[portfolio] - ApprenticeEverything
Hey polycounters!
This is my first post here, though I've been lurking for a few months. I've read through a bunch of portfolio critque threads and taken a lot of good advice from them, as well as from all the great art in this place in general.
Im just utterly impressed with all the work here and how helpful everyone is, so I figured it was about time I submitted my own work to the lashings of your well trained eyes.
www.matthaspictures.com <-- That's my work in progress protfolio.
I'm a graduating English student looking for a carrer in game design/art and this is my first serious attempt at a portfolio. There isnt an overwhelming ammount of stuff on there yet, but I'm working on it.
Anyway, any help or critques would be wildly appreciated. thanks!
This is my first post here, though I've been lurking for a few months. I've read through a bunch of portfolio critque threads and taken a lot of good advice from them, as well as from all the great art in this place in general.
Im just utterly impressed with all the work here and how helpful everyone is, so I figured it was about time I submitted my own work to the lashings of your well trained eyes.
www.matthaspictures.com <-- That's my work in progress protfolio.
I'm a graduating English student looking for a carrer in game design/art and this is my first serious attempt at a portfolio. There isnt an overwhelming ammount of stuff on there yet, but I'm working on it.
Anyway, any help or critques would be wildly appreciated. thanks!
Replies
using firefox 3 if that matters.
To be honest right now the whole site needs an overhaul anyway. It's too complex and you've over-engineered everything. A basic HTML with a simple, clean layout and nice colours which works in all browsers is much, much better than some complex flash/javascript/whatever random flavour-of-the-month website which doesn't work on many platforms. Plus it's just slow right now.
Really, and this is speaking as someone who does look at applicant portfolios at a game development studio, I'd probably close your site after clicking on just one or two of the images. The quality of art that I am seeing is really not worth the time and effort it takes me to click through to it.
I am not trying to be hyper-critical, I'm just trying to be realistic if your aim is to land a job. Redesign the site. Check out the "my portfolio repels jobs!" thread in the Archives section here on polycount, you should learn a lot and put it to good use.
I suppose the firefox issue is a huge problem that I have to fix. without delay. I read that thread about portfolios repelling jobs, but I guess I missed a few points. I'll re-read it and make some changes.
Is it really slow though? I tried to build it to be faster than a flash site, which I always find cumbersome... to hear that its slow anyway is a depressing notion.
as for the art, what can I say? I suppose the best thing to say is that I'm working on getting better. hopefuly hanging around polycount will help.
anyway, thanks for the crits MoP. I'll start fixing things
if anyone else feels compelled to say something, even if its just rehashing what MoP said please, have at!
The art is nothing to write home about and theres not much of it. I did click through everything, though. You'll do well to stick around polycount and post some art while you are working on it. There are many talented artists that bounce around this board and can really help shape your development.
The first step is always posting, right? Get to it!
I am using firefox here and can vaguely browse the site (if you've done it yourself in PHP, then that's ok - I assume you used PHP so it can be easily extensible with new work without having to write whole new pages). However those vertical buttons don't work at all in any sense (they are hard to read, hard to click on, and seem to be broken in firefox as you suggest). Horizontal buttons make much more sense, since that is how the Western world (your target audience) reads, left to right.
If those of you who tried earlier with firefox want to give it another shot, youre more than welcome! thanks for the help!
any other critques are always welcome (and apparently needed badly!)
www.matthaspictures.com
also, thanks for all the help youve already given, guys!
http://www.thejonjones.com//2005/10/your-portfolio-repels-jobs.html
In my opinion you need to completely remake this website, Its much to confusing to navigate. this is just my 2 cents but i personally would have your first page be your gallery, you never want to have your potential employers searching and trying to navigate to find your work. Especially because it could just be some HR person looking through a list of portfolio sites. If they can not easily find your work they may just end up moving on to the next potential candidate.
Take it for what it is I guess but I would start from the ground up again.
-NoltaN
Im Loving dance time... keep doing stuff like this. super fun.
Your forest level actually looks well laid out. I like these things specifically about it: You could get lost in it, paths go everywhere but there is also no labyrinth to solve or anything either, so it goes both ways easily, getting lost and easy to solve - which is perfect IMO. I like that. Also the layout just feels classic to me. However its also just a bunch of loopy lines... Sooo you are a 3d artist, make this into a 3D level! haha.
The rest of the folio doesnt interest me as much. try keeping it fun, simple and loose for now, you are excelling in that area... IE: I think that the dance studio is pretty boring - wherever you went mentally to create that, stay away. wait a bit longer before you try the whole crisp HDRI lighting sterile environments, if at all... its not fitting with where your creative side wants to go IMO> but i dont know you.
cya.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/pior_ubb/wtf.jpg
The broken layout side by side with "President of Association of Digital Arts and Media" really makes it all look amateurish.
I think you have learned too much html for your own good, but not enough to master cross browser compatibility. I think that even if web design is a fun thing to learn, will it really make you a better artist? Rather stick to the very basics for page layout. Even a blog format can be enough (a blog folio would look like crap if using a plain default template ; but if you take the time to trim out the fat it can look quite good)
Also consider just a plain page with simple image links. Most of the time it is all that matters.
Check this out :
http://mv.cgcommunity.com/
what else do you need really.
I love the string painting and the floppy cube!!
Good luck,
Firstly, why? Just have your index page as your portfolio gallery. No need for separate pages.
Secondly, there is nothing in that page that will ever redirect you... so you have to click the link regardless. Making it a splash page... which you shouldn't have.
Also, z-index is really flaky, I advise you don't use it at all. I don't really see why you need z-index on that site anyway.
And saying "site best viewed in..." isn't good, either. That's not a valid get-out clause for a badly compatible site. Spend some time and ensure it works equally as well in all browsers.
As it stands, though, your time would be much better spent improving the work on your folio than trying to get a folio site together. You're not really at that point yet.
heres what im thinking for now, if ive missed anything let me know:
1.) BE SURE OF FIREFOX 100% COMPATIBILITY. PERIOD.
2.) figure out a proper redirect, instead of glitchy splashpage.
3.) get rid of the z-indexs
4.) change the colors to something less jarring
5.) become better artist...?
-microneezia, thanks for the cirts. I think youre right, I do like the "super fun/cartoony" stuff the best. though im trying to branch out. its nice to know what the strongest part of the portfolio is in addition to the multitude of problems.
-Ged, you said that clicking the thumbnails didnt do anything for you? like, just flat out broken? cause I've tested those (at least) to hell and back, so they ought to work. if theyre not Id like to know for sure. anyone else having this problem?
-pior, the site you linked is simple and has great work, but I've always been told that making people scroll excessivley is a cardinal sin in webdesign. but ive noticed that a lot of portfolios do it anyway (supposedly for simplicitys sake?), so is that not true?
anyways thanks to everyone else as well. I appreciate the crits, and Ill be working on it more soon. maybe today. im done with classes...
A long scrolling page properly is a cardinal sin as a web designer, but your not doing it to look pretty or as a web designer, your using it as your portfolio website to try and get a 3d art job.
The important thing to remember is the games industry is small and theres a lot of people going for the same jobs, that means that a company is more than likely to receive a vast number of portfolios,which will mean each portfolio will get very little time spent looking at it.
Thats the point, companies want to see your artwork immediately , they don't want to click buttons, wait for things to load etc, they want to see your artwork. As long as your artwork is immediately available and your resume/CV and essential contact info is there then thats good enough for a portfolio site regardless of overall lay-out.
a decent lay-out is a bonus without a doubt, but as long as the artwork,contact info and Resume can all be reached in one or two clicks then its done its job.
Regards and good luck
John
Apart from that I assume you used some JavaScript hacks for the menu because I cant see the links in my browser status panel - nothing bad as it works fine here in Opera 9.6 just something I noticed.
Most of the content still needs a long was to go,- but if you keep it up you might reach it. The only recomendation I can give you is to practice more and more (more 3d: setup, rendering, modeling, texturing,... more 2d as it can never hurt) because most 3d work looks like expierence was a minor presence.
Personally I think the traditional section had some nice pieces just a few though. Btw. the info or copyright bar at the bottom of each image sometimes destroys the shape and composition of the image - like cutting something away. Imo putting right under the real image would be better, I wouldn't know someone that would steal you work anyway, even I try to put comments, name or whatever on my pieces on a isolated space because otherwise it could destroy the image.
good luck
*now its competley compatible with firefox, safari, IE, everything!
*It doesnt have those annoying tabs and z-index issues.
*sorted out the redirect so that you get ploped straignt into the art and never even see the spash page.
anyway, I think its looking pretty good now, though Im sure some of you will beg to differ. either way, I always appreciate a good crit. so let me know what you think. and thanks so much for all the guidence so far, the site has come a long way in so short a time!
Make the email address at the top a mailto link.
The format gets a little screwy on some pages. For instance, the actual INFO on the info page, ends up in the header.
I think you should restructure a little. Make your name and contact info, and the menu (Info | 3d work | 2D Work, etc.) be the header. Drop everything else out of there, and below the horizontal break, including your thumbnails.
Overall much improved, good job.