[Portfolio] Marie Portfolio/Website Critique

marie_s3d

Hello.. I'm a long-time lurker, first time poster. I've read lots of good critiques on other people's work here over the past few months, so I was hoping to get some feedback on my website and portfolio pieces. As a disclaimer, I'm a junior artist with 2 years experience in the animation/film industry, not gaming, so my models are all made to reflect that.  I tailored my model choices with applying to more stylized/cartoony animation studios in mind, but there are way more VFX studios in my city, so I'm thinking about adding some more realistic pieces and am open to suggestions on some good subject choices to help round out my portfolio.

My heart is in organic character modeling/texturing but I am coming to the harsh realization that no studios will hire a junior for character modeling/texturing, so should I get some nice prop models in there to show versatility until I gain more industry experience?

Website: http://mariesanginesi3d.weebly.com/


Be honest and don't hold back, I can take it!  >=)

Thanks in advance! 

CandyStripes05

about time

marie_s3d

C'mon now, I see you guys all lurking. Any feedback, good, bad or meh, would be greatly appreciated

siobhandeswardt

Meh.
Kidding!
You've got some good 3d modelling foundation
Are you a generalist or where does your focus lie mainly?

marie_s3d

Hahaha thank you Siobhandeswardt.
 I'm focused on modeling and texturing for 3D animation/film/TV/VFX.
 I am most drawn to studios that do cartoony disney/pixar-style work, which I tried to cater to in my current portfolio.. but I am thinking of shifting towards realistic pieces for VFX integration because there's a lot more work in that area. 

marie_s3d

For all the lurkers, if there's not much to say about the models, feedback on the website layout if anything needs improvement would also be much appreciated before I start applying for jobs again soon  

Jean-Pascal

Hi Marie! You got some great work. One thing I'd recommend, is to remove older pieces that doesn't represent your current skill level (especially the student short film characters). Quality over quantity!

marie_s3d

Thank you for your response Jean! I had been wondering if I should remove those characters for a while now, so I'm glad you came out and said that. I had a quick look at your website by the way, and both it and your characters are beautiful!  

hmm_rock

You have some lovely character art. I really like the subtly of the textures, especially the female bust. I sound like the polycount broken record, but anatomy studies would really help push your work to the next level. Even cartoony characters are rooted in reality. The Pegasus for example could use some muscle definition around the front legs and chest.

Personally, I'm a strong proponent of only making the art you want to make. If you get stuck in a job making props, when polishing your character skills and holding out a bit longer could land you a job you really love and gives you more relevant experience, it doesn't seem like a good trade off. But I totally understand that's not realistic for a lot of people. I'm just in the "specialize" camp over "generalize." I think you have a really solid start and already have experience, so it would be more beneficial to focus on what you want to do.

About the site itself: I'd say the portfolio page should be the default home. I know that it's a trade off in seeing an overview of you work vs having to scroll through multiple images (see my personal website vs artstation, I like both for different reasons) but when it comes down to if, if your strongest work is at the top and its enticing enough, people will scroll down regardless. Right now, clicking on a project and being taken to (a random part) of another page is confusing for me. It leaves me thinking "where do I go now? up or down?"

Removing work is hard, but I'd either take the guitar out or make a different, secondary page for your props. Consolidate all your character work together. Also, to keep it professional, I'd remove the drawing pages. Sorry! I know it sucks hearing to take things out Totally up to you though. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself, is this going to help me get the job?

Hope that's not too harsh and maybe a bit helpful

marie_s3d

Thank you so much for all your feedback @hmm_rock, I really appreciate your honesty. You spoke to a lot of things I had been wondering to myself about, so it is all super helpful! Now I know what direction to move in to optimize my portfolio pieces and website