My portfolio just got a COMPLETE overhaul!
polycounter lvl 19
First off, before I show anything at all I have to thank my good friend Pedro (bitmap) Amorim. Without his awesome CSS knowledge I'd not have been able to get the website I've wanted for some time. Always helpful and without complaint, he did an awesome job and I am very very greatful. So.... THX MEXIGGER BURRITO!
With that, I present - www.adambromell.com
The main thing I wanted this to be was about what I love to do, environment art. My old site was a blog which at first I loved, but later fucking hated. Who gives a shit what I have to say? Just get to the art already!!
So, by focusing on my art with large thumbnails and easy navigation (as few clicks as possible is the goal here) I am hoping to really show my work off as best as I can.
In addition to the art work, I love to write about the art and the business. So by offering articles on the site and in a PDF download I am hoping anyone who reads it has their eyes opened, even if a little.
Now, the site is not 100%. There's still some bugs to iron out and as you'll see when you view some articles I have some images to finish.
But please, if you notice ANY bugs on there let me know. Which browser and screen resolution you're using would be useful as well.
Thanks everyon!!!
With that, I present - www.adambromell.com
The main thing I wanted this to be was about what I love to do, environment art. My old site was a blog which at first I loved, but later fucking hated. Who gives a shit what I have to say? Just get to the art already!!
So, by focusing on my art with large thumbnails and easy navigation (as few clicks as possible is the goal here) I am hoping to really show my work off as best as I can.
In addition to the art work, I love to write about the art and the business. So by offering articles on the site and in a PDF download I am hoping anyone who reads it has their eyes opened, even if a little.
Now, the site is not 100%. There's still some bugs to iron out and as you'll see when you view some articles I have some images to finish.
But please, if you notice ANY bugs on there let me know. Which browser and screen resolution you're using would be useful as well.
Thanks everyon!!!
Replies
MacBook Pro 15.4in Glossy
1440x900 res.
Safari and Camino.
For those at all interested, here are jpegs Pedro and I used to mock up the site and discuss fixes/bugs/changes/additions/whatever. They were all mocked up in Photoshop. From there he chopped up images or requested some new ones from me and we went from there.
http://eonix.shackspace.com/pfolio_aboutidea.jpg
http://eonix.shackspace.com/pfolio_articleidea.jpg
http://eonix.shackspace.com/pfolio_articleidea2.jpg
http://eonix.shackspace.com/pfolio_bug1.jpg
http://eonix.shackspace.com/pfolio_gallery1idea.jpg
One thing bugs me alot tho. For instance when I click on the (very nice) big tower thumbnail it brings me to ... yet another thumbnail. I must admit I gave up after a short while because I couldn't reach any big beauty image from your frontpage thumbs/links. You could take all the nice pics of the tower project and make them available as a big collage accessible straight from the start. You will save yourself a lot of update pain too.
2 clicks from the main page and you're at the beauty shots - that's too much?
Main Page > Gallery > Beauty
I wanted everything to fit within the main frame of the site (the box that lays on the graffiti background). So I think doing the collage you mention + the technical info may be a bit much, no?
Maybe try to make a quick mockup -even if it goes out of the graffiti box- and compare the feeling you get when you go back to your current layout?
But yeah feeling like being inside of a rather complex structure like this kindof confuses me - but it might be a personal thing. But for instance it is very obvious on the dominance war stand page. I was like, "WHAT! All I gotto see is palm tree leaves and a block of concrete?" :P
Loving the artwork tho
But, like I have also told you, I think the site is fantastic and kudos to bitmap on the design.
Also, someone mentioned that at the top, where it says Articles, Contact, About that the "Articles" graphic should be different. The other 2 are links and this one is not. Makes sense.
Glad you guys are digging it so far.
Keep the comments coming!
Also, people like to see flats me thinks? I dunno, I dont need em but maybe portfolio reviewers do.
...and yeah good work bitmap.
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Think you meant Brome :P
oh and your articles header is 1px down from contact
Also, I think that "Articles" should be a clickable link, since it's the same font/colour/placement as the Contact & About buttons, which are both clickable.
I'm not a huge fan of the "articles" drop-down list. IMHO drop-down lists like that should not be used on a site like this, especially when it just has 3 options in it.
I'd probably make the "Articles" link into a CSS drop-down, with the 3 articles as named links from it, so when you hover your mouse over Articles, it pops up the list, and one click on any of them takes you to the article.
Here's an example of what I mean - I think it'd integrate into the site better as well as saving users a few clicks, and generally being more intuitive: http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menus/final_drop.html
Also, I don't see the need for opening the article in a new popup window. Popups are bad...
Apart from that, good work
the towers are my favorite man , they are static, but have so much character !
1) More about what they are clicking on before they click,
2) and that it takes them to more info and more shots.
Think of the main page thumbs as headlines in a news paper. A photo alone on a front page could lead a few people to buy the paper, but a nice photo and a good headline seems to explain it best and catch more people.
Personally I would have the labels fade in on mouse over, or just put "gallery" in faded text in an out of the way corner.
Whats up with the werewolf? You're an enviro guy why focus on an unfinished character? Maybe another angle is needed? At least change it so it doesn't look like he's humping the concrete block... The neck on the werewolf still bugs me and I notice it before I ever start to consider the environment. Is that a neck or a tree trunk? I know you didn't do the model but maybe tweak it so its not so odd, or just remove it.
Maybe you can replace the wolf with a broken pillar that provides almost as much dramatic punch and color contrast? Keeping the focus on the environment. I think the shot still would need some anchoring centerpiece but why not make it something you did that impresses just as much and doesn't look unfinished.
Other than that I like the site as is, I don't really like the drop down form thing you have though, it might be better to just have another page for it. It seems to break the flow of your sites UI. Nice work though.
Alex
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...and yeah good work bitmap.
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Think you meant Brome :P
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i think he meant goood work, as in good work on the site. not good work, like i did adam's art. :P
The only thing that bugs me is not mentioning Singh by name.
- BoBo
your composition on the final shots sell the scene extremely well. Not too sure about the faceted characters, but it's you portfolio.
I kinda feel like clicking on a thumb should take you to a page that is formatted similar to your articles, with a large header image, some text, and aligned smaller thumbs/images. just feels a little clunky atm especially when you only have 2 sub-thumbs on the detail pages.
I dig the about page, though i dont think the styles are assigned properly to the text there?
A little nit-pick; every piece seems like a prop. Nothing is really taken to the grand scale. This is fine, but I'd like to see what can happen for you on a grand scale. Maybe something to think about for future portfolio pieces in lue of a tight perspective piece with a blurry picture backdrop.
Anywho, overall it's cool. Lots of pretty colors.
Bug & comments:
--I think the weapon shop page is bugged a bit, the 2 thumbnails in there aren't aligned in the center and I'll work with Pedro on getting that addressed.
--Whoops, I meant to credit you Josh 100% on the girl. I'll change it when I get home :P
--The articles menu should be aligned. I caught it early on as well but I wanted to get this out before I left for the workshop.
--The article pages were meant to be 'second fiddle' to the site. Giving them their own, smaller, window seemed to fit that ideal best. And offering the articles in PDF format would allow people to 'take it with them', so to speak.
--I am trying to touch on different aspects of environment creation in the pieces I work on. The 2 that have the faceted characters was to show the environment with a character inside of it. While I like the outcome of 'Underworld' for this, I know I need to go back and pose Josh's character so its not so static.
--Based on the above comment, I will rearrange my thumbnails so that the 2 environments with faceted characters are last. IMO, newest piece doesn't always mean better so I will order them in the order that I think is most effective. The weapon shop is my favourite so I'll probably keep it first in line.
--I am going to add in a note on all gallery links so it reads something like this:
GALLERY:
The Weapon Shop
click the images for full resolution shots
--I like the idea of labelling the thumbs, but I also like having the thumbs being large enough that there is SOME idea as to what you're about to see but you have to click in to see more.
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So yah, thanks guys. I wanted to write back to each individually but I am using my AD's laptop and I should probably give it back to him.
I'll write more once I am home :P