CV/Portfolio Review
polycounter lvl 6
Hi everyone! So I've been sending quite a few CV's all around and I'm getting very mixed and intermittent responses, so I think it's time to ask for feedback because either the portfolio needs a cleanup or there is something wrong in the CV that is not working in my favor.
By mixed and intermittent responses I mean one month I can be having interviews in AAA studios and even successful tests, but the next month send over 30 applications and hear nothing back, even from places that I know are looking for artists like crazy.
Any advice or tips regarding what should or shouldn't be in the CV would be greatly appreciated. Same for the portfolio:
Replies
Hi! Regarding the CV, I would say what you can do (skills), is more interesting than in what specific software.
Some notes (nitpicky and colored by my taste 😝) on your CVs appearance: Overall I would keep it more simple/ functional with less graphic design experiments. Stick with a 2 rows layout, left headline, right text. Writing name once should be enough. Social icons are quite big and provide challenge with spacing (probably CV is an appendage to portfolio, so needs less attention). Use consistent colors (reserved for links? Else introduce color for headlines) The horizontal lines (to divide the blocks?) are a bit confusing (especially the short lines above headlines, I would drop those. Also the first one is redundant), make everything look bit crowded. A rough overpaint:
Again just my 2 cents! Much success 🤞
Thank you so much for pointing those things out Fabian, I've been looking at the same thing for years so I got accostumed to the "design" if you can call it that lol.
What do you mean with the skills vs software thing? Do you think it should be more in the lines of: I can do realistic low-poly, stylized, hard surface, texturing...? I would have to let the recruiter know that I can use some specific software, right? like, let's say, I have experience with Marvelous Designer, Marmoset and so on...?
Heyo! Regarding "skills vs software", I believe skills are more specific than software knowledge and therefore can target a job profile in more detail. E.g. if you were to apply for a weapon artist position, the skill hardsurface modeling directly relates to the job.
In the end you could have both categories, skills and software.
The CV itself seems largely fine - it says what you've done, where you studied and you've not given yourself a mark out of 10 for your various software/skills (I find that hilarious and so does everyone else) Dont' tell people you're a generalist though - nobody wants a generalist.
If there's a problem its I think it's that your portfolio needs to be full of work that reflects your ability. Some portfolio reviewers will look past the weaker stuff and some won't , this might explain inconsistency in repsonses.
Also there might be an issue with what you're applying for - there's really no solid environment work in there so you're going to get a pretty much immediate dismissal from most env art jobs.
Your hardsurface work seems decent - some of the cars look well executed in particular - but you could do with pushing your rendering/materials and presentation harder if you want to trade on that . The images are just a bit boring tbh. and as a result could just not catch anyone's eye as they're scanning through a big list of applicants.
Thanks! I was not aware of the generalist thing, I will make sure to revise that as I thought it would be a good thing lol.
Doing eye-catchy renders of cars is something I quite struggle on. If I overdo it (by placing the car in a detailed environment, inside unreal and so on) I feel like i'm not really showcasing the model, but of course at the moment the presentation is way too bland and boring. I will try to revisit that and see what I can save from what I have by adjusting the presentation a bit.
Fair enough on the lack of environments. I have a couple WIP environments on the eternal WIP folder, so I will try to prioritize those if it is what will help the most. Hopefully it gives the portfolio a bit more depth and "eyecatchy-ness"
I redesigned the CV and did two variations because I was told that ATS software was not reading the "orange" CV well (because of columns and weird formatting...), and I would love to hear insights about it from other people.
Any pointers regarding anything will be very welcome (be it colors, content, formatting... whatever catches your eye really...)
I'm also working on my portfolio at the moment https://artstation.com/lucassoler. I'm working on a proper environment because the portfolio is lacking a lot in that area and I feel like I'm not suited enough for a Vehicle/Hard Surface/Weapon Artist role, and nobody looks for Prop Artists anymore, atleast in Europe...
Well, the only thing in my control right now is to work on myself and have maybe a broader skillset, or at least show more variety in the portfolio to be able to apply to more positions (Mainly Env artist positions...) So I will keep doing that