Portfolio Critique and Advice
greentooth
Hello, I recently finished Uni and have been applying for jobs in my local industry (mainly modelling, texturing and look-dev type roles in tv/film), but haven't had much success the past few months. The kind of areas I would like to work in are 3D modelling, texturing and look-dev, but I'm unsure of what I need to focus on, characters or environments? stylised or realistic? game or tv pipelines/workflow? I've considered trying to get work in CG related fields (such as arch-vis or visualisation type jobs) but am unsure of if my current skillsets transfer to those areas or if there's even demand for that kind of work in my area...
Because of this I've found myself not pursing (or starting and stopping) long-term projects out of fear that I might be spending time working on improving skills/workflows that aren't relevant to any work that might pop up in the next few weeks...
Here is my portfolio,
https://www.artstation.com/mrbfox
Thank you for your time, would be grateful for any advice or just a general direction to go in.
P.S. If this isnt the right area to post this kind of thread I'm ok with the mods closing or moving it.
Because of this I've found myself not pursing (or starting and stopping) long-term projects out of fear that I might be spending time working on improving skills/workflows that aren't relevant to any work that might pop up in the next few weeks...
Here is my portfolio,
https://www.artstation.com/mrbfox
Thank you for your time, would be grateful for any advice or just a general direction to go in.
P.S. If this isnt the right area to post this kind of thread I'm ok with the mods closing or moving it.
Replies
Also you seem to be suffering from "Jack of all trades, master of none" syndrome. Flipping through some of your projects, most everything is just kind of . . . OK, with some "eh" mixed in. I didn't really see much that stood out as awesome. While I don't think there's anything wrong with becoming a Jack of all trades, it requires a much bigger time commitment to learning and practicing. What's that quote, something like it takes 10,000 hours of practice to get really good at a skill? If you're trying to practice 10 skills at once though, that's a LOT of time (Sure, there is overlap of skill and knowledge between different 3D art disciplines, but still... it's a lot of time).
I think a possible strategy might be to first decide which discipline(s) is your favorite, or what studios/companies you would love to work for the most. If your favorite discipline lines up with your favorite type of studio, great. Then research who works there (and in your chosen discipline) and look up their portfolios. Study what is and isn't displayed in their portfolios, and emulate it.
Hypothetical example: You like Arch-vis, and there is a studio nearby you want to apply to. You visit their website, look up their job postings to get an idea of what they're looking for, pop over to Artstation and find some people who've listed that they work there. You see in their portfolios a lot of downtown lofts with hardwood floors, Ikea furniture, bowls of fruit, and warm comfortable lighting. You get to work and build something similar for your portfolio. You take the time to polish it, and make it the best thing you've made so far. You then start a new folder for arch-vis, and apply to any studio you can find that's hiring and does similar work. Sending them the link to your arch-vis folder specifically.
Just my two cents worth, I am not at all an expert in getting hired where, and by whom I want.