Can I Get Advice for My Portfolio Website?

Professional
#1

Hello Tech Artists!

I recently graduated from college and I have been looking for a job to become an environment technical artist, but I got rejected by all places and I feel breakdown. I know that I have a problem, but I couldn’t find what is the problem or solution for it. Is it possible to get some suggestions about what I should do or get some tips for my portfolio? Here is my portfolio website.

https://sungho7061.wixsite.com/sunghokim

I appreciate your time to give me feedback!

#2

First off, don’t be too worried about getting turned down: the first job is always the hardest to get, because few companies want to shoulder the cost of teaching all the non-technical skills that make somebody a professional game developer. It’s easier and cheaper to hire people who have already learned the basics of life in the industry. This is the oldest catch-22 in the book: can’t get experience without experience. It’s not a judgement on you; it’s just the way the first job hunt or two always work out.

The portfolio is pretty straightforward – there’s nothing about it that is obviously “wrong” so don’t get hung up on that. Here are a couple of things I might do:

  • I might reorganize it a bit so the pretty-picture parts (particularly the “environment art” section) acted as a landing page – that visual first impression is valuable even when you are applying as a tech artist.
  • The text which accompanies the examples is very important for a TA resume. For the most part it’s good. I’d look for a way to make sure that people checking out the finished environments don’t miss the text that’s hidden at the bottom of those pages.
  • It’s great that you include some failures as well as successes – but I might move things that are more experimental or self-learning into a separate section (for example this page might want to be in an “experimental” or “learning” section, apart from the resume proper).
  • Go over the whole thing and see if you know which are the weakest pieces. It’s a very common mistake to overload the portfolio because you fear it being too “thin” – but you have almost 30 items. Do you know which are the 10-12 strongest ones? The others can still be in another format, but you want to showcase your best work – the person reading your portfolio (especially for an entry level job) is probably rushing. You want to get their attention (in the first 30 seconds or less) and show them your best pieces in the first 2 minutes. If they like that work they’ll look for more. But be clear on what’s the best stuff and make sure it’s the first thing they see.
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#3

Hello Theodox,
Thank you for giving me all the good feedback and encouragement!
I just changed the main page order and the name to the experiment. For the demo reel, I agree that I went too far because I wanted to show all my capabilities and added more whenever I got rejected by companies. I will reduce the number of portfolios on the video and make sure it is not messy. :smiley:

#4

Hello!

Theodox’s advice is brilliant. There is plenty of good content. I like that you split into sections of types in your menu, however for me you mention things like rigging on your resume but I couldn’t find anything on it in your site. The front page layout might be nice to simply point to and exemplify the sub sections as I almost didn’t do much digging past that front page, so short sweet with top picks or even just images linking to sections might help keep the user engaged and directed to things they are interested in. Unfortunately you need to grab someone’s attention in the first few clicks and don’t count on someone making it past 30 seconds into a demo reel, especially if they are looking for specific skills.

Some other general thoughts. Especially at larger studios where things become quite specialized and there is less need or desire for a generalist it’s even more imperative to have a resume and cover letter specific to that company’s needs. Keep improving and applying, what a company needs today and this time may not find a fit for your skills or team fit but that isn’t to say the next time they won’t have different needs that you will fit.

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#5

Hello KritterSG!

Thank you for the awesome advice and I appreciate your time going through my portfolio!
For rigging, I didn’t put it because it was not my focus, but I just want to say I have an experience with it for some projects. I will get rid of the rigging part in my resume to make sure people don’t get confused with it. Also, I will make sure to shorten the demo reel down as soon as I am done with my python project :smiley: I will keep improving them and studying until someone hires me.

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