Galen Davis - Environment Art Portfolio
polycounter lvl 11
Hey guys, I just wanted to post up my portfolio blog to kinda get some feedback about where my portfolio should be headed in the next couple months. I recently landed my first job here in Orange County right before I'm set to graduate in May, which is sweet, but I really want to maximize the time I have here in school to get my portfolio looking the best it can be.
I guess what I'm kind of looking for is feedback on the work that is already up on the site, as well as get some input as to what I should really focus on with my remaining months in school. My official port site is currently down for construction, so I dusted off the old blog and trimmed out the fat. Hope you guys like it, and all thoughts and comments are more than welcome!
www.galen-davis.blogspot.com
I guess what I'm kind of looking for is feedback on the work that is already up on the site, as well as get some input as to what I should really focus on with my remaining months in school. My official port site is currently down for construction, so I dusted off the old blog and trimmed out the fat. Hope you guys like it, and all thoughts and comments are more than welcome!
www.galen-davis.blogspot.com
Replies
Great stuff man.
Personally, I would prefer to make a stand-alone portfolio instead of a blog style page. I would put your PotC scene in the first post, on the top, since it's the strongest piece of your portfolio. Instead of just writting down personal impression, would be more informative to put your triangle count, texture sheets, texture size, etc...Halo scene is coming nicely but don't put it unfinish on a portfolio, recruiters don't like that. They want to see finished pieces of work.
And last thing, don't forget to pur your r
I see that you've got the large dock environment. I would spend a significant amount of time polishing it to be the anchor of your portfolio. - get rid of the UDK character, tune up the atmospherics so they're not washing out the scene, and dial in the lighting. Also do some actual game walk through videos and wire-frame breakdowns with statistics. This environment is close, and I think it'll carry you a long way, just give it the time it deserves.
Your other WIP halo environment will be your main supportive work. I say this because it is more of a snapshot, undeniable proof that you can reproduce a concept and that you didn't get lucky on your other main piece. When I did this, I made sure that it looked as close to the concept as possible to show that I could match the style and all of the factors that were present, it's good to see that that is your goal as well.
I'm not really convinced that your sci-fi hallway is strong enough to share space in your portfolio with your later environments. It looks like a first attempt to me and I would probably leave it out. Consider doing the same with the train thing although this is better in my opinion.
I'm suggesting that you present your environments as the main anchor of your portfolio for a couple reasons. Your environments are a better mix of styles than your props are, showing a range of artistic ability. Plus they require much more thought and technical proficiency than a single prop.
I think your portfolio could use one or two really solid high to low poly assets. The axe is a good asset, but it's doesn't give a complete picture of your modeling ability. Maybe a third environment snapshot if you have the time? This guy has some really cool little environment material snapshots: http://www.pixel-masher.com/Pages/Textures.html
maybe you could do a couple of these?
Anyways I hope this helps. If you have any further or more specific questions feel free to message me.
I will also do some more stand alone props to mix things up like JTerry said! And I will make sure to breakdown the pirate scene as best i can as it is my favorite piece so far! Thanks again for all the responses and I'll be posting updates as they come!
Texture it, I want to see.
Also! While you are browsing feel free to check out some of my NEWER work in the props/textures tab. I will also be posting a brand new environment fairly soon, so stay tuned
www.galen-davis.blogspot.com
I'm honestly not sure what's happening with your home page's images showing up everywhere. At the bottom of your home page it says No posts, so I'm guessing this means your home page is stored in your Pages section. Strangely enough, I couldn't even access my Home page in the Pages section. This is what I got when I tried to edit it.
What I did instead was store it in my posts section and link to all of my pages from there. Hope that helps!
No problem man, glad it worked out for you! It looks much better now.
I have some crits on your Halo scene. Structurally, it looks pretty sound, barring some spatial and proportion differences. For example, in the concept, there's a walled in vertical space above the machinery in the top of your scene. The metal barrier in that same area up top is too long. Add more wires! You have a few dangling vertically on one side, but in the concept they're strewn across the support bar horizontally and then dip down again.
Also I know you can match the concept's lighting much better. There's a nice cool to warm light transition, with the cooler light spilling downwards, causing some sharp back lighting on the machine rails and support structures. Your main warm light by the entryway is too washed out compared to the concept. The ceilings and other 2nd floor structures are way too light in your scene. Notice how the spot lights stand out much better against the dark. Widen your volume light cones too! The concept is far more dramatic and contrasty, which might not be what you wanted. That said, I think your scene would look better if you played up the contrast around your focal points at least. Seems like your entryway would be a good place to start.
One thing that I will say about my experience in school is that Polycount has truly been more help to me than ANYTHING I learned in the classroom. The community here, and the resources that are available are worth one hundred times what I paid for my Bachelors Degree. So I just want to officially say here that I am so thankful for all of you guys that helped me out. Truly, Polycount is such an amazing place to be. I have experienced serious growth as an artist here, and I have all of you to thank!! So if you are new to PC and are reading this sappy bit, just know that you have landed at the right place
Any and all comments are absolutely welcome. And the link to my blog is below!!
@Amsterdam: So looking back on that model, I would absolutely just paint in what I have for that section of the mesh. The reason that I did it that way was simply because I felt the need to model that bit... If I were to do this over again, I would absolutely mend that, or attempt to make it pop more to justify the geometry.
@chris: As always, thanks for the support man!!
your background realy flickers on my monitor when scrolling. i think its about that hatching-pattern and my screens response time. to me that effect was quite distracting.
other than that, great portfolio!
Great portfolio, but that sword looks alot like a sword Kelvin concepted and made. If you used his concept, it would be cool to give him some credit.
The Boneyard: It took my 8 weeks, and was built in a modular setup.
Make sure to run over those things a few times. Your work is solid, inspiration for me!
(Floaters still attached, sorry!! And I can't find the concept artist who did these awesome sketches!!)