I am Looking for portfolio critique :)

RobertRamsay

Hi There,

I have recently started out as a freelance artist, and, much of my work is NDA/Paid work so have not really kept my folio up to date, but I really want to filter it a little with your experienced help.

I am working on some nice folio piece in Unity which will be my main 2014 showreel focus.

Please let me know what you think of the content/layout/colour and also what images I should throw out or move to another section.

Appreciation in advance

LINK:

http://www.robertramsay.co.uk

Shiniku

You'd be better off posting this in the Pimping and Previews section.

I think the splash page is a little cheesy and unnecessary. Just keep navigation on your top bar and open up to the page that shows off the work most relevant to who you're showing it to. I think the brick background is also a little cheesy and doesn't help.

Remember that quality is more important than quantity. You've got a lot of work on your site but I feel like a lot of it may be older. Don't be afraid to start tossing things out. Also a little confused as to your focus, as a lot of your work seems unfinished, or just CG renders. What is your goal?

RobertRamsay

Thanks Shiniku,

Yes, I wasn't too sure about posting it there, anyway. Yes, well my goal is to work in or out house as a 2D/3D Generalist (contract/hire). I basically filled my pages with what I had just to get it up there, something to show. I am going to start removing old stuff and redesigning it. I agree that's its looking a bit cheesy/tacky. Again its a first pass at everything but the feedback lets me know what to avoid.

I will keep my best work and have something recent on the cover, plus make it more authentic and with more common navigation.

Thanks again.

rino

my advice would be to stick to one thing, either character artist or hard surface artist (it seems that you aim for those two or 2D). once you are great at one of those, then start focusing on the other.

you are going to have better chances of getting hired that way, than you do now.

also you could easily put all of your work on one page, there is no need for so much clicking.

Eric Chadwick

Your Portfolio Repels Jobs

moar
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryPortfolio

RobertRamsay

@Curtis : You are right about focus and I am more experienced in prop and character modelling than anything else, although those other skills are useful in my workflow, I should perhaps keep them to a section of their own I think.

@Eric : Thanks, this is a great guide for me, I tend to make all the blatent mistakes first time round just to get them out the way, for now I have plenty of work, but I don't know how long it will last and getting my folio site ready is my ticket to the next level.

Thanks guys!

RobertRamsay

Hi, did a rebuild of my site, so any crits are welcome.

http://www.robertramsay.co.uk

Eric Chadwick

The images aren't all branded. Get your name and contact info (either email address or website url) on each image, and make your branding the same on each piece. Looks more professional that way. You've signed some pieces but not others, looks weird and inconsistent. Consistency communicates professionalism to potential clients.

I would put all your content on one page. You don't have so much that it needs to be categorized like it is. It's easier to scroll a single page.

Please make your email address a clickable link. Remove a barrier.

Header image is superfluous, in my opinion. Should be another image in the page, and bigger. Also I want to click on your images to see larger versions, but you don't offer those.

If you want to get modeling work, show untextured models. Grey with decent 3-point lighting. Makes it easier to see the modeling quality.

Would be helpful to see some subdivsion surface modeling in here. Show each model as textured, gray, and wireframe sub-d cage.

Keep going! It's looking great.

RobertRamsay

Eric Chadwick wrote: »

The images aren't all branded. Get your name and contact info (either email address or website url) on each image, and make your branding the same on each piece. Looks more professional that way. You've signed some pieces but not others, looks weird and inconsistent. Consistency communicates professionalism to potential clients.

I would put all your content on one page. You don't have so much that it needs to be categorized like it is. It's easier to scroll a single page.

Please make your email address a clickable link. Remove a barrier.

Header image is superfluous, in my opinion. Should be another image in the page, and bigger. Also I want to click on your images to see larger versions, but you don't offer those.

If you want to get modeling work, show untextured models. Grey with decent 3-point lighting. Makes it easier to see the modeling quality.

Would be helpful to see some subdivsion surface modeling in here. Show each model as textured, gray, and wireframe sub-d cage.

Keep going! It's looking great.

Thanks Eric, great advice, I will follow those up.

LRoy

I think you'd be better off having all your best work on one page. If the first thing employers see doesn't impress them they won't look at the others.

It's nice to show at least 1-2 completed game models with wires just to show you know topology.

-edit- I didn't see the one you had, which illustrates that everything you want to show should be upfront haha

RobertRamsay

Thanks guys, its good to know that putting your best work all on one page is pretty much universal, I will also give the option of enlargement and show my topology/UV layouts too

The old site is pretty much been overwritten now, but it was more like a holding ground for old stuff, I am now adding content from scratch this year, so its good to get you advice on board as it appears

ez_flow

Hi Robert,

Thanks for sharing your work. Let me start off by saying your work has potential. Here's the advice I would offer you:

1) Drop the shaders and do a real texture pass on your models
-studios want to know you can run a model through the full pipeline
-if you have no textures for the model, a nice clean zbrush matcap will do the job

2) Show some wire frames and flat textures
-if you are applying for a job in games, art leads want to see your lo-poly wire frames and your UV layouts

As for the layout of the site, I think it does the trick. Best work first to catch my attention and finish strong with a solid piece. Also, when in doubt leave it out.

-J

RobertRamsay

Great Advice Ez, you guys are the best!