[PORTFOLIO] Emma Smith
polycounter lvl 7
Hi polycount people!
Here's a link to my portfolio:
http://ladyknowles.carbonmade.com/
I am half way through my second year on my Games Design Degree, and have just updated my portfolio. I'd love some feedback on the work so far...Just some ideas of what I'd like to know..
- What were your first thoughts when you saw the page?
- Are the categories suitable?
- Is the standard of work good for someone at my stage (I'm 19)
- Are there any projects I could set myself which would really improve my portfolio - I.e. I know my stuff is really colourful, should I do some thing totally different style?
- Is the about me ok? Do I have to upload a CV?
Also, I'm not looking for work, just curious. I know it's good to stay on top of these things and have a kickass portfolio when I finish in 2013, rather than laze about like an ass.
Here's a link to my portfolio:
http://ladyknowles.carbonmade.com/
I am half way through my second year on my Games Design Degree, and have just updated my portfolio. I'd love some feedback on the work so far...Just some ideas of what I'd like to know..
- What were your first thoughts when you saw the page?
- Are the categories suitable?
- Is the standard of work good for someone at my stage (I'm 19)
- Are there any projects I could set myself which would really improve my portfolio - I.e. I know my stuff is really colourful, should I do some thing totally different style?
- Is the about me ok? Do I have to upload a CV?
Also, I'm not looking for work, just curious. I know it's good to stay on top of these things and have a kickass portfolio when I finish in 2013, rather than laze about like an ass.
Replies
Catagories are fine... Might change the "Various Projects" to "Assets" instead. Projects sound large to me. And they were all pretty singular. For some reason I thought of Various Projects as the reject pile. Only reason I clicked on it was because it had the most interesting thumbnail. :P
Age has nothing to do with it. There are 12 year olds in 3rd world countries that are kicking both our asses. :P The correct question is, Can my work get me a job? Or... How does my work hold up against the professionals who have a job.
Um... I don't know if it matters that your stuff is colorful. Just do what you like to do. Do it bad ass and get hired for it.
Your about me... doesn't need your age. No one cares (sorry if that sounded bad.) If anything, it is hurting you. If someone is looking at you for freelance they could potentially look down on your age. Or try to take advantage of you when it comes to what they pay you because you are young. Talk professionally, don't let on that you are a student, don't let on that you are young, and you are always always super busy with other projects.
Now aside from what you asked... I think you could get some more complex pieces. All of your stuff is small and fairly simple. Bigger projects are more impressive and will land you a job better than a million tiny props and some modular walls.
The quality of what you are doing, though simple, is still really good. So just just keep practicing.
Edit: forgot to say that I would take out your portal drawing, the monsters inc, and the character design piece. They are your weakest pieces in your 2d. If you were to just have the others in there, I would have pinned you as a pretty solid 2d artist.
I agree with everything you've said, especially about the big project. Haven't really had a chance to do anything bigger yet, since in September, I had only made a box in Maya xD I'm really buzzing to start something big...Might have a chance because we're making a fully playable level in UDK when I get back to uni, doing the art for it in one module and the design in another.
I thought you'd say that about the age. I'm more just curious, because I'm the youngest in my class by far. It makes sense what you said, I'll change my about me now.
Could I be cheeky and ask you to look on my deviantart, see if I should put any of my other 2d stuff on there in place of the ones I should remove? Here's the link:
http://teenagephoenix.deviantart.com/
Apologise for the cheesy name.
Thanks for saying the quality of my stuff is good. Since coming to polycount, my confidence has increased a bunch
And thanks for the comment about the 2d artist, before coming to uni I didn't even know how stuff was made in 3D for games, so it's been a big turnaround!
For the free ones it's a little limited but you basically have up to 5 projects and then x amount of images you can have to spread between them (which is a fairly decent amount), then you get 2 themes (black or white) and you can sort your 5 projects in 3 ways (2 of which look like you kinda need more projects to pull off (it's a shame there isn't a vertical one for characters)). Lastly in the projects you can choose to have a scroll down list of the pictures or 2 more complicated routes. If you want bigger picturesand more stuff you need to pay $12/month which is quite a step up from free.
I'm a little worried about your first thought, a lot of people advise others to just put stuff up on carbonmade or a very simple template just to get the art out there, and they would end up looking very similar. I'm wondering if people are going from thinking "websites should just show the art" to "this website looks like all the others!"
That said, get a domain and your own site, it's not expensive and it makes everything a bit more professional looking
Could probably add this one.
And I am 50 50 on this one.
My boyfriend is a web designer, so to be honest I have no reason not to make my own website and get a domain! Do you guys have any 'favourite portfolios' that you think are a good design? I have a few in my bookmarks.
@jeremiah_bigley Thanks for the choices, I'll change them now! I don't really like the floating island so I'll leave that one out.
It isn't perfect... but... you get the idea.
Here is an example of someone elses... http://willhurst.carbonmade.com/
I agree with the others that the portfolio site is a bit same-y but remember, if you are going to make your own or at least tweak an existing design, the work is the most important so that should be front an center- show only your best work- if that means having 3 pieces instead of 10 then do it! you are judged on your worst bit of work.
Also as much as segmenting things is a good idea (2D, 3D, environment etc), don't make people go through a long-winded process to see your art, if you can, have it all on the same page with nice thumbnails that dont take you off of that page. you can split them up but keep them on the same page.
I like your work, your 2D stuff had some real gems in it, I particularly liked the third environment study with the purple flowers in the foreground. The portrait of the girl with the blue hair was a real standout to me. Some of it was weaker though, like the gremlin mask.
Of the 3D work, I think you need to work on lighting a bit more. In all of your work there is a consistent feel of everything being separate. In the mediterranian scene, everything feels like a completely separate house plonked down rather than an environment that has aged together as one piece. Also I noticed that the clothes on the washing line were all the same texture with different holes and colour swaps, in such a low poly / low spec scene you can afford to change it up
I liked the floor and boxes in the sci-fi scene, the wall was a bit sloppier- try to think about what every bit of it does, is it a vent? is it a button or is it just a bevel put there to look nice. Everything needs purpose and history- from there you can dirty up the textures based on that
I am not being mean though, you are good - I am just trying to give honest and strong feedback
Keep it up and keep posting - and good luck with the degree!
Chimp
There is nothing wrong with the carbon made layout. It's functional and it works. You can click "work" link to always go back to the main gallery.
That said, I am concerned that your personal pieces lack some creativity and unique ideas. The sci-fi diorama is a missed opportunity I think considering how rich the subject matter is and the Mediterranean scene either looks unfinished or rather barren.
Artist are getting really really good these days, even those out of school. You need to fight hard to stand out with killer pieces.
Good luck!
But when I million people can use it at the click of a button and get the same simple clean results... then why not stand out a tad more?
http://carbonmade.com/portfolios/3d-modeling
Let me know what page you make it to before you get bored...
I am sure plenty of those artists have killer pieces but nobody wants to sift through 800 portfolios with 4 different variations.
Another example are the templates on blogger...
I think the critique should focus on the quality of the art pieces because her layout does more than an adequate job at displaying her work. Her priority should be looking at how to improve the actual pieces on her website. That will help her much more in the long run.
Thanks for saying you like my 2D
@Fuse I totally agree. The street is indeed barren and I can see in my head how it could look much better. Also agree with the wall in the sci fi scene, I think I was getting a bit too confident when I got round to doing the wall!
@jeremiah_bigley MY MY! You have succeeded in making me gawp at my screen again. So much so that I was sitting glued to my laptop while on the train home from London! And look, I did everything!
Using photoshop on a moving train isn't the easiest.
:
Couple of things I am going to nitpick over... Try to keep your spacing between all the thumbnails the same. Some have 3 or 4 pixels and others have 10. And on the black title bars hanging over... try to make them all hang past the same amount after the end of each title. Particularly the one one Assets, Scifi Diorama, and Traditional are a bit long. And the one on Mediterranean Street doesn't have any overhang.
I had an instructor who pushed our presentations like no other. He would say... "2 students who have the exact same model could present them differently and the one with the better presentation gets the job." You have a pretty solid foundation for your website. Now it is just time to focus on your work.
textures are okay/good, models are very plain and simple. lots of boxes, no complex shapes.
@Snader Unfortunately I agree. I'm a bit intimdated by modelling, maya's such a bitch.
Anyway, yes for my next project I'm going to stop erring on the safe side as always and try and go WHOLE HOG. I am trying to decide between these:
The vehicle on the left
Boiler room by the fabulous eWKn
I think it looks like you're on the right track with you stuff! It's great that you've gotten active here on the board to! Try to put up clear goals with every project and to let it get to big. Don't take shortcuts
I think the quality work is just expected though. I crit her site because this was her weak point in her art. As said on another thread... the site is an extension of your art and portfolio. I, personally am just a a strong believer in presentation making or breaking your art. And if you are truely badass at what you do the it is a possibility that your website could not matter. But if you are not flat-out better than people here on polycount... having a nice clean sexy portfolio can go a long way and say a lot about the artist.
And I wasn't telling her to get off carbonmade... just to try and make it a bit more original. As of now... I don't really have a problem with the way she is presenting her work. It has come very far since the first iteration.
+1
I would also go for the bike.