What kind of project should I do next
It looks like the forum ate my first post so I will cross my fingers and try again.
I'm about to start something new something I've never done before, my portfolio. I wanted to get some advice on which direction I should take. I'm a bit of a jack of all trades and I've helped out on mods and small indie projects but it's not anything I think reflects my current skills.
Character creation is the weakest part of my skill set.
I can create low poly characters but I'm not too familiar with sculpting and baking yet. I can also rig, skin and animate fairly well as long as its low poly, but its something I do out of necessity.
I'm more comfortable creating props and I really love making environments and levels for people to run around in. I've always found architecture fascinating.
So should I...
1) Create some characters, learn sculpting and brush up on anatomy and hope to present a well rounded portfolio, showing I can do just about anything a company would need?
2) Take a scene from a popular game and recreate it pixel for pixel the best I can, showing I can create environments like the big boys can?
3) Dig up some reference and put together a unique scene no one has ever seen before, that looks like it belongs in a game?
I'm about to start something new something I've never done before, my portfolio. I wanted to get some advice on which direction I should take. I'm a bit of a jack of all trades and I've helped out on mods and small indie projects but it's not anything I think reflects my current skills.
Character creation is the weakest part of my skill set.
I can create low poly characters but I'm not too familiar with sculpting and baking yet. I can also rig, skin and animate fairly well as long as its low poly, but its something I do out of necessity.
I'm more comfortable creating props and I really love making environments and levels for people to run around in. I've always found architecture fascinating.
So should I...
1) Create some characters, learn sculpting and brush up on anatomy and hope to present a well rounded portfolio, showing I can do just about anything a company would need?
2) Take a scene from a popular game and recreate it pixel for pixel the best I can, showing I can create environments like the big boys can?
3) Dig up some reference and put together a unique scene no one has ever seen before, that looks like it belongs in a game?
Replies
2 That's a pretty high bar to set. You need to keep in mind that one person probably isn't responsible for creating that entire scene. It could take one person a really long time to recreate that shot on their own, but it depends on the scene.
It also doesn't show much creativity and if you fall short it will be very apparent. You need to blow the doors off of what they did which is a really high bar to set for yourself. You also have to factor in the age of the shot. They're probably working on blowing the doors off of what they've done previously and want someone who doesn't just tow the line but pushes past it. That's true for released games and shots that where released early in the marketing campaign.
3 I personally think #3 is your best option, just don't make the scale and scope so big that you'll have a hard time pulling it off. It shows you can improvise, it shows that you can work without strict guidelines and it gives you a decent amount of fudge room.
But really its your call to make, you have to weight what kind of studio you want to work for, big or small. Big studios tend to focus on specifics and don't care if you do a lot of things well so long as you do the one thing they are hiring for REALLY well. Small studios tend to like jack of all trades but still hire for specific jobs.