Trying to get an internship on a game studio around europe. Help me by critiquing my Portfolio

arfri

Hey guys!

i'm a student in germany currently applying to a bunch of game developer studios around europe ( at least 50 already) but so far i haven't found any luck yet. I'm doing my bachelor on Graphic Design and found out around 2 years ago that it wasn't my passion and i want to do 3D instead. So, since then i've been trying to learn as much as i can about the CG Industry on my own, btw right now i'm in no position to switch degrees because of financial problems. I have a huge interest in games cus i've been playing games as long as i can remember.

Down side is, as you may have guess, i don't get a lot or if any good critiques on my pieces. So i'm going to drop them right here, and if you have any feedbacks and critiques on how i can improve, please dont be shy.

thanks!

Porfolio Link : https://www.artstation.com/arfree

This the latest character that i worked on and also the strongest one i've got so far

Doxturtle

Not a character artist so I can't give much crit, you've got some nice looking work though You've presented it all nicely, so good job with that.

I am not sure the bright blue is really working, looking at the images online it seems to be more of a worn navy colour

Alex_J

I like this character a lot. I like his belly-out posture in the t-pose. It's a little different than the chest-out posture you more often see, but I feel it gives a unique character. Makes him feel like one of those old-school wrestlers with the big mustaches and larger-than-life personalities. 

Anyway, I think the weakest link in this work is the materials. They feel a bit unfinished compared to the sculpting and presentation. Kind of like you have the basic colors and material properties blocked in, but they still lack detail and refinement. A good roughness map will go a long ways, in addition to getting some nice distinction between the different elements -- skin versus body paint versus metal. Right now it all kind blends together. 

jacopoS

I think all of your pieces should be solid enough for an entry level job.
It's good that you're showing the topology of your characters. But I see this particoular one is not optimised for realtime applications. If, for any reason, a recruiter only sees this piece, he/she might think you don't know about topology optimisation for games.
Make sure that your strongest piece is made in such way to fit the needs of a game company.

arfri

jacopoS said:

I think all of your pieces should be solid enough for an entry level job.
It's good that you're showing the topology of your characters. But I see this particoular one is not optimised for realtime applications. If, for any reason, a recruiter only sees this piece, he/she might think you don't know about topology optimisation for games.
Make sure that your strongest piece is made in such way to fit the needs of a game company.

thanks for the feedback, if you dont mind me asking, how should it be more optimised?

I always try to keep in mind of the edgeflow, keeping it quads if possible, and polycount when retopoligizing.

jacopoS

Well, when targeting video games, one very important thing to keep in mind is that full quad topology is not at all a requirement. In fact, it can have a very detremental effect on your polycount.
Other than that, it becomes mostly a matter of deciding where you really need more density and where you can get away with less. For an example, those straps around the character chest and chalves would pretty much look the same with half the resolution. Also, I think his belly would still look good with the same density as the back.
I usually decide this kind of things based on the silhouette and curvature: if you're likely to see the silhouette of something, then it might be a good idea to add some subdivisions.
And off course if something is ment to deform and be rigged, it's important to be mindful of the edge flow as well.

I always point those in need for more informations about low res topology towards this tutorial series. I think it's very well done and it only costs a few bucks. Well worth the price in my opynion.

tahakitan

I believe it should be good enough for an entry level job for a game company if you live in the right areas.  My degree was not in 3D art either, I had a degree in game design (the non artistic side). I just did characters on the side while completing my degree and ended up becoming a character artist instead. So don't be discouraged in your situation. Just keep making characters and if you are working to improve your portfolio will get better and better until you find a job.

Make sure to put your high poly renders, UVs, wireframes, textures, etc.  you are probably thinking alot of professionals dont show all that but they have experience and its safe to assume they already know how to do it.  When hiring an entry level its not assumed. I would take out your 3d viewer for the hulk, it visually doesn't look as good as your rendered images and is bringing the quality down.

All of you characters have focal points that fix your eyes in the wrong areas.  The hulk is the bright blue shoulder pad, the spiderman and realistic human are the bright shoes, the humanoid robot are the emissive.  The eyes should not be focused in those areas.  for spiderman it should be the chest/back symbol and face.  def. not the feet.  same thing for the others  Alot of times people put a gradient on the character from top to bottom depending on the style and such.  some characters are even brightened on the face so that the eyes are attracted to that area.  You dont have to do those things but you should tone done the hue and values of those areas i mentioned on you characters so that are eyes aren't stuck on it.

In terms of quality, like I and others said its good enough to get an entry level job but sometimes competition is hard and you should keep working to keep getting better and making better things.  All it takes is 1 person with a better portfolio to get hired instead of you.

kanga

What tahakitan said about focus is a great comment. The fragmented reinforced concrete slabs behind the character dont really fit with the time the character would be in, and instead of adding focus to the figure they are pretty distracting.

Nice wok.

Alex_J

@tahakitan's critique is fantastic. The bit about focal points is something I have been learning a lot about lately from a great youtube channel, so I thought I'd share it here. It's focused on traditional and digital 2d art, but there is so much great advice about leading the viewers eye with lighting, colors, shapes, etc, and other fundamentals of art that can really be applied in any medium.

This particular video I linked is a long stream that covers tons of stuff, but there is some great nuggets of knowledge in there specifically about leading the viewers eye using lighting, but almost any video on this channel is full of powerful advice about important art fundamentals which may be helpful is taking your work to the next level:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97--Bc3XO38

Dethling

Your work is really nice and is on an entry level. 
But you have the same problem as I, you are in Germany. (I also applied for different internships/positions over the last years and get rejected over and over again) 
Germany is a very "old school" country when it comes to getting a job, certificates are a lot worth here.
Always keep in mind that the first people who see your application are probably no artists, but some HR guys, who simple checking off the lists. If they have one application with a degree and one without, guess which they drop (especially in Germany).

After talking to many people from the German games industry (and get this "a degree is worth it" confirmed)I decided to take the step and make an degree in digital art. 
I'm currently enrolled at Games Academy Frankfurt and it's worth it, not only because of the degree or skill that you learn, but also because of the contacts you make (a lot of my former co-students get hired by companies our teachers work for).

If you don't have the money to pay it yourself, try to talk to the "Agentur für Arbeit" about a "Bildungsgutschein", some of my co-students got it (it's a 100% no-payback "credit"). But also be ready to fight for it (sometimes the agents at the "Agentur für Arbeit" are also a little bit old-school and don't know what "Digital Art" is and that you can make a living from it^^). 
If this didn't work check for stipends or credits (e.g. the Games Academy has it's own stipends system or there are organisations like "Chancen AG"). 
No matter what, if you want to work in Germany as a digital artist I would highly suggest to get some sort of degree in this area, it doesn't hurt you and when in doubt it's always nice to have this small advantage above the other applicants (and it's easier to get to US with a degree too). 

arfri

Dethling said:

Your work is really nice and is on an entry level. 
But you have the same problem as I, you are in Germany. (I also applied for different internships/positions over the last years and get rejected over and over again) 
Germany is a very "old school" country when it comes to getting a job, certificates are a lot worth here.
Always keep in mind that the first people who see your application are probably no artists, but some HR guys, who simple checking off the lists. If they have one application with a degree and one without, guess which they drop (especially in Germany).

After talking to many people from the German games industry (and get this "a degree is worth it" confirmed)I decided to take the step and make an degree in digital art. 
I'm currently enrolled at Games Academy Frankfurt and it's worth it, not only because of the degree or skill that you learn, but also because of the contacts you make (a lot of my former co-students get hired by companies our teachers work for).

If you don't have the money to pay it yourself, try to talk to the "Agentur für Arbeit" about a "Bildungsgutschein", some of my co-students got it (it's a 100% no-payback "credit"). But also be ready to fight for it (sometimes the agents at the "Agentur für Arbeit" are also a little bit old-school and don't know what "Digital Art" is and that you can make a living from it^^). 
If this didn't work check for stipends or credits (e.g. the Games Academy has it's own stipends system or there are organisations like "Chancen AG"). 
No matter what, if you want to work in Germany as a digital artist I would highly suggest to get some sort of degree in this area, it doesn't hurt you and when in doubt it's always nice to have this small advantage above the other applicants (and it's easier to get to US with a degree too). 

@Dethling thanks man. yeah, i noticed that in order to be a "professional" you have to get a degree first. I figured out a bit too late, that i want to change lane into game development way too far down into my study, and i am a foreign student, so its pretty hard for me financialy to change course right now. My plan is that hopefuly i could a job in an indie developer after my bachelor and save up money to then start studying again.

you made a great point about just talking, making friends, and getting advices from people in the industry. Do you know where people usually have these kinds of events?

Dethling

I would check out game and digital art conventions (e.g. the DACFRA in Frankfurt).
The more they are smaller and professional oriented the better. Conventions like GamesCom are also good, but I feel it's harder to make good contacts there.