very disruptive of that extra work i put in to make sure it looked like it was suppose to in the modeling process.
I know how Photoshop tools work, I just haven't understood how to use them creatively.
and everything is taking ages to load up with all those fancy fades and 3D views n stuff.
honestly I think you would end up better with just a carbon made or something else really simple.
dont give up btw, lots of crits and comments here, dont be discouraged
No doubt, learning something as complex as 3D art for games is really frustrating!
You are almost there. It took me almost two entire years of exertion to get to an industry standard level.
So you say you enjoy sculpting and baking normal maps, that's great! That's something I struggled with for a while, although I got texturing down pat before I could bake. So maybe I can help you out.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/3D-Game-Textures-Professional-Photoshop/dp/0240820770/ref=la_B001ILIBAQ_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384534192&sr=1-1"]This book[/ame] was a fantastic resource for me. It's aged a bit, but the techniques are still there. If you want to learn how to create solid looking diffuse textures in Photoshop and you have the capacity to blaze through a textbook, this will be of great assistance.
I can relate with what you mentioned about architecture. I also wanted to be an architect, but going to school for 10 years...
You would probably be best suited for environment art, and it always helps to learn a bit about architecture. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/101-Things-Learned-Architecture-School/dp/0262062666"]This book[/ame] is straight to the point and you'll learn a lot about historic and modern architecture, plus some great concepts that you can very well apply to environment art.
You might want to clean up your website a bit, focus on displaying your best work, and possibly change to a Carbonmade website or even learn some simple HTML/CSS (it's incredibly easy).
Just think, where CAN you be 6 months from now, and work on SOMETHING every day.
A good starting point is to take a very close look at how other people texture. Some games you can extract the textures and check them out. Try to analyze how other artists distribute their colors and details like dirt, rust etc. A particularely great source are PhilipK's tutorials since he provides psd files. Check out how he uses masks especialy or gradients. http://www.philipk.net/tutorials.html
Try to replicate his textures layer by layer. You will learn a lot from that.
Other thing that has helped to improve my texturing quite a bit recently was to properly learn what the brush controls do in Photoshop (stuff like shape control, scattering etc.). As a beginner one tends to think that a huge brush collection for all kinds of special cases is the secret of the pros. But the truth is that pretty much everything can be done with the standard round brush. Other brushes are just there to speed things up considerably and create happy accidents. Once i've realized that this whole aspect of texturing has become way less overwhelming.
I to think that you would enjoy doing environments. I would suggest you'd do a scene where you can do different kinds of props of different level of complexity. Preferably props and structural elements with different materials, it's good practice for you but it's also something that help an environment to feel a bit more interesting. Try to find a concept or an idea that have some elements you like and that is connected with our world, that way it will be easier for you to find references.
Why I think that you should aim to do your props for a specific environment is cause a few props in an environment can tell a story together. The same amount of props or even the exact same props on there own are pretty uninteresting. Well, together they are way more interesting at least.
I also think that you should start to look up tutorials and articles about modular modeling. I know that 3D motive have a great one for example.
When your starting a new project I think it's important to choose something you know you'll be able to finish. Sure, there should always be challenges, just don't take on to much. And always put it up here. Post as you go. It's great to see feedback on your work, I think it's really empowering. It's also a very good way to keep track of your own progress and seeing the improvements you'll do.
Regarding the whole "banging your head against the wall until you do cool art". A lot of us, if not most, have been there. I did 3D on and of when I was 16 to 19 that was in upper secondary school. That got me into a game dev school for two years. Then it took me more then a whole year to actually get as good as I needed to be goo enough. In that year+ I didn't really have any inspiration to do 3D and I "fixed" some old projects over the course of 6 months. We'r talking 3 weeks work, maximum. Then I studied some philosophy and got my mind focused on something else. Then the inspiration came back to me. What I want to say is that just focusing on your art isn't always a good thing. Social life, location/environment and what you engage in is or can be very important.