[Portfolio] Concept. Hardcore critique.

Zatoichi · Mar 2009

My site is a free one and I can't alter the design other than color and placement itself. So this will have to be just a content CONCEPT ART critique.

http://aopaul.carbonmade.com/

I recently had a professional concept artist express that he liked the lack of crazy proportions in my work. I think that may be personal taste issue, but other than that It's been awhile since I had a good critique of my stuff.

I'm not looking for sympathy or 'hey, looks nice' for this one. With this economic crisis, the gloves are off.

Be real, be honest.

I have some ideas that I need to add a couple of nice environments and possibly some better mechanics, but would love to have some feedback from as many professionals out there as to where my content needs to go to improve and how much I should add or take out of my portfolio.

not enough turn-arounds? too many boobs? etc...

Thanks!!!

http://aopaul.carbonmade.com/

c0ldhands · Mar 2009

Hello there Andrew, just took a look at your portofolio. I did like what I saw, specially the fine art section, looks like you have a good sense of illustration. What I would love more to see from you is stuff that break up with your style, right now you have a lot of dark and surrealistic stuff. Stuff like that weapons sketch added some nice diversity to your portofolio. Im no real traditional or concept artist so I hope I could help.

breakneck · Mar 2009

Zatoichi:
When I see your work, nothing really said "concept artist" to me. If it is going to be an image of just a character - not a whole scene - I would like to see some extra poses or some facial expression shots to really show that you have a solid thought process to the images you are creating. Turn arounds would be nice, but I think maybe a couple strong poses per character will really read like you understand the concepts that you create. Does that make sense?

Ninjas · Mar 2009

I think there are only really two strong pieces here-- the giant octopus sketch and the robo-clown. The gun thumbs and the future raver girl are okay too. The rest I think are not going to help you get a job.

[edit]

As an image, the first one in your fine art section is kind of cool in an 80's sci-fi book cover sort of way that I dig

EVIL · Mar 2009

I'd rename the "fine art" section to something less pompous, like "traditional art"
other then that, there is a fair body of decent work there. When you have more finished stuff I'd recommend ditching anything you feel is inferior to your current skill level. like the sketches since the people who will hire you will judge you based on your worse piece. so make that worse piece a quality piece.

Firebert · Mar 2009

Hey man... I didn't know you were on PC as well! I think you got some good stuff in there, and it has all been up there for quite some time, but as of now (and I have this problem as well) it looks more like individual art pieces that don't display your ability to do the job you are after. In your case of becoming a concept artist, everything is fully rendered out and solidified to where it seems like that was the one piece and final piece and no other. I am sure you tried a bunch of different ideas on each one, but my guess is you did that on the individual piece itself and not fifteen different files exploring different options. From what I have seen in my search is that a good concept artist is never nailed down to one finished piece. They start a mold and craft out a bunch of different options , exploring different angles, and then that will ultimately result in a finished piece (maybe). So if your aim is to be a concept artist, you need to display just that; that you can explore a million different options at a strong concept level so one final concept can be developed further into a possible full rendering or handed off to the modeling dept. Also, I am kind of bewildered by how your portfolio is not larger in scale and closer to being a concept artist's portfolio. You have to have made a bunch of connections through your history of QA and current position with Insomniac (DROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!). You've got a leg in the door while most people still trying to get in have only a vision of what that might feel like. You also seem to be doing a lot of art shows. This is something I hate to say, but it has got to be said. You'll have to make a choice now. Career or personal art. There can't be both until you've solidified your career some. It takes every ounce of you to get up in this industry, and unfortunately, you will have to focus concepting as your professional art to get anywhere. The market is too demanding and popular for you to treat it otherwise. Then again, I am only ass-u-ming this at face value, but I think you have an opportunity to really make something out of your QA situation. You have talent and skill, you just need to dial it in and focus on it from the indsutry perspective and not the personal art perspective, which is the challenge I am facing now as well.

Zatoichi · Mar 2009

Firebert wrote: »

Also, I am kind of bewildered by how your portfolio is not larger in scale and closer to being a concept artist's portfolio. You have to have made a bunch of connections through your history of QA and current position with Insomniac .

Heh, when the coders are working 80+ hours a week... so do we, so not a lot of free time.

Thanks for all the input! Keep it coming! This is definitely helping me see my stuff from other points of view to help trim the fat.

ArtsyFartsy · Mar 2009

Aright! A free pass to rip someone's work to shreds.:poly124:

I'll echo what's been said already that your portfolio lacks a certain degree of focus, and the objective is unclear.

I'll just list my other points in random order.

Your resume needs a timetable, and better structure. Right now it's very dense and hard to follow.

In your resume the first 3 skills you list are 3D modeling skills, yet your portfolio is completely 2D art. Since you have so much QA experience you should probably list some of the skills you've learned in that field as well.

Your sketches and concept work is pretty solid. You just need more of it. With time it will happen. The carnival mech is my favorite piece, and in my opinion the technically best executed.

Generally the designs are a little dated, and many of them lack refinement and sharpness. I'm not sure why they appear dated to me, they just kinda do. When I say sharpness, I mean both sharpness of idea, and sharpness in execution.

Your fine art section doesn't do it for me at all. The works are conceptually amateur, have weak compositions, and the color palette is limited and overly saturated. The paint handling skill is definitely there, you're just not thinking critically enough about how to use it.

But whatever the issues are, with time they'll be fixed, your portfolio will improve and you'll get the objective you're after. The fundamentals are definitely there for you to be a great concept artist.

If that's what you want to do?

With the experience you have, it may be more practical to pursue a career in the gaming industry as a producer, manager, or some other non-art non-programming position. Just a thought.

Cheers

Zatoichi · Mar 2009

Thank you, ArtsyFartsy. Definitely some excellent points and will do some arranging of the portfolio. I think I shall also change 'fine art' to 'traditional' as they are all Acrylic and oils and not digital.

I would love to get more insight, examples as to what appears 'dated' about some of the work, or any works that should be removed?

shotgun · Mar 2009

i remember some of those paintings... didn't you post some crazy shit a while back? dunno... well anyways, i think u've got the good skillz. what your concepts need are better shapes, the complexity is less important as are the big shapes, and your designs are rather... predictable. i would also suggest less abstract, random shapes poking out and more functionality, not in terms of realism/mechanics just game-design wise, like what does this piece do when the character attacks you, etc.. explain it in your concepts, somehow.

controlling a variety of styles is good, but i feel this contributes to the 'unfocused' look others have mentioned. it would have been awesome to see all the concept work presented and finished like the 2nd and 3rd pieces. the 5th seems like it should be in traditional, and the 6th is a little sketchy in terms of finish (dramatic lighting, anyone?). one way to put things together is the presentation, so you might want to consider creating a global 'presentation sheet' or a certain finish that will tie your paintings together. again, the 2nd and 3rd are great, and while the sketches are consistently presented they aren't as nice.

i'd remove the polycount dude... or size it down and include it with other similar concepts, if available.

Zatoichi · Mar 2009

Firebert- Thanks for the input. I replied to your PM. It's all good.

shotgun- I agree with you. I like details, but should start to see 'the big picture' with shapes. Also definitely agree with the 'unfocused' bit. I tend to be quite malleable and was always experimenting. Having taken a class with Carlo Arellano has helped me realize, as he said, I'm giving myself "too much to do" and should just stick to one set of focused steps when creating finished pieces and stop screwing around with my style. >.<

Everyone just know I am still open to any more critiques and have a thick skin when it comes to my work... a.k.a, I don't take it personally because one's talent is constantly evolving and , well, no matter what you say I am still my most worst critic.

[Portfolio]  Concept. Hardcore critique.

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[Portfolio] Concept. Hardcore critique.