Environment/ Prop Artist looking for portfolio review

BradyJ

Hello guys. My goal is to work on environments and props for games. I feel like my portfolio lacks a lot of environments, and I am trying to work on that But I was wondering if I could get some general feedback on what my weaknesses are, what should I cut out of my portfolio? What am I missing on some of my current projects?

Also I designed a logo that I use for recognition all around the internet, but I am not a skilled graphic designer. What if anything could be changed about that logo?

Any feedback is super helpful to me!

Portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/bradyjdesign

rexo12

Looking at your portfolio, you appear to me as a pretty capable modeling and texture artist. However, there's nothing there that really shows off your skills. If it were me, I would compile all the little one-off prop pieces that populate your portfolio into a single sort of anthology post with just one or 2 images per prop. Then, I would have more (like.. 1 or 2 maybe?) pieces akin to (and even to replace) your Remington or Pipe wrench model - models involving a lot of complex and interesting shapes where you can really show off not just your skill but also your commitment to long term projects. Think of a sort of flagship project you might do.

Otherwise, based on your portfolio, it really seems like lighting is your weakest link at present. You have a very uniform lighting style across your standalone prop projects - which, while it does keep everything visible - is in my opinion a bit bland, as it doesn't really set a tone or tell a story. Think about how you might introduce just a little more contrast into your compositions, and experiment with some more artistic setups (i've heard purple and blue lights look really nice on metal surfaces...) It's okay to have multiple lighting setups for a single project so long as you don't overdo it.

In general, less tends to be more with portfolios. Try and really justify each piece you have with what skills it's demonstrating to your viewer, and within those pieces you should be trying to justify the purpose behind each image (my personal test is whether or not I can write a compelling caption for it). If you're just trying to show all the angles of your model then maybe a sketchfab or a video is better and so on.

And of course, get some environments in there

Hope this helped, best of luck!!

Zi0

All the props you made have very basic shapes, you need to challenge yourself and create a prop with more complex shapes.

As for the logo, it would work better with a white background instead of grey.

BradyJ

@rexo12 Thanks so much for your feed back. I agree, lighting is something I really need to focus on, I always try to go for 3 lights at different intensity all around the model, but bland is not my intention, so I will look for ways to add some drama to my shots.

@ZiO Yes I think you are right on this, I will keep that in mind for my next project.

Vertrucio

For the assembled environment, research and use some of the techniques used to hide the modular/tiling elements of the environment. Whether that's vertex blending on the ground textures, pools of dingy water, to larger scale grunge on the walls to hide the repeating brick.

And as part of that, a lot environment leads are looking for whether or not you can show story within your environments. They need to look like humans have been there recently and doing something, or if they aren't there anymore, some hint as to why.

BradyJ

@Vertrucio Yes I agree, I did not know as much when I made that environment, was thinking I need to go back and change the way I handled materials. Also that alley needs a lighting fix.