I've been in the industry for almost 10 years but haven't had an account here. So now that I have one, I'll also post my portfolio!
Feedback is welcome!
The large banner at the top of each page doesn't really do much, except return the viewer to the first (and wrong, but more on that later) page. It also that interesting visually; it's not bad, mind you, it just doesn't strike me as a signature piece you'd want on each page. I'd probably pick a different banner, and combine it with your name & title at the very top of the page.
I'd probably simplify the main selections to artwork/about, or professional/personal/contact, and then allow sub-sections as needed. This is, however, a matter of taste; you'll see recommendations for either throughout this forum.
Now, the first page. Working on the assumption that people have very short attention spans, the very first thing people should see is your artwork, and the very best piece, at that. Personally, I'd probably choose a personal piece, rather than a professional piece. A professional piece illustrates that you worked on such-and-such a game of such-and-such quality and were able to follow directions. Important stuff - critical, even - but all of that is covered on the CV. Professional don't really show much about the true limits of your skills because there are so many constraints - time, artistic direction, etc. - and unknowns - who really created what part of a scene, etc. So, in general, I just find that personal pieces can be more informative/useful.
Going further, you always want to present your best stuff first. In general, this will mean starting with the most recent, and then working backwards through time. This applies to both pages (i.e. Crysis 3, then 2, then 1) and individual image within each page.
Also, don't be afraid to cull. Not only should each image be the best you can currently do, it should also be significant in its own right. I'm not certain the texture breakouts really fit in the latter category - not so many of them at any rate. Also, I wonder if a flat surface - cube or even plane - wouldn't work better for some textures, such as the cobblestones.
I'm not a big fan of the water texture you've chosen as a background on a few of the personal pages - such as the diving helmet. It just feels dated, and lowers the quality of the scene. The water itself looks more like plastic than water, and at this point people expect a better shore-water interface - waves, sea spume, etc. A simple beach texture (sand or gravel) with a distant coast might be a better choice.
The hand-painted plastic figures, while very nice, don't seem to fit in. They might work better in their own section, but I do wonder if they belong in the professional portfolio for a digital artist.
I'd probably merge the about and CV entries into a single section, and include an inline (i.e. HTML) version of the resume. The latter isn't really required, of course, loading Adobe just tends to annoy me when I'm using a limited browser (a mobile, for instance).
You might want to include your written/spoken languages on your CV; that can be important, especially for EU teams which might be spread across several countries.
You explicitly call out "concept artist" among your skills on you CV, but I don't recall any concepts among your portfolio pieces.
Thanks for the feedback, DWalker.
I agree on all points. I'm not sure if wordpress allows me to reorder the pages, but I'm sure there is a way to fix it.
I'll also look into condensing the texture stuff into less pictures with multiple of them in it, or show less overall. I just thought it might be interesting to see all of them, because the entire level is made up of them. But yeah, not really the point of a portfolio.
Anyway I'm happy you guys like my work, I hope I can keep it up to date more going forward while adressing those points, and not let work pile up for years
Replies
I'm pretty sure they speak german on most courses.
I'd probably simplify the main selections to artwork/about, or professional/personal/contact, and then allow sub-sections as needed. This is, however, a matter of taste; you'll see recommendations for either throughout this forum.
Now, the first page. Working on the assumption that people have very short attention spans, the very first thing people should see is your artwork, and the very best piece, at that. Personally, I'd probably choose a personal piece, rather than a professional piece. A professional piece illustrates that you worked on such-and-such a game of such-and-such quality and were able to follow directions. Important stuff - critical, even - but all of that is covered on the CV. Professional don't really show much about the true limits of your skills because there are so many constraints - time, artistic direction, etc. - and unknowns - who really created what part of a scene, etc. So, in general, I just find that personal pieces can be more informative/useful.
Going further, you always want to present your best stuff first. In general, this will mean starting with the most recent, and then working backwards through time. This applies to both pages (i.e. Crysis 3, then 2, then 1) and individual image within each page.
Also, don't be afraid to cull. Not only should each image be the best you can currently do, it should also be significant in its own right. I'm not certain the texture breakouts really fit in the latter category - not so many of them at any rate. Also, I wonder if a flat surface - cube or even plane - wouldn't work better for some textures, such as the cobblestones.
I'm not a big fan of the water texture you've chosen as a background on a few of the personal pages - such as the diving helmet. It just feels dated, and lowers the quality of the scene. The water itself looks more like plastic than water, and at this point people expect a better shore-water interface - waves, sea spume, etc. A simple beach texture (sand or gravel) with a distant coast might be a better choice.
The hand-painted plastic figures, while very nice, don't seem to fit in. They might work better in their own section, but I do wonder if they belong in the professional portfolio for a digital artist.
I'd probably merge the about and CV entries into a single section, and include an inline (i.e. HTML) version of the resume. The latter isn't really required, of course, loading Adobe just tends to annoy me when I'm using a limited browser (a mobile, for instance).
You might want to include your written/spoken languages on your CV; that can be important, especially for EU teams which might be spread across several countries.
You explicitly call out "concept artist" among your skills on you CV, but I don't recall any concepts among your portfolio pieces.
I agree on all points. I'm not sure if wordpress allows me to reorder the pages, but I'm sure there is a way to fix it.
I'll also look into condensing the texture stuff into less pictures with multiple of them in it, or show less overall. I just thought it might be interesting to see all of them, because the entire level is made up of them. But yeah, not really the point of a portfolio.
Anyway I'm happy you guys like my work, I hope I can keep it up to date more going forward while adressing those points, and not let work pile up for years