Nadz37 Portfolio: Open for crits :P

Nadz37

Hi there
I would love some feedback on my portfolio. On the presentation as well as the content. I've taken some personal time off to do this, and am now in a bit of a limbo. I feel like there is still something missing, but not sure what.

I'm a graphic designer who is now trying to make the jump to the game industry, and I'm struggling in setting up a portfolio that balances both worlds. Any feedback or thoughts would be welcome.

https://www.behance.net/Nadz37

My game project I did last year.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/18903069/The-Wisper-Realm

And shameless confession: I am open for hire if anyone is interested. Or could recommend me to a place that is looking. I've attached my CV just in case :P

Elyaradine

Hello and welcome! :)

Your game environment had quite a neat atmosphere, but it looked as if the surfaces were reacting to light in inconsistent ways. I'm not sure, but it kind of looked as if one of the channels (green?) in your normal map was flipped. Overall, I'd suggest trying to make some smaller-scaled individual objects, and try to get them looking stellar, taking lots of direction from concept art that you find, or by copying the art styles of existing (local?) games. I feel like your current portfolio (the 3D and game art) mostly looks/feels like student work, which would make it difficult to stand out. I feel that doing a few simpler props to a very high quality would make it easier to hire you, if doing 3D is something you want to do. (Here's an example, or another with a different art style, of what I have in mind.)

I think your graphic design is quite a bit stronger than your 3D/game work at the moment (I can't really tell from the graphic design work that's shown there). I'm not sure, but you might be able to push your portfolio more in the direction of UI design and get a bit of traction there? I imagine that if you're able to juice up your UI with animations, and know enough scripting to make the UI work, that could be quite attractive. (Many game dev teams see working on UI as a chore, so having someone who just does that, and does it well, could be a potential contract work opportunity.)

Kulu

Great start. I like your tai chi guy, and concept art.

I would suggest, trying different variety of styles. Cartoon, photo realistic, stylized etc.

You should also think about what aspect of 3d animation you want to concentrate on (modelling,texturing,rigging,effects, animation, rendering , post production etc. ). Personally I like being a 3d generalist, which means that you are capable and skilled in all aspects of 3d. But for me thats because I tend to work alone, I dont have the luxury of being a specialist.

And know your software. Find and do tutorials, get involved in forums, ask questions. 3d software is becoming more and more advanced with each release.



Good luck!

Nadz37

Great feedback so far guys.
My execution of my portfolio in general lacks a certain graceful finesse.
Elya, I'm definitely going to tackle the Unity file again of my game realm I created. It most certainly could do with more polishing and attention to finer details, especially the light and scaling. I also like your suggestion of actually scaling down on the content whilst upping the quality of the remain content.

Kulu, I consider myself as a design generalist, and I need to learn how to balance my graphic design skills with the 3D I've recently acquired. As you said, I need to try a variety of styles, and see where I'm comfortable,