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2D Portfolio review? + Question about folio build

polycounter lvl 8
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miguelnarayan polycounter lvl 8
Hey all.

My journey through game art self-learning has been going along with my Polycount activity, it made sense to post this here, since these forums have always been an awesome resource and hub to connect, and a place that I feel everyone is always kind to me, for some reason!

I was wondering if any of you would feel generous enough to review my work? http://www.miguel-nogueira.com/concept-art

My build on the portfolio consists of: gameplay solutions, suggestions, story ideas, orthos and blueprints for 3D production. It doesn't have a major focus on illustration or painting (sadly! because I like to paint), but I was told employers don't look for pretty art, just design.

The problem:
I'm a bit stuck with my portfolio development, I have enough work to land me some freelance work with some studios and people that got me excited. I even worked for ex-employees of my favorite game... but I feel something is still lacking, I notice some clients responding a lot more to my job applications than ever, which means improvement right?
But I don't really think my portfolio is great, I don't think it is me. I also haven't had fun drawing for a long time.

I don't have that much fun because I plan a lot, I brainstorm, use design thinking thesis, research a lot, more than what I draw, I get so little energy when I get to the drawing phase, I think my work is lifeless, I also notice the work that I don't iterate a lot, or just settle to make the idea from head to paper without mass research and planning, to be the work everyone shares and features the most... why am I even bothering with planning so much?!

To illustrate an example better, let me show an image I did before I learned light color, perspective, anatomy, etc.

https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/001/973/540/large/miguel-nogueira-a.jpg?1455391592

I was doing a lot of these 'everydays' when I was graduating from graphic design, using the bases I learned from graphic design college, and obviously the design on the face is kinda off, the shape language is boring, composition could be better...it's and old piece, but the storytelling was something that I was very proud of at the time, by mixing subculture, tech and spirituality, it came something that is me. I still like this one better than most of my portfolio, for that very same reason, because this one at least makes me feel something... and because I remember that I had fun doing this, it felt right.
I haven't had that chance to do everydays or that kind of random stuff... I just assign myself a big project and work on it. Maybe I'm doing this ''wrong''? 

Thanks for reading.
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