help pick out my 'best' work

flaagan

as per r13's suggestion, i quickly pulled together (with picassa) a page listing (most of) the work i'm considering putting on my site. there's easily another 10-20 more pieces i can list, but i can gauge from these results which of those to pick.

i personally would like to organize *all* the stuff i've got into groups (vehicles, project a, project b, 3d fights, etc etc), but considering i'm putting this together as a web portfolio to try and get a job shortly, i tend to agree with r's point of having "25 or so good pieces rather than 70+ models listed".. and if i get a job, i can always turn around and get the whole site done up with all the work.

Here's the page...

keep in mind some things (such as 28) can expand to include multiple models, while others (like 35 through 47) are part of the same project and can be grouped together.

for the picking, you can just list the numbers (ie. 1, 15, 26, 28, etc etc) and then throw in commentary or questions afterwords.

thanks again, guys!

aesir

My opinion would be to have a WIP section instead of all these random sections that are full of things that arent finished. That way people dont have to scan through all your WIPs to find your finished work.

EarthQuake

I would just use your most finished stuff, i think it shouldnt be too hard to judge the better things in that bunch. Theres a lot of what looks like WIP models(untextured, high/low polys but no shots of normal mapped, etc) and i dont think those are really suitable for a porfolio unless you have a specific WIP section on your site.

poopinmymouth

If you were to have this stuff on your site, even better organized, I'd assume you have problems finishing things. Why do you have so many unfinished projects? You should take all your unfinished stuff, finish it, then pick from the resulting pile your best stuff.

moose

some honest feedback:

of that, id say the 'best' work would be the cars/bikes/automobile models.

the character stuff is ok, but your strengths atm really seem to reside in vehicles (except 29), and env props. i wouldnt really rate the textures in there as being 'best,' imo, but the models are great. if you showcase the vehicles, id show em off un textured, and with a wireframe. if you can bust out more polished textures for them all, then by all means show em with it, but i dont think the current textures help the models.

i agree with what else has been said, a wip section would be nice - but you know you gotta organize it :P

Id also remove the baloon tub thing.

notman

I agree, you should concentrate on the vehicles since they also seem to be the items you usually complete. I like most of the weapons and some of the environment pieces also.

Here's a quick list of my favs (In no particular order):
36,50,49,44(with a better angle maybe),43,40,22,19,11,12,9,8,6,4,38,31,21,& 1

As a side note, I noticed with most of your vehicles, you use a very small rim and your tires almost look bubbley (too round). Just something to keep in mind

Sett

Are you the one that did the bladewing-thingy?

cuse'that was rather cool. I was thinking of modeling that one meself.

I agree with the pack, your vehicles are your strongest ones.

EDIT---NM I just found it (09.jpg) Texture that one!

cholden

11, 12, 19 are the best looking, most complete pieces on this list. Though 21 doesn't appear to be textured, it's shown in-game, and I'd probably include it. You could maybe pull off 35-47 as one collage or scene. Overall, you could focus more one full modeled, textured, and rendering in-game art.
Now if you're looking for a stiff shot, I'd say most of this appears dated and lacks focus. As in, what are you, and what types of games do you want to work on? It seems you'd be more for environment props and vehicles. Most of your art fits under the new portable market, but if you're interested in next gen, get some high detail work up there.

killingpeople

these are the ones i like over the others: 9 (smoothing groups?), 12, 18, 19, 31, 44, 49, 51, car works are nice.

the images listed above i feel make you look like a skilled game artist that has unique ideas with emphasis on modelling and unwrapping. some display nice texture work, but most your texture work is weak.

27 - what is this?

28 - scale is way off and it's untextured - there is no reason to show it imported into unreal.

i'd combine all the japanese props into one image.

Mark Dygert

1) The Tiki mug, I just love that thing.
2) Envormental props like the Japanese style pieces. with some nicely weathered more realistic textures these could be amazing props for a game.
3) Bikes/Cars, all of them are good but my favorites would be 19, 12, 10, 11.



Unsolicited suggestion(s):
A lot of the models are being let down by the texture work. Likewise a lot of the models could be done with less polys if the textures where better. But it looks like alot of detail is being added to the meshes to make up for the lack of detail on the skin. It seems to be a weak point you might have to work on. If texture work is something you find hard and don't want to work on it, maybe you should look into lvl design?
Having alot of unfinshed work looks bad. Even if you just unwrap it with a temp texture like 35, 36, 38, 40. That would show you can build meshes and unwrap them effeciently.

SouL

Some honest feedback:

I think these days, a 3d artist needs to be able to deliver both modeling and texturing abilities. It's often money lost to a company if they have to hire 2 artists to do what really should be a 1 man job. So I do feel that you're limiting your chances of making an impression of you're simply showing untextured 3d work.
There are, of course, studios out there that are more specialized. But, again, you're limiting yourself to just these studios if you're set on doing just 1 skill set.

The one thing I think you really need to focus on is texturing. Texturing is hands down the most important aspect of asset creation. A good texture can make even the most poorly made 3d models look very good. But the same can't be said about poorly done textures on extremely well done models.
Your textures tend to not carry a lot of detail, and more importantly, tend to be flat.
This for example:
http://studioflaagan.com/pickem/images/20.jpg

So much can be done with a 256. An incredible amount can be done with a 512.

Also, environtment/prop artists need to be able to display the ability to paint/create tilable textures. A skillset that contribute greatly to the amount of work needed to create complete levels.

I also think that you should choose more challenging objects to model. Cars are defenitely something that's not easy to do. So you're doing a good job displaying the ability to be able to model something complex like cars. But objects like the wrench, hammer, and weapons shouldn't be on there. Simple objects like those are a given. You SHOULD be able to model those. It's sort of like an author showing off that they can write letters.
If you were to take all your japanese themed objects, texture them, and assemble them into a cohesive scene, you'd have a good piece.

I honestly feel that you still have quite a ways to go. You should be able to solidly display the ability to model and texture. Showing unfinished pieces can put people off. It creates doubt in their minds whether or not you have the patience to see something through all the way to the end.