website/porfolio critique- give me your best

Thall

Been making my website over the past year during my 1st and 2nd year of 3D at uni. But I feel like its not really doing the job.

I want some C&C, I've got tough skin, I can take suggestions and opinions really well, because at the end of the day, that's all they are. I'll use the ones that make sense.

I appreciate any time taken by anyone to be honest and brutal if necessary. cheers guys!


http://www.johncostelloart.com

mats effect

You have bits of everything characters, props, environment ish stuff, drawings, weapons. Pick just one and focus on it.

I would say your telescope and tool box are your best pieces, they look pretty nice. so I would focus on small scene environment type stuff.

Shrike

Yea you really have to decide, yesterday at best.

With decide i mean between character and environment/hardsurface. Cut the concept art, it dosnt help and you would have to put so much time into it, its just undoable (traditional art requires extraordinairy dedication) So cut all that time from 2d, its nearly wasted.

Im sure one of the many great character artists can tell you if your character art is worth developing, but I can tell you its harder to continue that road as you require flawless anatomy skills, but if you really want, im sure you can with enough dedication.

Keep doing realistic props, theres not much to say about that. You still have time, and its a decent start so far. Just avoid sci-fi and stilized stuff, it will very likely damage your learning process and portfolio in the end if you want that advice from me.
You understand drybrushing/edge highlighting in texturing thats good.
If you continue working hard you should have stuff that is worthy of a good junior portfolio in the end, its not quite there yet but close. (this is meant positive)

Oh and cut the layer style from your name : P and try finding a nicer way of presenting than that greyblue background, good luck and happy working!

Thall

Thank you so much mats effect and Shrike. that feedback was exactly what I needed. I've felt really lost on what to specialize in, and I think you've put into real perspective for me Strike. I'm definitely going to focus on environmental art and props

Again, thank you so much!

klamp

So, I partially agree with what's already been said - you should definitely decide what position you want to get, whether it be environment artist, character artist, or whatever. I would add, though, that it is equally (if not MORE) important to figure out where you want to work. I find that this tends to dictate what you include in your portfolio, since each studio will be looking for something different based on the projects they're working on and the size of their teams.

So, for example, if you're working at a larger studio that does realistic, AAA titles, then yes, you'll want to slim down your portfolio to only displaying one concise part of the production pipeline - modeling, texturing, animation, concept, etc. - since those larger studios hire people for very specific tasks.

However, if you want to work at a smaller studio, where you're asked to wear many hats, then it's a good thing to show proficiency in several areas. Smaller studios might want you to come up with your own concepts for objects that you then also model and paint textures for. In that case, you'd want to show examples in your portfolio that demonstrate your painting skills as well as your modeling skills.

So... to sum up...

• Figure out what you'd be happy doing the most.
• Figure out at which studio(s) you want to do that thing.
• Tailor your portfolio for applying to that studio (or studios). In the case where you're interested in multiple studios that differ in style or expectations, it might not be a bad idea to have different versions of your portfolio.

Just my two cents. Good luck!