Portfolio help

Armanguy

Hey guys i just finished updating my portfolio and am looking for advice what should i take out what should i add anything to get attention from any game studios, i have applied to many but only get responses by a few i only apply to game studios in the vancouver area, what do you guys think i should do to get a better shot at landing some art tests? heres the link to my portfolio:

www.armanguy.net

pliang

So far in my opinion there's not that much to look at and second the web site layout yhou can prolyl do with something other than the black bg, its kind of non uplifting and hiding a lot of things.

The scene looks familiar, thought I seen it somewhere before but anyways that as of now seems kind of overly lit, there's almost no indication of shadows, just bright intensity over everything.

The cabin is my favorite but you have green fresh grass below something that seems as old as the environment.

The bench has high specularity on the bumps which I dont understand, as it is by itself there's no relistic sense of lighting.

The bathroom look decent except the toilet lid makes no sense...how did the urine stains get all around the sides?

Overall I'd say change the color scheme of your web layout and use more subtle complimentary color instead of black and keep adding new projects to it.

3D-j

I've been applying anywhere and everywhere and I finally had a ton of success today and I will be talking with the company tomorrow. I've been sending out my work every other day for the past 8 months to give you an idea of where I am at. While redesigning my site and updating my art. There is hope out there for those of us trying to break into the industry. I would just take a look at some of the polycounters websites. I have some friends in the industry that gave me some pointers on my website as well as the polycounters. I have a thread in here somewhere with some good tips on my portfolio site that you may find interesting or may not. There are a ton of different types of textures that come into play now. Know them, show them, and the oine I do not see off the bat is the Ambient Occlusion map. I'm sure you know all about it and they help a lot.I would give them a better view by increasing the thumbnail sizes and give them a section such as Props, Level Design, etc. Whatever you are shooting for. Its more research than anything. Some studios look for demo reels others don't mind not having one. I would at least have a scene that is lit using a 3d application showing your knowledge of lighting, one in engine. I recommend a different model (it could even be a prop) and maybe something that shows that you worked in a team environment (which also looks good on your resume as experience such as a modification or prototype for a class project). Most of these veterans here will be able to help you a lot more than I can. I hope my two cents helps you out a little and keeps you motivated. I know its hard but you just gotta keep hitting that pinada.

aesir

I think your art could be quite a bit better.

Go look at a gears of war enviro. Check out the detail.

Go replicate that level of quality.

Thegodzero

From what i have seen on your site id say your not ready yet.

First prop, what is that yellow material? always take time to pull back and check to see if what you have looks like it should. The mesh is worthless with out a good texture.

Second the shack, what is this for FPS, or RTS? If its for a FPS then you need to look at it as close as you would in a FPS with that level of detail in the polycount and texture res. If RTS then all your views should be more akin to that in a RTS game.

Other than that try to get the most detail you can in each prop making sure each material looks like the real thing. Don't let any limitation get in your way. Use any and all maps(diffuse, specular, self illumination/emissive, environment map and alpha map) you need and the same goes for the polycount. The bigger the object the more polys it makes sense to use.

joe gracey

Ok, so before I say anything, this is not a professional crit, this is a students opinion, some things I say might be smart or kinda dumb.

1. I would either take the bench out, or give the texture a lot more love. You put some grunge on the Coke sign, but thats it. Put some dirt and grunge on the seat, on the bottom of the bench, and on the top. The fact that you are giving it it's own spot means it should look top notch. Try and think what that bench has been through in its life, where it has been sitting.

2. The same thing with your courtyard scene. To me, its way to bright and clean. Maybe it rains a lot and there are stains on the walls, or maybe there is a lot of people walking through there so there is dirt, garbage, or whatever.

3. The house/cabin is on the right track to me. The roof looks really flat and squished. I can see that you put layers of metal on the roof, but it doesn't look like it. The metal doesn't look like metal, maybe there is something wrong with your spec map. You could normal map the roof and then have a nice top down shot of it. It seems like you choose the far away shot to show in your portfolio because if you go up close all the details get blurry.

4. The only think I can see wrong with the clock is more wear and tear, more grunge. Make it looks like its been outside for a long time, not a day or two. Get more detail into your texture.

5. I like your bathroom props, I think the toilet could use more polys on the round parts. You said that you hand painted all your textures, which is awesome, but you might want to combine photo's and hand painted textures. You'll get a ton more detail and achieve that realism that PC/360/PS3 games require. (assuming thats what you want to work with)

6. Sweet tooth redesign, I would add more polys to the tires. I think the days are behind us when tires had edges.

I think you have a lot of potential with what you have, I don't think you are ready to get a job though. Lastly, you might want to create a bathroom scene to house your bathroom props in. It will look a lot better and you could put some really great lighting in it. And the same with your bench, make a street corner or something and put your bench in it.

Good luck with everything!