Portfolio Critique

JoeGerrard777 · Oct 2018

Hi all,

I have just recently started a course in game art at university and I wanted to recieve some criticisms or advice as to what direction I should take my portfolio in to land a job as an artist in the games industry. Im still learning the pipeline for creating game assets so I dont have many to showcase however any critism on any part of my portfolio will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/joegerrard777

RocketBryan · Oct 2018

Honestly...this is really solid work, man! I'm not really a prop artist so I'm likely an easier judge, but I have zero real crits to give. Most student portfolios tend to need at least a little bit of house-keeping or curating to get to entry-level standard, but I think you're pretty much already there quality-wise. One example I really dig is your BB droid - the two variations in styling and material weathering is a nice way to showcase variety within the same project or asset. Definitely a nice touch to an otherwise straight-forward model.

In my opinion you've got a really strong start, so keep on keeping on and you should be fine when the time comes to start applying.

Ashervisalis · Oct 2018

Yo, you need to start watermarking your work, so people can know where to find you! My main critique with your portfolio is the wood on the AK would be sanded down and smoother, but you've got a grainy bumpiness to it. Great portfolio, just keep making more stuff!

JonJo · Oct 2018

Hey Joe, cool looking work, I'm sure you'll be miles ahead of some of your classmates if you're just starting. The best advice I can give if you're just starting uni is to keep setting Artstation as the bar. From experience, I've seen a few people start uni with some real skill, just to stagnate as they feel like they're doing fine. Keep pushing yourself to be better and don't compare yourself only to your classmates. As for your current work, I think you've got some cool stuff. The Alien Isolation scanner is (in my opinion) your best piece as it looks pretty original and shows off a decent knowledge of PBR workflows, as well as spending geometry very appropriately.

My main critique of the overall portfolio would be the AK-47 and the Star-Wars droid. They scream chamferzone tutorial, and although I'm not an employer, I feel it might not show much originality. Lots of people have very similar things on their portfolios and you don't want your hard work to be lumped in with all the other very similar pieces.

Your weapons are pretty cool, the revolver is especially badass. I think you need to spend the time to chamfer some of those hard edges. The Revolver and Carnifex are starting to look like CAD models from some places, and edges that hard could potentially cause some real anti-aliasing problems if thrown into game. It might not be as "realistic", but I think it would look a lot nicer.

Aside from that, I'd say spend your uni time split between your modules and personal work. It's a real boon when you go into an interview and can say your portfolio consists of mostly personal work. It shows you do it for pleasure in your free time, not just because the course demands it. As for landing a job, it might be advisable to start looking at what interests you (either character, environment, prop, weapon, vehicle) and then moving forward with that when you're into your second year. Take some time to experiment and find what really inspires you, then build a portfolio around it.

Finally, find a good balance between work and friends / family, you're life is just as important as your work! Good luck with Uni! It'll be a blast!

Portfolio Critique

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