Upon researching jobs for a 3D Artist one of the most common requirements is a strong portfolio. According to Clarke University, a portfolio is “a compilation of material that exemplifies your beliefs, skills, qualifications, education, training, and experiences.” In other words, it is like a visual CV. In terms of a 3D Artist, this will be a visual collection of my best work and projects that I have been involved in.
Tips on portfolios by Epic Games (Art)
- Research new tools and techniques to stay updated
- Work from both your own and other’s concepts to practice briefs
- Ideal portfolio shows the strongest work in fewest clicks
- Unfinished work is hard to gauge so try to include only finished
- Need to see a passion for craft
- Show pipeline from concepts even for 3D positions
- Include breakdowns of project and software used
- Look at success – go to artstation and see trending
Tips on portfolios from Professional Practice Module
Aodhan’s Lecture
- Best work first, quality over quantity
- Easy Navigation
- Know your position in the pipeline
- Show where you are but don’t include unfinished work
- Adapt your portfolio per application
Alec’s lecture
- Consider Company’s house style
- Have a general reel and specialized reel
- For a graduate, 1-3min showreel
- For a 3D artist, display turntables, textures, wireframes, UVs
- Use a steady, undistracting background sound or music
Artstation
While working on my projects over the years I have often used Artstation for researching artists and gathering inspiration, so I have made one to self-promote and apply for jobs. Getting an artstation set up in advance of graduation will also be beneficial for the End of Year Show and it has my collection of work.
Artstation is great as it allows a multi-media portfolio, so you can upload videos and images at the same time. People can also browse and comment on work so you can see where your strengths are and receive feedback. Artstation is quite open so after sending an employer the link they can see your work in a few clicks and how active you are.
Sketchfab
A 3D props artist is similar to a general 3D artist as they focus on singular objects in a game or movie, working closely with level designers to help tell the story. For example, they will be given a brief, such as a victorian bathroom, and will design props to fill the room in an 1800s style. This is a job role I would enjoy as in projects I have enjoyed working from a brief and making singular objects. To self-promote and make a prop portfolio, I will be redoing my sketchfab by graduation.
I have used sketchfab for assignment submissions and uploading single-props over the years. However, it is quite messy at the moment and features a lot of work that is unfinished or untextured. So to make it professional for employers I will need to upload final versions of my best props with full project descriptions and links to my artstation to see the props in the final environment.
Portfolio Feedback
Over the past few months, I have been trying to reach out to the industry to apply for internships and junior positions. So far the feedback I have recieved has been that my portfolio does not include enough finished projects. I agree with this and believe my artstation also needs better descriptions on my projects.
