Just graduated game development, website/portfolio time!

Adrian Pieroni

Some quick background. I've been on Polycount since 2012 when I signed up during my first year of game development at Durham College, which here in Canada is a 3 year advanced diploma program. I started 3D from scratch in the program pretty much as soon as I turned 21, and I'm 23 now. Overall my college experience could have been better, but I won't go much into it. I know this industry consist of self-driven individuals, and I am prepared to continue teaching myself what I need to know in order to progress.

Having said that, here's a look at my current progress so far. Feel free to critique/suggest/tear me to shreds etc. My website is still a work in progress, and I'll be adding more soon in regards to breakdowns, texture sheets etc.

http://adrianpieroni3d.weebly.com/

As soon as I can I will purchase a domain name without stupid sounding "weebly" in it. They're definitely a good website building company though.

Right now I'm looking forward to shifting from Maya, which was the main software we used in the program, to 3DS Max, and begin high-poly hard surface modelling/baking. We never touched a shred of that discipline in school. I'm also looking forward to learning Mudbox, which looks like a powerful alternative to Zbrush, with good texturing capabilities.

Meloncov

Wait, why do you have to learn Max in order to start doing hi-poly bakes? I mean, it's probably a good idea to learn Max at some point, but there's really not anything you can do in Max that you can't do in Maya.

Joltya

^ Not only that, but there are even other programs like xnormal that can bake your normal maps without having to go through the 3D programs normal baker. Furthermore, I've only used Max, but I've seen people bake in Maya and it looks so much more simpler than what Max has to offer.

luge

^ agreed about using different programs to bake as well. honestly, it doesn't really matter what program you use to do it in the end as long as it looks good and you can learn others. although, there are some things from max that are helpful and some things from maya that are helpful. plus, mayas baking tools are pretty good. so I don't really see a point to switch over aside from just a learning experience. You can do hi-poly and bakes in maya just fine. I personally use maya over max, find it more intuitive and user friendly, all be it, less stable.

David3D.The

First thing I'd suggest is pick a direction, your portfolio currently has environments, characters and creatures. I'd say your environment is your best strength from whats on your portfolio but if you want to focus on characters/creatures then only show these and work on that. If you want to do more environments then aim to make a few more nice environments to replace your characters.

Also yeah you don't need to use Max over Maya for anything. I've used both and at different times preferred both of them to the alternatives. You only really need to use whatever you're comfortable using to get stuff done quickly and effectively.

Its definitely worth looking at Max to get used to it and how it does differ from Maya though as having both on your CV will look better to studios which use the opposite software to what you're using.

glottis8

Pay attention to your lighting and contrast. Right now as i open your portfolio nothing stands out and everything looks pretty dark and desaturated.

Tobbo

Bradley Wascher is having a spring sale at Udemy right now. I'd recommend picking up 'Learning 3ds Max after knowing Maya'.

https://www.udemy.com/learning-3ds-max-after-knowing-maya-modeling/?couponCode=SpringTime5

Adrian Pieroni

@ Meloncov, Joltzero, luge, David3D.The

I know you can do pretty much everything in Maya that you can do in Max, but the main reason for shifting towards Max is that the majority of studios around here like Ubisoft and Rockstar use 3DS Max and require it for their art test submissions despite our graduates using Maya, so it has been a problem for several grads and they've essentially been forced into that slow transition. I know some studios use Maya like 343, Sony Online Entertainment, etc, but from what I've seen here on Polycount and overall, it seems Max tends to be the dominant software package used for games/modelling in North America, so my intention is to get proficient with both. That modifier stack is a pretty powerful thing.

@Glottis8 Noted, I'll try to get an eye for that

@Tobbo That's one of the tutorials I've been following, he made it free on his birthday, it's been really handy.

Adrian Pieroni

And yes I definitely agree that Maya's UI is more friendly and intuitive than 3DS Max.