Jelmer Boskma - Demo Reel '06
polycounter lvl 17
Hi everybody,
My year at VFS is over and I'll be graduating in October. This is my final demo reel that I've build during the 6 months of the modeling stream. Thanks to everybody who replied to my work in progress threads and gave me feedback that kept me going. Cheers!
I'm looking for work. I'm both interested in digital as in traditional types of jobs, please contact me at: 3d58jelmer@vfs.com
I also opened my new website at www.jelmerboskma.com feel free to give it a visit!
Recut my reel, new version is up:
Quicktime .mov version (40 mb) (right click, save target as)
http://www.jelmerboskma.com/jelmer_reel.mov
http://jelmer.keurigonline.nl/jelmer_reel.mov
http://student.vfs.com/~3d58jelmer/jelmer_reel.mov
My year at VFS is over and I'll be graduating in October. This is my final demo reel that I've build during the 6 months of the modeling stream. Thanks to everybody who replied to my work in progress threads and gave me feedback that kept me going. Cheers!
I'm looking for work. I'm both interested in digital as in traditional types of jobs, please contact me at: 3d58jelmer@vfs.com
I also opened my new website at www.jelmerboskma.com feel free to give it a visit!
Recut my reel, new version is up:
Quicktime .mov version (40 mb) (right click, save target as)
http://www.jelmerboskma.com/jelmer_reel.mov
http://jelmer.keurigonline.nl/jelmer_reel.mov
http://student.vfs.com/~3d58jelmer/jelmer_reel.mov
Replies
But first of all, that music is such a cliche
Other than that... I am not sure if for an actual job in the industry this reel really fits. Of course people will probably assume that if you can do stuff like this, you will be able to do other more gamelike stuff also, but fact is that assets like this are seldomly used in todays games.
In otherwords I think your reel lacks 1. real humans, which most of the characters made in the industry are (and making a realistic looking human can be a lot more difficult than fantasy monsters) and 2. real game assets not ment for the 'next doom3'tm.
I guess this will not be that much of a peoblem since you also have a degree from VFS, but judging by the reel alone it could also be from someone who has only experience in feature film making and not in actual game work.
*disclamer* I never worked in the industry nor do I have any idea what todays recruters look for, but that is my uneducated guess.*disclamer*
P.S.: that vampirebat looks fantastic!
Nicely polished reel editing and rendering too.
The expressions on the first 2 creatures are really cool, the chicken thing looks a little odd though, like it's grinning in a dumb fashion - I preferred the look of the coloured painted head concept for it later in the reel.
The poses are good too, although I'd have liked to see a little animation too, like some idle cycles or facial motion etc.
[edit] I also thought you should remove the ape sketches, they're not adding anything.
Also, what's with the ridiculously dense meshes! They don't need to be that high poly...
How long did each creature take to create from start to finish?
I don't get why you put your best work in the middle of the reel though. I'd start with the octosapien (textured, highest quality and most fleshed out character) followed by the bird (which I think is the 'weakest' of the three) and finish with the bat.
I'd also take out the ape drawings at the end. Your 2D isn't your strong side as is and especially in that one the perspective is really off. The conceptual drawings for the creatures you've created do add a lot as they show the accuracy of your models, but the ape, besides not being as good as any of the other drawings, doesn't add anything.
Other than that this is some of the most impessive modeling I've seen here. You should have no job landing a job in character art - especially not in games, but I doubt that's what you're after.
just one thing besides what others have said, give your contact and information in the end more screentime, right now its only a few seconds
Some thoughts:
I agree with the ape drawing comments.
As JK said, I think the lack of *actual* human beings in your reel could definitely bite you in the ass If you're unlucky. There's only so much actual creature work out there.
As for the other point that was made about the lack of game resolution models, that IS a problem but *ONLY* If you're interested in working in the videogame field. If you're only aiming this at cg studios/fx houses then they're not remotely interested in seeing low poly models of course. But If you're also applying to games studios, you definitely need some realtime models in there. I'm sure you know that.
Great stuff man and good luck out there.
Also, as a side question, what is the deal with the credits at the end of VFS reels? Do they encourage you to put in teachers, classmates, friends, and family in there for a specific reason? In a demo reel sent out to companies, I can be almost 100% sure the studios watching do not care about any of those people except yourself. It takes up time in the reel and space to compress it. I've just never understood what purpose those "shout outs" serve.
Cthulhu's face very similiar to face of Marcus from
"Underworld2" movie: http://206.145.80.237/intpageimages/luma/2.jpg
Ben: There are a few credits that are mandatory to put in, as well as a vfs presents and copyright vfs title. I realise people won't care about who I thank, but all the people credited mean a lot to me. A whole lot more then shout-out's my friend.
Mop: Simple animation would probably not make my models look better. Besides the fact that I'm not a good animator, there's also the tremendous amount of extra work there that needs to get done before it can be animated (building muscles for simmulation to make it look believable when it's moving, rigging, final geo skinning)In the short amount of time that was given to us, this wasn't possible for me to do. Besides all that, I liked the idea of presenting a reel as a collection of sculptures. I've tried to give as much character and life to them as possible, without having them actually move.
EDIT: I've re-uploaded the .mov files, the frame rate should be good now. I'm still having a bit of trouble with the wmv version, but I'll try to get it online asap. Thanks!
I really like the over layout of the reel. The first few shots of each model, with the names look really good. It's a really nice touch that you have "galina carnivora" and the other names on there.
One thing I've heard over and over again from people is that your website should have atleast some part of your contact info visible on every page. Just having your e-mail in the corner. Really great though, good luck with the job search.
I agree with the others that a real human character would have been a good addition to your reel and that the ape sketches are best left out. It felt like an odd ending of your reel - almost disappointing because it was the only concept in your reel that was not executed as a model. Make sure you start and end your reel with the most impressive pieces, because that will leave the best and most lasting impression.
I agree with Poop about the credits. Although I do not doubt that the people listed in your credits mean a lot to you, I thought listing all your schoolmates was a bit confusing. It made me wonder if they had any part in creating your reel apart from their support.
I also visited your website. I think it would look better if you centered the content of your website, because even on a resolution of 1024x768, the waste of space on the right side of your screen looked a bit strange. It will still fit on a resolution of 800x600, but the waste of space on higher resolution screens will seem a little less obvious. I also think the font size of the italicized paragraph is too small. It's very hard to read on a screen with a higher resolution. The anti-aliasing makes it worse. The menu items look a bit too anti-aliased as well, almost blurry. It would look better if they were slightly crisper. Consider increasing the font size of your main content. I know it looks pretty, but it's uncomfortable to read text that small especially when you're using a higher resolution.
I hope I don't sound too harsh and my comments will be helpful. Good luck finding a job - I'm sure they would love to hire you.
Bat FTW!
Miguelito
I think the new version is more of a powerful compact package then the old one. The new links are up, for the one or two that are interested in downloading it.
I love the detailing you have going on your models, and the packaging (graphic design, music, sound effects) really wrap it up nicely.
I doubt you'll have any problems finding work