Customizing your portfolio for a specific studio/job

VanZark

Hey,

I was just wondering, if I had a specific studio I wanted to work at, would it help or hurt my chances by making my portfolio themed around their style. 

For example. If I wanted to work for Blizzard and I made 3d assets or character models based on the Overwatch universe and/or in that art style. Or maybe modeled a 3d environment scene using the comics as reference? 

Seems like it might be a bit of a grey area and was just wondering peoples thoughts. 

Thanks,

VanZark

Meloncov

You definitely want to submit work reasonably close to what the studio creates. However, I'd recommend thinking in terms of art styles, rather than focusing all your effort at a particular studio. That's not to say doing something specifically Overwatch-inspired is a bad idea, just that you shouldn't think it's necessary.

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beefaroni

My first two job interviews were for stylized first person shooters. My entire portfolio was realism.

While tailoring your portfolio helps, a good artist should be able to quickly apply their knowledge to another style.

Spoon

I'm curious, how do you ever see this hurting your chances?

I would second the beef.

VanZark

Spoon said:

I'm curious, how do you ever see this hurting your chances?

I would second the beef.

I've never worked for a studio, i'm still starting out, and i wasn't sure how protective studios are over their work. For example, I'm a big fan of the assassin's creed series. Would applying at Ubisoft with a portfolio that includes concept character designs based on the assassin's creed games be a compliment or unprofessional? Since it would basically be a form of fan art. 

The main reason I ask is because I'm currently working on putting together my portfolio. So that i can start getting feedback and eventually apply for a job. I draw a lot of inspiration from the movies and games I enjoy, as I'm sure a lot of people do. Since theses are my main sources of inspiration it shows through my work. 

So I was just wondering, at what point is it considered "fan art" and would having that in a portfolio be unprofessional, or even be pushing into the realm of copyright infringement. 

beefaroni

So I was just wondering, at what point is it considered "fan art" and would having that in a portfolio be unprofessional, or even be pushing into the realm of copyright infringement. 

Stop worrying about that and instead just focus on hitting the quality bar  you need to get hired.

If you literally re-made the main character in Assassin's Creed but hit a higher quality standard than he was originally authored at I don't think anyone will mind..........

In fact, if you do it better you'll probably get a job pretty quickly...

Spoon

I will second the beef again  
I can only paraphrase the exact same message.

VanZark

Thanks to everyone who addressed my concerns. It means a lot to me. I tend to overthink things and having this clearification will allow me to polish my portfolio with more confidence. 

Cheers!