You kind of answered your own question, you need to specialize if you want to work for a studio especially AAA. Your current portfolio pieces are a bit weak, the flask, VHS and toy blocks have very simple shapes. The beak beast isn't optimized well and the design of it isn't quite good either. Cabin in the wood is your strongest piece, quality of it could be better but it has a nice mood to it
I think you need to ask yourself what you like the most in 3D and specialize in it and make nice additional portfolio pieces that show your skill.
Props like a flask that pretty much only a cylinder wont get you hired I'm afraid.
Getting your portfolio uploaded online might help get more responses. Artstation is free!
Beak creature isn't a great design unfortunately, and the texture is just a bucket fill skin material. I'd suggest working to replace it with another piece that shows you can do creature/character LP and rigging, but that's a stronger concept overall. The flask is... fine, but the "blood" isn't really up to scratch, it's too unrealistic (too bright and saturated) and oddly bumpy instead of slick and shiny or clotted. Make sure to do more research in the future instead of going off what you think it should look like in your head. As Zi0 said, it's also a bit simple. The Cabin in the wood is cute, I'd like to see more of it. I feel like more attention overall and some more shots of this scene might be nice.
Overall there's not enough variety in your pieces. You need a more fleshed out concept or interesting hero prop to model, I think. Making sure whatever you choose is something you're interested in modelling might be important, even if you're more of a generalist your work shouldn't be "generic"! Be sure to check the online portfolios of some other artists that have jobs you want; I think that may help you with direction, as well. Don't be afraid to show more shots and breakdowns, especially when it's a diorama or environment.
Good luck man! Make sure to post any updates here, hopefully you land another good gig soon.
- higher quality/more content -focused content in a specialized field (characters, environment, vehicles/weapons/props etc_ -artstation based portoflio - realtime artwork displayed in a game engine
basically, invest some time developing a super refined skillset in the area of art you really enjoy
The important part of "higher quality/more content", is quality. If you can't look at a piece of your work objectively and say it's good, you might need to remove it. It's a cliche, but it's true, you're only as good as your weakest portfolio piece.
I've started a new project, bigger than usual, to show what I can do. I'm remaking a scene from vanilla wow, but prettier and more detailed with a bit of a twist on the final mood as I plan to give it a lot darker vibe. Should turn out nice and interesting.
I would do the opposite and work on a small but complex/interesting prop and be highly focussed on improving your modelling, UV's, texturing, material definition, lighting and presentation.
I've started a new project, bigger than usual, to show what I can do. I'm remaking a scene from vanilla wow, but prettier and more detailed with a bit of a twist on the final mood as I plan to give it a lot darker vibe. Should turn out nice and interesting.
I would do the opposite and work on a small but complex/interesting prop and be highly focussed on improving your modelling, UV's, texturing, material definition, lighting and presentation.
Agreed. It's better to really push one prop from start to finish and make it very good. You will learn a lot by doing this. Focus on your modeling and then look at reference and other artists on how your textures should look. Then light it properly and present it in a professional way. Then go from there.
First of all, you should put your portfolio online. You can make it for free using Behance.net, or DeviantArt. If you want a more advanced online portfolio, use Format. Anyway, sending your portfolio to potential clients as a .pdf won't work. That's too much hassle saving it, then opening it, etc.
Hey, I just took a look at your Artstation, you have sculpts, characters, environments, assets and digital painting. If I were an AD looking at your portfolio I'd have no Idea what job you're applying to.
Replies
Beak creature isn't a great design unfortunately, and the texture is just a bucket fill skin material. I'd suggest working to replace it with another piece that shows you can do creature/character LP and rigging, but that's a stronger concept overall. The flask is... fine, but the "blood" isn't really up to scratch, it's too unrealistic (too bright and saturated) and oddly bumpy instead of slick and shiny or clotted. Make sure to do more research in the future instead of going off what you think it should look like in your head. As Zi0 said, it's also a bit simple. The Cabin in the wood is cute, I'd like to see more of it. I feel like more attention overall and some more shots of this scene might be nice.
Overall there's not enough variety in your pieces. You need a more fleshed out concept or interesting hero prop to model, I think. Making sure whatever you choose is something you're interested in modelling might be important, even if you're more of a generalist your work shouldn't be "generic"! Be sure to check the online portfolios of some other artists that have jobs you want; I think that may help you with direction, as well. Don't be afraid to show more shots and breakdowns, especially when it's a diorama or environment.
Good luck man! Make sure to post any updates here, hopefully you land another good gig soon.
"I'd love to be able to concentrate on one type of work and build a strong portfolio around that."
Choose what you like the most doing and concentrate on that.
A great thread (...if you'd not already browsed) for picking up ideas where to start - Recently hired in AAA? Show us your portfolio
-focused content in a specialized field (characters, environment, vehicles/weapons/props etc_
-artstation based portoflio
- realtime artwork displayed in a game engine
basically, invest some time developing a super refined skillset in the area of art you really enjoy