portfolio contents

[GoldJack]

Hi everyone. Just a quick question, I'm currently working on putting a portfolio together for the possibility of a review in the future. Does anyone have any hints as to what to include?

[Jon]

Your best stuff?

I'll admit, I've not done it much, but from my limited experience don't put in anything you're in two minds about because when it comes round to being reviewed your opinion of it suddenly becomes very clear indeed.

I guess if it's comics then enough to show sequential flow between panels and pages, and maybe a couple of blow 'em away pieces. But not too much, people get bored quickly - unless you're prolific and utterly, consistently brilliant, in which case fill yer boots.

Do you have anything online to look at?

[Jim_Campbell]

Try to include some sequential pages of conversation or other mundane activity -- these are murderously hard to draw and make interesting, and editors know this. It'll also help distinguish your portfolio form a sea of others primarily featuring over-muscled men punching each other through walls.

Cheers

Jim

[CrazyFoxMachine]

What they said - very wise men!

Also don't be afraid to reduce your pages to A4 for a smaller one, not everybody is tied to lugging around a full A3 portfolio - if you're coming out with physical pages that is!

Keep it brief, keep it up to date, only include recent stuff that you're still happy with - there's nothing more annoying than having a portfolio handed to you and the flustered person going "that's old - my stuff doesn't look like that now" or "oh that's rubbish". I've been the guy on both sides :S

[mimikeke]

These days you can also bring your work on an ipad in addition to having it printed out. Don't know what kind of job you are applying for? Illustration? Cover work or pages? Concept?

http://theartorder.com/artorder-portfolio-building-class/

I believe you have to actually go and search for each part but this is a great step by step guide in building your portfolio.  The site is run by one of the guys at Wizards of the Coast.

Basically, if you don't like it, don't put it in there.  And don't put in stuff that doesn't relate to what you're applying for.  Don't put in stuff that screams art student either (badly scanned life drawings, etc)

Oh, and don't apologize for anything, like CrazyFoxMachine said.   If you have to apologize for it take it out.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

£10 notes?

[GoldJack]

Thanks everyone you've been very helpful

[GoldJack]

Well Jon all I have at the moment is a few game related pieces on deviantart.some unfinished sketches and a couple of digital test pictures centred on gears of war. You are quite welcome to have a look and give feedback if you feel so inclined. Here is the link
http://thegoldjack.deviantart.com/

[Colin YNWA]

Try to include some sequential pages of conversation or other mundane activity -- these are murderously hard to draw and make interesting, and editors know this.

If you can lay your hands on 'How to draw comics the Marvel way' there's a quite superb example of this from the mighty John Buscema.

[Dunk!]

Looked at your pieces and my main piece of advice to you would be draw. Draw, draw, draw, draw and draw. It's what most artists in the concept/comic arena would tell you. Draw all the time.

Stop aiming for "finished" pieces at this stage, create something, learn from it and move on to create something new.

Draw from life. I know this is a hoary old cliché, and b-o-r-i-n-g, but it's so important and where your learning curve can really take off. If there's a professional artist out there who tells you otherwise then they're an idiot.

Also copy the work of artists you admire. This isn't cheating (ask Neal Adams) it's hopefully getting to see what, how and why they do what they do and the level of polish you need to achieve in yours. Just don't go showing folks what you're copying 'cos that's open to ridicule – if it's not original work then keep it to yourself, but learn from it.

Watch documentaries about artists, all artists, in fact any creative across the board. Learn from their attitudes and work. You'll see universal patterns emerge which highlight good working practises, like: keeping sketchbooks, organising your workspace, drawing from life (we never let that go) and working like a dawg (my personal favourite)

Also ask questions on here, 'cos it's full of great artists and sneaky professionals who lurk in the wings waiting for a moment to shine and/or criticise.

Hope that's a broad help. Just a quick mind splurge as I face making icons on a wet grey Thursday, grief. Cintiq so warm and comfortable....zzzzzzzz

Dunk!

[Banners]

You shouldn't set out to create a portfolio - it should be a collection of stuff you have done for other purposes.

Looking at your DeviantArt gallery, there's simply not enough there at the moment. As others have said, draw, draw, draw – for fanzines, friends, charity newsletters etc etc. Then, after about a year, you'll end up with a portfolio simply as a consequence of doing this, plus you'll have learned far more.

[Jon]

Okay, well firstly in depends on your ambitions.

The Deviant Art stuff is still very sketchy and unfinished. For whatever area you're going for you're going to need some finished stuff at the very least. In all honesty it might be a little while before you're there. I think you need to work on your understanding of anatomy, and the weight and dynamism of the human body, if that's the area you're primarily interested in. Life drawing classes are a useful start, obviously, but also I find a slightly more synthetic approach can help too. Learn to look at the volumes of the body, and how they fit together. Learn the rules of proportion too, an essential touchstone. Hold your work up to a mirror regularly (or flip it if you're digital). You'll be amazed!

Get into the habit of looking. At everything. Really closely. You see? Not quite how you thought it worked, huh...?

The only area I'm really fully qualified to talk about is computer games (and I see they're a big influence), and that's a tough market at the moment, especially for concept art. Having made games for 18 years, including concept art, I'm finding it difficult to find work right now, when I previously hadn't. If you look at http://www.conceptart.org/forums/ then I guess that's the standard you have to equal.

That said, this isn't meant to be off-putting, it just means putting the hours in, preparing for a lot of heart-ache and having a plan in the meantime. Do be aware though that this is a very desirable area to be in for a lot of people, and competition is rife for relatively few jobs. The irony is also that having spent so much time bringing a portfolio up to the standard they require you'll probably spend the majority of your time banging out thumbnails because they need stuff before lunch. Come on, faster!

Anyway, the current requirements for that kind of job tend to be; broad range of subject matter and style, from cartoony through to ultra-realsitic; good understanding of anatomy, costume, lighting, architecture and surface materials. Vehicles, spaceships and tech for certain areas. Excellent traditional skills (though no-one's ever exactly qualified what that means) 3D skills desirable (I honestly suspect essential), and a grasp of shaders and their properties also indispensable. A very strong sense of design - while often not explicitly stated that's first and foremost what they're after. Good communication (and patience and humility under often trying conditions) can also not be overstated.

A portfolio for that sounds huge, but it doesn't have to be. It does need to show all levels of the process. Some pages of thumbnails, to show the development of an idea through to the final (stunning) piece. At least some character and some environment, unless you're really looking to specialise in just one area. If possible look very closely at the job requirements, and include just a few, incredibly relevant pieces with your application. Most art directors will tell you they're very busy, but what they mean is the industry has left them with a short attention span. If you can fill it with something that grabs them, then they'll look at your other stuff in due course. You could probably do it on three or four pieces, if they're the right three or four.

Other areas I'm not quite so qualified to talk about, though there are plenty here who could. I've recently started submitting to 2000AD, and the feedback was largely positive on my last attempt. Things that seemed to go down well were interesting panel layout, a variety of "camera" angles, and quality of rendering. Oh, and story-telling. Can't really stress that enough. Things that were flagged up were occasional stiffness of pose and areas that could have been more fully rendered. Jim's point about nailing the mundane stuff is absolutely on the nail. You really have to understand anatomy, weight and movement, dynamism and facial expressions, I think. Portfolio wise, though, you could probably do that with just five really strong pages. Do small press comics though, it's really useful practice and you get into the habit of working with writers, and all that back and forth shenanigans, and they even publish your stuff for you. Score!

Then there's card games, RPGs, that sort of thing. A fair while back I was offered work with Fantasy Flight Games on the strength of just three digital paintings. Unfortunately I moved jobs and towns about that time, and somehow didn't discover that mail until ten years later because, oh, I'm a disorganised idiot. My subsequent, more recent attempt was less successful. Anyway, places such as Wizards of the coast have an online drop, and you only really need a few pieces, and you can always include a link to a larger portfolio if they like those. They normally come back very quickly too, just a few days in my experience. There are a lot of smaller outfits out there that are worth approaching. Some of them might even have some small budget, if you're lucky. In my first job I worked with Wayne Reynolds (http://www.waynereynolds.com/), and he spent years and years providing little black and white illustrations of doors and treasure chest to TSR before he got to the towering heights he is today. Be aware, as ever, the standard is extraordinarily high.

And then there's story-boarding, which I've had less experience with (outside of games), though there are people on the board who may be able to help out.

Um. That's quite a lot I've written. I hope some of it is useful. All the very best of luck!

[jackstarr]

£10 notes?

I know that editors don't make a huge amount of money, but are they really that badly paid that they can be bribed by a couple of tenners?

[GoldJack]

This has all been very helpful and in depth advice will I will take on  board. Thanks to you all