[Portfolio] - Armanguy's Portfolio crit/ Work thread

Armanguy

Hey guys Been working on my Skills for 2 years now , graduated school and dug my head in the 3d scene, Some of you might know me from other communities and if not the name is Arman Abounourinjad i grew up loving games and as soon as i finished high school i knew i wanted to work in the game industry as a 3d artist now with my 20th birthday coming up, Its been 2 years since i started my journey as a 3d artist.

I have come to a point where I want to start applying to local studios ASAP but want your feedback on my work before i send out emails. I recently updated my portfolio which can be reached at:

www.Armanguy.net

I want to become a level/Prop Artist . I know there is a lot of opportunities where I live,

Vancouver,BC I know we have a few polycounters that work at some studio's and would love to see there feedback on my work I am looking at Threewave, Blue Castle Games, Slant Six games as they are the companies that have published work that i would love to work on. but i know i cant pick and choose as i don't have a lot of experience.

So here is my work and portfolio crit thread tell me what you think of my work and what i need to work on thanks for your time guys

and just to note that i am actively looking for work so if any of you work at any studios in Vancouver give me a pm as i would love to talk about any opportunities available for me, again thanks guys.

Joao Sapiro

my main critic is that you still dont seem to have nailed normal mapping as right now they appear secondary and not favour your model at all they seem to be have made from crazybump etc where i can see they were done from a high rez, so i also advise to practise more high rez modeling etc , also the texturing seems very plain in all the models , like you didnt have references on how materials are supposed to work . Keep working on it man

FactoriesBurning

yea, get some dirt on that tank, it definitely needs some variation in the texture.

TWilson

I can't comment on the artwork too much as props are not my specialty. But I have other comments on the site.

The square logo thing is cool ...but if someone saves off one of your images they'll never find your site with it. You should tag the photos with either your name or your site url.

I think you can safely remove the image link titles like "FUTURE TANK". They don't look very good.

I would take the text stroke off your name. It's a complicated enough name already

Get your downloadable resume on there and begin applying! Apply to the little guys too. There are many in Vancouver.

IronHawk

Try to get some more color variation to break up the textures on some of your models. Even off the factory floor they wouldn't look that CG. I struggled with this myself for awhile. I'd always here get more color variation in there. Never really clicked and then I starting making dual brushes with color dynamics turned on in PS and adding that as a color dodge or overlay layer and tweak it from there. Might not be the best technique but its been working good for me lately. Then also adding logical color variation after researching the materials on top of that should get you there.

Looking good though keep it up and good luck on the hunt.

Armanguy

Hey guys thanks for taking your time to take a look at my portfolio im very happy with the responses and non of the crits are as bad as i thought they would be so im happy with that.

@Johny: Hey thanks for the crit about the normals and textures i have been doing a lot of small projects to work on both my high poly modeling and texturing. I think the thing that gets me is i try to paint all my textures with just my own brushes in photo shop and i think it limits what i can do so i think i should try to incorporate more reference into my works.

@TWilson: Hey thanks for the crits i will try to fix those problems on my site and get my download able resume up there asap. Also i think i might put one more thing into my portfolio before start applying for jobs.

@Ironhawk: Ill be sure to try your technique on all my new stuff that i work on. thanks

Armanguy

Started work on a little environment it going to become a ghetto house something you might find in Compton or other poor neighborhood's, i know this is nothing but its the first thing ive finished texturing :

cycras

k, im by no means close to as good as you since i barly started so i wont comment on none of that pro stuff, but i would highly recomend alteast 1 organic model of a human, animal or what ever so it doesnt look like your stuck to sicking basic shapes together to make a whole model, and maybe make it crazy smoth and high polly so it shows your skills as an artist. cos thats what ive been seeing in alot of other peoples folios

Armanguy

@cycras: Hey thanks for taking the time out to comment I appreciate it. Right now i want to work as a level/Prop Artist in the industry so i dont think ill be throwing any humans in my portfolio any time soon as it wont really fit into what i want to do and probably wont look up to par with some of the amazing character artist's we have at polycount *cough* pior, Bobo, Ruz, ThatDon, Gavi *cough* just to name a few theres a million more :P Not saying it will never happen but right now Level art is my passion and there a huge need for Level artist's in the industry right now.

And as for the crazy high-poly smooth stuff, I make high-poly meshes for all my objects now-a-days even the staircase above has a high-poly mesh. i usually don't show them unless the high-poly is really carazy! as you like to say :P

Armanguy

worked on this a little more been busy with some other stuff but i got something done:

whats_true

Not sure if it's just me, but the concrete textures seem kinda blurry compared to the door. Sharper image with more resolution mate.

Armanguy

thanks for the tip bro, i think it might be due to the normal map, i might sharpen it up a little

Armanguy

quick update:

Armanguy

small update:

Armanguy

hey thanks for the feedback guys turned down the spec a little and changed up the light set-up:

OBlastradiusO

Nice house. The garage should have a different texture a believe. That texture meshes too much with the rest of the house. I would use a unpaneled texture for that garage door.

Jeremy Wright

I don't know if this is worth taking the time to do, but stairs are rarely, if ever, straight up and down. The nosing (top edge) usually sticks out an inch farther than the bottom:

http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/image-files/st-reo.gif

Em.

The concrete texture on the stairs is a tad too large, I'd scale it down some, and you might want to vary the chunky noisy texture with some smooth weathered spots. The edges of the steps could be crisper in some areas and crumbling or damaged in others. Think about how concrete steps age and errode over the years. Also, some rusty drips down the side from the metal rail would help sell it.
The gold texture on the door is too saturated and is leaning a smigde too far to the green side of the spectrum. Keep it up though, you're making progress.

This house so far reminds me more of one in the depressed areas of Detroit than anything else, might wanna look up some ref on that.

Here's a good stair picture, a little too destroyed, but something:
http://www.startuckpointing.com/images/Concrete_Stair_Before__2_.jpg

Armanguy

thanks for the ref i might redo the stairs and ill for sure re-do the garage door as ive been getting alot of crits on it thanks guys.

Armanguy

still need to fix up the stairs, also changed up the texture and normal on the garage door. added gutter and chimney:

Armanguy

Pedro Amorim

add a skylight and a direct light and bake a lightmap to say uvchannel 2. would look better
.
render the pics with catmull.rom, makes the render look sharper

StJoris

Looks pimp already armanguy!

8ftspider brings up a valid point, but another thing to consider to make your stairs visually work more is adjust the thread and riser size, yours are equal, most are not, for functional/ergonimic reason.




Look up some formula for getting that right, there are plenty. If you are particularly interested I can copy some from my archi books.



Your stairs seem disconnected functionally from the rest of the house. Why is it going up so high? Your foundation doesn't give any visual cues to do so.

Sorry bit lengthy and picturefull post, but I think this could be usefull. Figuring out how things work and are made, their constructional and functional story imo can help a lot to sell your image, bring it to another level. I'm by no means on that level, but I do know how to design buildings

Armanguy

thanks for the crits guys ill take them into account

cholden

You are not using a ref.

This house is a box. A garage in the ghetto on a house this small?

The door can't be that close to the edge of the house and the wall be thick enough. between the exterior and interior.

The roof tile would more likely be seen on a medieval house than a modern one.

At least use the ref StJoris posted to get your house shape. This is current design is so simple you're insulting your own ability.

Jet_Pilot

looks pretty good but is still missing that "real" look and feel... try add in a porch light and some numbers by the door, and a street lamp or fire hidren. Also you need to pick a time of day. i can't really tell if its day or night. kind of looks like night but is too bright and kind of looks like the day but with no sun. If you need help on getting the lighting under control PM me and i'll help you get the look and feel you want.

Remember a good model is a good model, but bad lighting and a bad render makes everything look like poop.

Armanguy

things i need to work on:

-lighting
-sharper render
- some more props
- making the building a little wider

SHEPEIRO

agree with above.
also with your portfolio, your tanks shading is crap because the front section goes over 90degrees which is a bit of a obvious mistake (shitty round shading where there shouldnt be), add a hard edge in the low poly re-render the normal), it will make it a load better, csos thats the first thing i see and i dont get past that=)

rebel

u could add a little security camera on the soffit to make it look like shady business is going on inside

lookin good

Armanguy

I think im about finished :



also for my next project im going to make a new tank with all the skills i learned in the past couple months

seankaremaker

I think that you need some examples of organic modeling. for example you could make some trees and plants of various types. maybe think of doing some kind of feature organic prop, similar to how they here done in Turok. I think all in all your work is looking good but your normal maps are not reading very well. also i think you are too general with your textures. for example on the house that you made you covered the walls in a constant layer of grime. you should be thinking about how the grime got there and apply it more dramatically. You could have some dirt along the bottom of the house from when heavy rain causes it to splash up. also often there would be oxidization stains around the window frames and things like that.

motives

So let me just quote this post if u missed it.

cholden wrote: »

You are not using a ref.

This house is a box. A garage in the ghetto on a house this small?

The door can't be that close to the edge of the house and the wall be thick enough. between the exterior and interior.

The roof tile would more likely be seen on a medieval house than a modern one.

At least use the ref StJoris posted to get your house shape. This current design is so simple you're insulting your own ability.

I say dont sell yourself short. This has potential, you just need to start mkaing stuff like they actually appear IRL and not straight from imagination.
reference, reference, reference.

keep it up

Armanguy

started work on something on the side for fun:




REF:

http://www.legionglobal.net/images/400cc%20ATV.JPG
http://4newbies.planetwolfenstein.gamespy.com/ETQW/images/husky.jpg
http://www.discountramps.com/atvImages/atv-cargo-bag-2.jpg
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/images/atv_020717_06.jpg
http://www.tiresnstuff.com/atvAgKits.jpg

Armanguy

Things i need to work on:

Handle Bars
Bags
Engine
Exhaust
Seat
fixing the frame

Armanguy

im so god damn happy finally got unreal today so imma throw this bad boy in there when im done

Armanguy

finished the high-poly the other day baked it onto the low-poly mesh i think it came out great for how little i put into the low-poly mesh time to paint it up both normal and alpha maps are applied.



Also i updated my site:

www.armanguy.net

Flewda

The front grill/ram bars look really pillowy. I noticed on your high poly they weren't really sharper looking as well, which explains why it probably looks the way it does on the low poly. Why would you put the time & effort into the other areas, but neglect those areas? Some people would say your portfolio is only as good as your weakest piece. I think the same holds true for an asset. Your asset is only as good as your weakest element. No matter how mundane the piece may be, it still is important, and helps with the overall asset's turnout.

I've been watching your work for a while, and I see a lot of potential there, I really do. But I also see that you tend to cut corners and shrug off advice given from many experienced and talented people from this forum. If I can give another piece of advice, I would say "embrace the critiques". Really listen to what these guys and girls have to say.

You are off to a good start though, I hope to see you finish this. Good luck.

Alright, enough of my ranting.

Mark Dygert

Armanguy wrote: »

I think im about finished :



also for my next project im going to make a new tank with all the skills i learned in the past couple months

I'm not sure if you're interested in tweaking this since you've moved on, but those utility poles are pretty stubby. They normally tower above a 2 story house. It might be worth investing a box under the transformers to sit on, its kind of weird that they are just floating there.

The garage door is kind of industrial for residential? Normally those types of garage doors are made out of big panels.

The ATV is looking great BTW!

pliang

Anyone noticed that the garage door seems noticeably blurry and a little soft around the creases ?

Kind of feels like soft material by looking at it....you should go on CG textures and get some ideas on how doors like that should look like....

Pedro Amorim

ok. dude. first of all, check for references.
right now that house is really not looking good. you need to look at the house you made and think, is this any good compared to games i played so far. then research.
right now. the garage is looking huge when compared to the front door


so. really. if you want to do a house. just do a new one.
ok. here are some refs that are similar to the one you are making.

Armanguy

thanks bro i will be redoing the house cause everyone hates it. id just like to thank everyone on there input about the house and no matter how harsh the crit it really helped i will use ref and get going on a new version as soon as i finish the atv

pliang

We don't loathe it...we just want you to seriously take it to another level...

IronHawk

nah we loathe it... lol step it up Arman

Armanguy

need to work on the diffuse and normal map more

Pedro Amorim

were's the AO?

Swizzle

That front bumper is still looking really soft and blobby. I'd suggest getting back into the high-poly version and either sharpening things up or giving it a bit of smaller detail. Certainly take a second look at your references; those vertical pieces have soft edges compared to the ones on real four wheelers.

Like bitmap, I also noticed the lack of AO. It will really help to sell this thing if you bake some AO; currently, all of your corners, be they concave of convex are light-colored, so it's making this thing hard to read. A bit of AO will take care of that. It will also make it feel like the different pieces (bumper, bag, rack, etc.) are really connected to the thing.

Armanguy

ill put some AO on it asap, also what are you talking about when you sake front bumper are you talking about the black part ?

Flewda

Armanguy wrote: »

ill put some AO on it asap, also what are you talking about when you sake front bumper are you talking about the black part ?

This is what we are talking about. That's your high poly, no? If I had to guess, the same geometry that's in that image, is the same geometry used in your low poly, and that's just, well, stupid. Why put the time into some areas but not the others? Add in some edgeloops to tighten up those edges. Doesn't take a lot of work, really.

And yes, it desperately needs some AO. And thus far, the materials on it are confusing. In my experiences with ATVs, the body molding is usually made of a plastic material, but you have the edges getting scratches/paint chips like it's metal, however there is no spec almost whatsoever, so now I'm really confused as to what it's supposed to be.

I'd definitely gather some more reference images, and take your time with it. Don't just get things done to get it done and on your portfolio. Five really good pieces on your portfolio will be far better than one hundred sub par pieces.

Armanguy

hey flewda thanks for ill fix up the high-poly and rebake it, ill also throw a better spec on that so its easier to see the materials.

Armanguy

been busy with contract work so i havent had alot of time to work on this got some time today so here it is, i did an AO pass wich turned out to be a huge headach but it came out pretty good imo added a symbol so the handle bar doesent look so empty still need to add more detail to the bumper as commented before:)

oobersli

still seems flat. The scratches on all the edges seem too "perfectly placed". the treads on the tires need more lovin.