Is My Concept Art Portfolio Ready for the Industry?

Is My Concept Art Portfolio Ready for the Industry?

Eliott Lilly discusses how to make your concept art portfolio more appealing to prospective employers in the industry.

Q My name is Josh Matamoros. I am an amateur concept artist with the goal of entering the video game industry in the future. I humbly come to ask for feedback to improve my portfolio: http://www.artstation.com/artist/joshmatts
What would my portfolio need to be considered for the industry?


A Hey Josh, your work looks great – it has lots of character, style and personality and you clearly have drawing chops! I have some comments that might help:

Your portfolio: Right now, you have far more sketches and illustrations in your portfolio than you do concept art -I counted one, maybe two pieces of art that explore a singular idea aka: concept art. So, my first piece of advice is: If you want to be a concept artist, than you need to showcase concept art! On Artstation, I would create several project folders and keep the sketches, concepts and illustrations separate. This will give any client who is viewing your work, a better understanding on what they can expect from you.(It will also cut down on the number of images that they are presented with at once – its overwhelming). It will also help you discuss terminology with them. For example, if they ask you: “What does a sketch look like, and how does it differ from your concepts?”, then you can point them to the respective folders and say: “Here’s what my sketches look like, and here’s how I work when designing concepts…”.

Your art: The “Gunsligner” is a good example of a concept art piece, where you start diving into variations and iteration on a singular idea. I would encourage you to go further, beyond just changing the face, but consider alternate chest and leg pieces, without a cape. etc. Really try to create different silhouette changes with each revision. Feng Zhu talks about the importance of this in one of his tutorials: http://youtu.be/4yKxY0KKrak?t=1m53s The goal being to really dive deep into who the character is. (She has a robotic face… why? what else is robotic.. why? what happened to her?… Can you show me that in your image? etc.).

The gunslinger also represents a very polished level of execution. The refined fabrics, materials and textures provide vital information to other artists who will have to model your designs down the production line. Employers look for artists who can convey such details, since it is crucial to establishing good characters. If you want to be an attractive candidate, you may need to do more images that showcase such variety and polish. (that’s not to say that every image needs to be up to this level of refinement, but showing that you can deliver this quality consistently doesn’t hurt).

So, to conclude, if you want to be an attractive candidate for a video game studio, you would need to do the following:

1. Clearly, you are a character artist – focus your portfolio on that.
2. Show examples of iteration on a singular idea (different style and design changes of the same figure). Do this for at least 5 different characters.
3. Display a high level of technical ability and polish (material changes, advanced lighting, dynamic poses, etc.).
4. Remove old, outdated images that don’t currently reflect your skill set (toss anything that is older than two years – especially if you have better stuff currently).

Bets of Luck
– Eliott


Want to help us grow our resources section? If a resource has helped you greatly please e-mail it to me or any suggestions 
to: me@eliottlillyart.com. I will be keeping this list updated as I discover new entries. Thank you--
I Just Graduated With No Concept Art Portfolio, Now What?

I Just Graduated With No Concept Art Portfolio, Now What?

Elliot discusses what to do when you don’t have a portfolio ready for the concept art industry.

Q My name is Ashley and I recently graduated from the University of South Carolina (not an art school).  In my last semester I realized that I had a passion to do concept art, but that there was nothing in my portfolio to show my interest. I am concerned that this puts me at a disadvantage to other job applicants who have an art school background. Does this matter in the industry? Does this mean I simply have to work and fight harder to stand out? Also, although it is geared towards the video game industry, could the advice given in your book: The Big Bad World Of Concept Art; An Insider’s Guide For Students  also be applied to the animation/movie industry as well?


A Your situation is very similar to my own experience in college, so I know what you are going through. Yes, you are definitely at a disadvantage if you want to be a concept artist, but not because you do not hold an art degree, rather because:

  • You might not have developed the appropriate foundation skills to be a competitive artists at SCU
  • Your teachers are not working professional concept artists who can give you industry tips and tricks
  • You currently do not have a concept art portfolio that demonstrates your desired career choice
  • Your school has no networking opportunities for the entertainment industries

 

If you seriously want to be a concept artist, you will almost assuredly need further training from an outside source. My solution was to go back to school for another two years to really refine my skill set and portfolio.  I would suggest you do the same.  Attend a concept art focused school or at least attend some online classes. Check out the resources page on the website for our highly recommended choices. Also: I wrote an article on my blog a while back called Am I in the wrong school?” It offers three really good actionable options that might offer additional solutions to solving your dilemma.

It’s also worth mentioning that you will need to work hard just to be “up to par” with other budding artists looking to get into the industry. THEN you will need to work extra hard to stand out. In fact, EVERY ARTIST (pro and student) has to work hard to stand out in this industry. – That’s a lifetime effort.

Lastly, YES, the advice given in The Big Bad World Of Concept Art; An Insider’s Guide For Students  also applies to other professional industries. Since getting a job in any entertainment industry is about the same, you can take what you’ve learned in my book and apply it to that specific area.


Want to help us grow our resources section? If a resource has helped you greatly please e-mail it to me or any suggestions 
to: me@eliottlillyart.com. I will be keeping this list updated as I discover new entries. Thank you--

 

3 Pillars of a Great Game Art Portfolio

3 Pillars of a Great Game Art Portfolio

bbwca-3-pillars-of-a-great-game-art-portfolio

Senior concept artist, Andrew Johnson, gives advice on portfolio organization.

Andrew Johnson talks about the 3 things a young artist should pay attention to when presenting a portfolio to prospective clients. Click on the link below to learn more. Enjoy!

3 Pillars of a Great Game Art Portfolio


Want to help us grow our resources section? If a resource has helped you greatly please e-mail it to me or any suggestions 
to: me@eliottlillyart.com. I will be keeping this list updated as I discover new entries. Thank you--
How to Get a Job in Concept Art

How to Get a Job in Concept Art

BBWCA - How to get a job in Concept Art

An Interview with concept artist Jonathan Guzi

This week ending 02/13/16 we have gathered a YouTube interview from concept artist and designer Emmanuel Shiu. In this interview, he talks to concept artist Jonathan Guzi about how to get a job in concept art. Jonathan goes through his early stages of working while going to school all the way to building a valuable mentorship that ultimately gave way to a job in the industry. If you are starting out or wondering about concept art, check this video out and see Jonathan’s journey. Enjoy!

Click on the link below:

How to get a Job in the Concept Art: An Interview with Jonathan Guzi

Also:

Check out Feng Zhu’s podcast on landing a job in concept art by clicking on the link below.

Landing that Job


Want to help us grow our resources section? If a resource has helped you greatly please e-mail it to me or any suggestions 
to: me@eliottlillyart.com. I will be keeping this list updated as I discover new entries. Thank you--

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