[Portfolio] Will Hurst, Environment Artist
Hello everyone!
Below you'll find my portfolio. As it stands there are a fair few work in progress items on there which I'm hoping to get finished off soon enough, however I thought they'd be worth popping on there just to show where my work is going. Any thoughts and feedback would be great.
http://willhurst.carbonmade.com/
Below you'll find my portfolio. As it stands there are a fair few work in progress items on there which I'm hoping to get finished off soon enough, however I thought they'd be worth popping on there just to show where my work is going. Any thoughts and feedback would be great.
http://willhurst.carbonmade.com/
Replies
I'm definitely planning on some breakdowns and individual asset show offs, however I'd like to get the main images 100% locked down and me being content with them before that.
I'm really glad you like the chess house scene as it stands so far. As you probably noticed there are a few unfinished bits and pieces on that one. I spent a fair bit of time on the wet surfaces, and I'm planning on doing a video capture of the scene once it's finished as the rain can be difficult to notice in a still frame. Next week I should be able to find some time to post the wet surface shader trees. I should say as a little tip that they're mostly based off of what you'll find already made by Epic in their demo day/ night cycle map that comes with UDK.
You've got some cracking work, there. There doesn't seem to be enough, though, like Luke said. Using plurals in your thumbnail labels is disappointing when there's only 1 project behind most.
That oriental-themed chess house looks really nice, though. Great presentation. Great quality. Would love to see project breakdowns, which you've already mentioned and are probably already on top of.
Great work. Would like to see more
(Also, nicest looking carbonmade site I've seen, so far)
I'm glad you pointed out the plural I've used and that's something I'll look at as I flesh out the content. I'm currently inclined to have each scene/object under different thumbnails but more breakdowns. I want to avoid having multiple objects and scenes which have different art styles and themes under the same headers as the visual clutter can be a bit overbearing I find.
Again, pleased to see you taking a liking to the chess house and for the rest of the your positive comments. Glad you liked the site as well. Although carbonmade is probably seen as a lazy way out, I think if you put some effort in and understand it's framework then you get a lot out of it. Your comments certainly motivate me to get on and get more done!
You should add wireframes and textures to show how you made the scenes and props.
We can't really see how optimize the meshes and textures are.
Adding your r
That's some very sketchy "advice", though not entirely untrue. Just because something is common doesn't mean you shouldn't show it, or attempt it. Especially when you do as good a job as he's done.
His Starcraft 2 Turret is very common on portfolios, but the quality is high enough that he should most definitely keep it (along with the Fable 2 house) on his website, especially while he continues to build his portfolio.
My only gripe is that you've got a number of WIP items on display, and while the renders are nice, it's usually a good practice to show only your best/finished work on your main portfolio.
Not much, but my quick thoughts.
Great work though, man. Your portfolio is sure to shape up nicely.
-m
In all fairness, I don't think that my advice is that sketchy. First off, it looks like just a high poly model. Not to discredit Will's work, but I could do that. I might be new to video game art but I am not a stranger to art. I am merely pointing out that he may be showcasing a piece that has been done before. A portfolio is not only a showcase of ones skills but also needs to be marketable. Moreover, its still a work in progress, and could be scrapped very easily for a new project that might show Will's creative side. Let's say I place a dumpster in my portfolio, is that really creative?
Will, this is just my advice, and my advice is something I would do. On the flip side, I have seen many portfolios that are crap and yet the person is employed at well known studios. Your portfolio is 3 times better then theres and that makes all of this conversation almost nonsense. Art is subjective.
Here is the truth, both myself and Mcejn are right. When it comes to what you do and why you do something is completely your choice. Your portfolio is an extension of you and who you are as an artist. If you feel a strong connection to the Fable II house, then you need to finish and display it.
I don't mean to step on anybody's feet with my advice, but discredit my advice, expect a rebuttal.
On the fable 2 building; I'm glad this conversation has started up as I've been having similar thoughts about it and whether it is worth pursuing. I do like the art direction of the fable series and of Lionhead studios in general and I was looking for a way to capture that. Whether this item is *that* remains to be seen and I'll no doubt delve deeper if I come to develop it further. As you've mentioned, its certainly at a very early stage and doesn't have anything special about it at all as you say. This of course may change once I get into a bit more and ultimately that item was always going to be about showcasing painterly texture skills in my eyes. I should say that its currently at the bottom of the list of what I need to work on next and there's certainly a good chance It'll be ditched if I don't get along with it.
As I say, you're both right and ultimately what it comes down to is whether I can add my own artistic stamp and I realize that what I'm presenting here is not ideal or anywhere near as developed as it should be.
I'm getting a generally positive vibe from everyone so far so I'm really pleased with that; and as everyone has mentioned, I'll be working my socks off to get the works in progress done and up to a standard that I'm comfortable with.
Breakdowns are definitely high up on my to do list well before I'd apply for any work with this portfolio as it stands and it's great that your confirming to me that that's something that really needs to be done. Hopefully adding the breakdowns will save an application rejection letter or two!
Unfortunately Alec I'm not too sure if that's something that's possible in carbonmade as customization options are few and far between and this is largest size it allows as far as I can see. However if anyone is aware of a way to have clickable images then that would great. As a comprimise, I can certainly add a link in just below the description that could send you to some higher res versions. Although not ideal, it would be better than nothing I'd imagine. Sadly, my HTML skills are pretty much non existent so my own custom made site won't be happening anytime soon as it's not something I'm looking to get into in the near future.
I imagine it's got a stage where I've got a good rounded view of people's thoughts and now ill
be spending some time getting it finished off and polished. I'll hopefully be looking to update this thread once a week with An image or two of progress so if your interested then feel free to comment. I really appreciate the advice so far so thank you very much for that everyone. I'll be checking back regularly if anyone has more to say on the site so far. Of course if anyone has any direct queries about my work and the techniques used then I'd be more than happy to help out.
First, for your tunnel scene you need more pics and bigger ones! The one you have there dosnt covay how nice the overall scene is.
Second, scrap every "WIP" thing off your website expect the heart, thats cool. All the others look like 5 minuetes of work and then were put up on your website to make it look filled out. Thats a terrible thing too do. Remember your only as strong as your weakest piece and with all those 5 second WIP projects they make you look very week. If you are going to post a WIP on your website it should be a large project and the majority of it should be done and looking good. No reason to post WIP's of assets that should take a few days to do on your website.
I've temporarily hidden the very early WIP's now for the time being whilst I get them sorted.
I'll be adding more content to the tunnels section at some stage, but I'll be concentrating on finishing those WIPs first.
Just to clarify a point, I wasn't intending on applying for any work in the state my site is in currently and perhaps I've posted this work too early in its development and shouldn't have used the [Portfolio] name in the title. A lessen learned there, and hopefully I can get something thats completed up ASAP.