Portfolio Critique/Review
Hello there. I am new here and I've been told this place is good for getting reviews/critiques for my portfolio.
My background:
I am a 3D artist that is somewhat a generalist at the moment but I wanna go for a prop/environment artist in the future. I am a junior. I have no professional experience but I did a Master Degree in 3D art using Maya. After that I've been doing some courses here and there as well as doing some other things on my own with Blender
I've got a few offers as well as some other interviews but usually end up hiring the people that has experience over the new guy that just want to join in.
I've heard my portfolio is not good enough and others mentioned that was decent for a guy that "just started". I am focusing on hard surface and environment so I can keep going further on what I like. What do you guys think? You can be brutally honest if you want, wont mind a harsh one since is what I wanna do in the future.
I don't mind ending up in a studio for movies/animation or videogames so I don't know if those 2 would vary a lot between each other.
Replies
Looking at a your portfolio from a eagles view, it does look novice to mid level. It's been advised to remove things from your portfolio that does not meet industry standard, if not, then improve it until it meets that quality.
I would change the thumbnail of the drone to the 2nd picture.
My eyes glossed over the procedural and lava textures. I think its best the remove them, since people have to read how it was made in order to really appreciate it. I think people just want to see amazing renders in a portfolio rather than technical details.
The shoe is a little lackluster. You should display it like how products are photographed like this shorturl.at/uMS58
The UE5 mountains need some work. Have a look at this https://www.pinterest.com/pin/321655598376878075/. Hint: If your renders are not turning out realistic, adding glow usually helps.
The cannon looks decent in the first image, but in the 2nd one, you can clearly see the procedural/repeated texture on the gun.
Your interior scenes need some work.. Lighting doesn't seem natural. Are you using cycles?
The animation of the joker feels stiff, it looks good when he leans into the camera though. It looks like your demo reel has him in it as well, that looks a little better than the artstation project.
The car material looks off. Are you using a clearcoat value? Have a look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q64UKGGXb64&t=229s
The low poly scene looks too low poly, even for polygonal style. Add more geometry, ambient occlusion, and hdr lighting.
About the rocks.. Showing that you can make a rock is not saying much. I know you've done a little more work with nodes and texture blending, but its not apparent when glossing over your portfolio. To an average viewer, its just rocks. They can't really appreciate the nodes and technical work involved. Like I was saying, a 3d portfolio should just be about showing amazing visuals. Maybe make a separate page for more technical displays for your lava texture, rocks, and procedural texture.
Don't label yourself as a junior artist.. it sets a precedent. People want to hire experts, not juniors. I know its a lot but the job market is pretty competitive. Even experts/intermediates might accept junior pay.