Crits please! Uberren's portfolio.

Uberren

Hi Polycount!

I finally put together a portfolio website so I'm looking for feedback and would really appreciate anything you can think of in terms of the layout or my work.

Thanks

Updated [1 September 2015]
http://www.ren-phillips.com/

RocketBryan

Diggin' it so far, very nice clean look. I'll take a second look later to see if I notice anything else, but the one thing that sticks out to me in particular is the artist branding on the right side of all your images. It's a little distracting to have basically a giant business card attached to all your renders, especially if you have all that information already on your website where you're hosting them. I would recommend toning it down to a smaller corner or an unobtrusive watermark. I personally just leave a subtle url address on mine so no matter where people find the image, they can navigate back to me. They don't need a giant logo or full artist information if I'm just going to provide that on my website anyway.

Also, wireframe renders.

dand3d

Well I am liking how the website is. Simple to the point shoving the artwork in my face on the first page.
So some feedback.
You are seem to be super focused on the hand painted style, that is cool as lots of games use this but I'd not have it as the "title" hand painted 3d environments and props. I'd get rid of the hand painted in the title since it is kind of like pointing out the obvious. By the time we get to your website we can see that they are hand painted. Keep it for your business cards and resume but it is not needed on your website.

Also why have you not added the tanks and planes you have in your tumbler? These would be a great addition to your site as while you do have 3 different props, and while they are good there is just not a lot of them. Adding two or 3 more images/new props would be a great start to your site.

Lastly I'd remove the goofy little fish from your images. If this is your brand icon I understand that you want people to reconcile your fish and think of you so leave it on your business card and website but in the images they just feel out of place and odd. If you can't live without them I'd make it transparent and over lay it to one bottom sides of the image.

Uberren

Thanks guys!
@Rocket Brian
I'll go back through my images and scale down the fish really small and just have a url in the bottom corner or something then. That will leave an extra pane for some wireframes

@dand3d
I guess it is redundant to state the obvious in the title. I'll edit it out.
As for why I haven't added the Super Battlelands tanks and planes...I don't know, lol. I will put them together and add them when I get back home tonight.
And like I said to Brian, I'll scale down the fish to not be so obnoxious.

atomander

I really like your hand painted stuff, especially your little scene with telephone pole. You have some good, clean pieces so far, but here are my thoughts for going forward:

1. Try some larger environments. Getting a full scene together can be a lot of work, but I think getting a complete one with good lighting would bring it to the next level.

2. I've heard different things about this, but a lot of people have said that it is worthwhile to mix in some sculpts into hand-painted stuff. Blizzard artists like Fanny Vergne incorportate it into their hand-painted textures for some great results.

You have a lot of talent, hope to see more of your posts!

Uberren

Worked on some of the changes you all suggest

Thanks for the kind words, atomander.
I definitely would like to be able to do a larger environment at some point, but with uni work along with the game I am working on it is frustrating to be able to find the time to settle down and dive into a big environment.
Speaking of uni and sculpting, my finals are approaching so I will try putting some sculpting to use during those. It's something I definitely need to spend more time on.

dand3d

Much better! I like the new way you fixed the fish email/website on each of your images much better and very clean!
Nitpicky critiques.
You might want to put Environment & Prop Artist, even though we know you are an artist, I don't know it just feels off without the Artist there.

It might be really cool if you added sketch fab or any other online 3d viewing site links so people could see all around your models. I know some people are very against the idea of putting there stuff in those websites for multiple reasons but I have always liked the idea.
Especially for the weapons and the super badlands models that would be awesome to tumble around and see from all angles.

Uberren

bumping

I got rid of a lot of old work and added in a sculpted piece along with some sketchfab models where I could. Would like some feedback on how it's currently looking

_Kratos_

I think it is super solid! It is very constrained to that art style, but it seems like it is what you want to do Start applying, you aint gonna have problems
Awesome work man!

Maybe consider doing some character art in the same style?

Bedrock

I've always felt like your 'Item Cart' piece had a serious case of lack o' color. I don't know if that's what you are going for, but it kind of gave me this mediterrarian exotic trader vibe which tends to be a fairly colorful theme. Website looks nice and simple, although it feels like theres a lot of unnecessary empty space at the top.

Did a quick recolor of the item cart to show what I mean, but I get it if it was a style choice

old - tweaks

Uberren

@_Kratos_
Thank you. I hope it goes smoothly @_@
I was considering doing some character art, but I decided I should focus more on getting my environment / prop creation skills up.

@Bedrock
I don't like saying "it's a style choice" because it sounds like a cop out...but it was a style choice, lol
I didn't want the scene to be too saturated or vibrant, sort of wanted a bit of a gloomy, foggy feel.
I tried fixing the large empty space at the top of the site, and I think it looks better. There is still a small empty space between the banner and the actual content, but I am not sure how to shrink it due to the template I am using for the site...

[edit] Figured out how to fix the gap

foreverlost

I agree with Bedrock regarding making the cart scene more colorful/ vibrant. Plus the handpaint style generally lends itself to be more saturated IMO.

Dvolution

Looks solid man. The website is simple and easy to navigate, so it's not detracting from your work.

The Battle Chaser Mimic is a great addition, hadn't seen that one until now.

Your item cart isn't overly colorful, but you have patches of greater saturation near the lantern and roof of the cart. I think it works.

The tileable texture example is solid.

For me, the weakest pieces are the two stand alone swords. Not that they are poorly done, I just don't think they vibe with the rest of what you're putting out. Don't cut them, but I would at least prioritize the tileable environment before them.

The other thing is that you're marketing yourself as an Environment and Prop artist, but the first piece on your site is a character. If you want to get a job as a character artist, that's totally fine, but if you want to work as an environment artist, put that work at the forefront of what potential employers will see.

Uberren

Thanks Dvolution. You helped me a lot on that item cart scene
I did some reorganising and placed the swords and mimic at the bottom and the tiling texture environment first.

OctoKube

beautiful work!