done portfolio, but still no job... help & critique appreciated
polycounter lvl 5
Hello guys!
After 3 years of trying to find out what is it exactly that i want to do, I came to conclusion that want to be character artist. About 3 months ago i've finished my last project and started applying for jobs, so far no luck.
So, I'd like to ask for your opinion and feedback of what would you recommend, to make myself more employable.
http://www.piotrdziubek.co.uk/
Of course, i didn't just sat on my ass since then, at the moment I'm working on 2 characters (Male, and handpainted cartoony chipmunk) for 2 different competitions and one personal character on side(this one's also male, on hold for time being due to competitions taking priority spot)
After 3 years of trying to find out what is it exactly that i want to do, I came to conclusion that want to be character artist. About 3 months ago i've finished my last project and started applying for jobs, so far no luck.
So, I'd like to ask for your opinion and feedback of what would you recommend, to make myself more employable.
http://www.piotrdziubek.co.uk/
Of course, i didn't just sat on my ass since then, at the moment I'm working on 2 characters (Male, and handpainted cartoony chipmunk) for 2 different competitions and one personal character on side(this one's also male, on hold for time being due to competitions taking priority spot)
Replies
I would say focus on quality over quantity always, i would remove the old man, the dress. Instead of having a viewer for each one of your props, perhaps combine them into one cool little scene. Also, I would spend more time on your materials for all your characters, you are close, but to me something seems like its lacking. Keep at it, keep making characters, keep applying, and eventually something will pan out, specially if you are willing to move to find work
Could you specify more what's wrong with materials, or at least on which piece you find it's lacking the most? I would really appreciate it
Thank you for your feedback
damn... i like that dress >.<
Your website, and yourself, mentions you want to go for character art - but you've got a gas can (at first glance, but turns out to be a bunch of props).
Keep it up though! Something will come around. It's good you're still working while applying, something a lot of people don't do
Yes, i'll take the props out, you've made a good point there, same with the old guy. But i'll wait until the thread dies so i can get most feedback out of it.
I agree with the others about your textures - I think in some cases they seem a bit plastic, and it would be good for you to work on making them feel a bit more rough and like you want to touch them almost. This doesn't mean just drawing blood in somewhere - it means working on getting the materials to feel more rich and working through your maps layer by layer to tweak those details just right. It can take some time, but I am sure you can do it, and you will start to see that difference very quickly. Additionally, specifically focus on those eyes. Eyes are the windows to the soul, as they say, and I think your eyes look a bit flat, and like they are staring off into the distance. With people, it's so easy for others to notice that something is just a bit off, because we look at people every day. And they eyes, those are something that are super super important in a character. They give the character real life and energy if done properly. So I would say, try to get those eyes to look more interested in something - give them a better focus, redo the texture so they have a bit more volume and gloss, and try to pose them in more than just a stare (I am specifically looking at your S'haa character, but I think your others could use a tweak too).
That being said, I think your meshes look pretty good. I would say that you would do well to consider making your character poses a bit more dynamic as well. Stretch those poses a bit, bend those limbs, and make it look like they are *really* in the middle of doing something. That alone will create more intrigue in the characters and pull us into the story a bit more. Character modelling isn't just about the character and the anatomy, it is about the story that character is gong to tell.
Of all of your pieces, I personally like your "Emma" punk girl the most. I think although she is just a bust, it looks like you took the time to really work on some of those textures thoroughly. Again, maybe give a bit more softness to the eyes for direction, but it's okay for a bust, but I would work on adding some highlights and depth to the irises, and some texture to the cornea. Her skin still looks a little plastic-y, but overall I think it turned out well, and I really like the tattoos you gave her. The hair looks good as well, and I could see her turning into a nice game model.
On a side note, I noticed everyone was talking about the dress. I think the dress turned out phenomenally, and it's great that you have that extra skill. However, unless you are looking to work in the 3D printing or product design industry, I would either remove it, or put it in a separate category on your portfolio. As has been addressed many times in artist talks (and as Apocrs1980 mentioned earlier you can watch the 2018 GDC Killer Portfolio on YouTube and this exact thing has been mentioned), and as others have mentioned, it dilutes the strength of your portfolio to include it. I think the only way you would want to include it, is if you were posting the original model, you had created for the dress and perhaps placing it on a character. This would show that you have good design sense for costume. But just having it as a 3D printed project will not help your portfolio. It's hard to let go of those little side projects, but in the end, unless it directly provides a bonus to the job you are looking for, it's best to cut those things and strengthen what you have.
Hope that was helpful to you, again it's just my personal opinion. I think you are on the right track and your base models seem to be pretty solid, it's just a matter of adding those little poses and details, and working on getting some deeper textures that will really make your portfolio sing! Good luck!
Quite frankly the issue with my posing is directly related to the problems i'm having with rigging characters but i'll try to step it up with Mummei (asian chick with guns) as i believe her pose is the dullest one out of all characters and she'll take biggest benefit out of it(also she needs her feet reduced now that i look at her close).
I like the idea of placing dress in separate category or tab on my portfolio, i may hide it for time being and then open new category once i create some 3d prints as entire category just for single print feels like a stretch and lackluster.
So far i've deleted the props and sculpt as they really weren't up to par and related to Game Art
As for the current characters, I'm definitely going to try texture them over again but at the moment i'm quite busy with other projects so it may take a while (competitions have deadlines after all)
One thing i'm wondering about, i'm also working on certain handpainted character for Retrogasm 2018, do you recon i should put it on same page with other characters even though its different style? I really want to add some handpainted character to my page and this piece will consist of 3 different characters: Chip, Dale + dale's bug
here's screenshot of the character.
Some notes here and there and some have said some already.
Right now that dress looks super out of place. Get rid of it.
Now, you clearly know how to model. You have really clean topology.
Your main problem is your texturing and your lack of material definition.You need to really spend more time with those textures and make things look as they are supposed to look like. Metal needs to look like metal, etc. Then put more details on those textures. Tell a story.
That chipmunk looks really good.
To be honest I would just keep your punk bust chic at this moment and only add more characters that at the same level of that bust or higher.
Cheers and best of luck!