Portfolio Review and advice.

Jakob Gavelli

Hey!

I'm currently torn between pursuing further education when I graduate from upper secondary school soon in Sweden, entering a Game School such as Futuregames or Game Assembly. Or if I'm at a level where I could start applying for junior positions instead.

There in lies my dilemma and here is my current portfolio : http://jakobgavelli.carbonmade.com/

How do you think this portfolio would be received when applying for a junior position?

Thanks for watching!

Jakob Gavelli

I'd still love some advice.. :[

cholden

Maybe some more breakdowns for the scenes. Updating the about page to a proper resume/CV. The work seems good for applying. Just keep pushing it.

Paul Pepera

Your work certainly demonstrates that you can make game art. My suggestion would be to join a mod team or work on some sort of small, independent game (turn your first portfolio piece into a playable game). You will learn more and have to solve problems you would never encounter in a school environment. It'll make you a more rounded game developer. If you want to go to school go for a Fine arts or Industrial design education. You already know how to make game art - there is no sense in going to school for more of it. Now you need to learn how to make memorable pieces of art with those skills.

Your body of work right now is too small and no piece is particularly salient. Your work is not terrible nor is it amazing - it occupies a space filled with hundreds of other , similar-looking junior level candidates. You want to make your work more memorable - make a statement with it. Your scifi hallways suffers from pretty much every clich

ysalex

It took approximately 2 months using a 512x2048 diffuse-texture aswell as a 512x512 detail normal on all industrial pieces. Aswell as a 512x512 diffuse-texture for the foliage. The project took approximately two months to finish.

I like it, but consider revising some of the language, personally it throws me off. Probably not a huge deal but a detail.

Jakob Gavelli

@cholden: Thanks! You're right about the breakdowns. Makes me feel naked but I guess there's no fighting it!

@Paul Pepera: Thank you for your time! I think that one my my biggest strengths is also my biggest weakness. I'm trying to create games, as the Red Robot and Wizard projects. They're made under reasonable timelimits which means I have to work fast and efficient and cut corners, and it has to be playable. Which is a kind of dumb self-limitation to have at this point.

You're right about the designs, I tried combining the modular texture workflow with my handpainted stuff to create the Red Robot but it didn't quite turn out. Too much time spent on programming and "level design". Thank you for the reality check, it's very hard to know when you work in a vacuum!

@ysalex: Thanks! I'll have a look through the descriptions and fix those stupid sentences.

Thanks to everyone who visited the portfolio, and even more to those who replied! I'll take the advice on board and come back stronger!