I rarely have a problem with people doing drive-by link dumps.

You’re one of my favorite people on the whole internet.

As the water poured over my brain, I couldn’t think of a single person I’ve met who isn’t a “social mirror” of sort. People who do something I can’t stand until I realize I do the same thing. People who inspire me. Someone at random who I have an And some of the greatest social mirrors are people I’ve served in some way.

Perhaps the distorted view of ourselves comes when we forget focus on the amazing mirrors around us – and focus too much thought (positive or negative) on ourselves. Lightbulb!

And I totally agree that things can get distorted quickly. My “distorted truth” as of late comes from discouragement – from several opportunities that have recently seemed like they might work out and haven’t. And I know I shouldn’t get discouraged because I have great “social mirrors” like Sam Kirkman, my Father-In-Law, Chris Oatley, Rudy (from the movie of the same name), pioneers from the 1800′s, my wife, etc (In no specific order) that prove to me that persistence pays.

Fortunately, something keeps me creating with my pedal to the metal. And while social mirrors aren’t my biggest source of inspiration, I’ve just realized how HUGE they are. Thanks for this post – I’ll be thinking a bunch about it.

Somehow In the end, I found I liked animating and this lead me to storyboarding! So now I’m doing storyboards for the animated Spiderman show! (Such an odd turn of events!)

(P.S. Hope you are doing well!)

There’s a difference, but for some reason, artists (especially young’ns) feel the need to throw every piece they’ve ever finished into the portfolio.

It’s so great that you’ve found this new focus.

And, to be clear, it doesn’t mean you CAN’T do the other stuff. Just don’t put it in the portfolio unless it can help to “build your case” for that specific job – as I was just explaining to Kevin (comments above).

On the subject of visual development, I’ve been recently developing some characters and as I gathered reference from real-life sources, I also gathered pictures of characters I felt carried the qualities I was looking for on this specific project. I think drawing them as part of my exploration process really raised my bar on quality – that, an thinking about who the characters really are on the inside.

Thanks for letting me vent, it actually helped!

This is a major issue I’m trying to deal with. I currently work in video games (mainly Flash animation) but I want to get into Illustration or Concept Art. The problem is, I can’t decided what exactly I want to do. Sometimes I think concept art for movies or video games, sometimes it’s Illustration, or make a graphic novel, or do matte paintings or 3D modeling, texturing, or backgrounds since I’m in the gaming industry already. Arrggh, I WISH I could just FOCUS, so I could work on that one thing and get great at it! I seem to like fantasy-ish women, creatures, and underwater best but I don’t know how that would fit in or if it would be marketable. But I guess if you focus and get great at something, that would eventually become marketable, is that right?

I wonder why it’s so difficult for some people to find a focus and easy for others? I would give my left leg to find a focus and stick with it!

Soon I’ll be going to IMC for the first time and I hope that may help me narrow it down.

Any other suggestions? Or is it just something you have to figure out over the years?

Thanks!!

I really do think it’s that simple.

You drastically increase your chances of getting hired for the kind of work you want to do if you can put your stuff online in a place where the right people will see your work (like DA).

But the point above still applies. Emphasize the areas where you can deliver excellence. If your environments aren’t visibly as strong as your characters, then don’t put them in the portfolio. If you’re passionate about doing environments, then get good and THEN put them in the portfolio. If you’re not passionate about environments, there’s always character design.

Yeah?

Page by page, the portfolio builds a case for hiring the artist represented by the portfolio.

Sometimes a portfolio builds a STRONG case for hiring an artist and most of the time, portfolios build a weak case or don’t build a case at all. They often confuse the portfolio reviewer and/or showcase weak work.

Often, the portfolio is the ONLY thing that will speak on your behalf because the reviewer is flipping through it while chugging coffee, alone in a conference room at a studio in Burbank while the artist is back home in Winnipeg, Canada or where-the-heck-ever painting. That said, the MESSAGE of the portfolio must be strong and it must be crystal clear.

Do NOT put ANYTHING in your portfolio that doesn’t support the case in favor of hiring you. The message sent by EVERY SINGLE PAGE in the portfolio MUST be: “This artist is THE ABSOLUTE BEST PERSON for the job.”

If you are great at characters AND environments, then wonderful. That’s true versatility. Put both in your portfolio.

But if you’re GREAT at characters but your environments are “just okay” (and you only put them in there because somebody told you to “show more versatility”) then cut them out. They’re adding confusion to the case. The environments, in fact, are arguing AGAINST the case in favor of hiring you.

It’s as if you sent two people with opposite opinions to the conference room to speak with the reviewer on your behalf – and they are arguing.

One “voice” is saying: “This artist is the absolute best person for the job! Look at all these different characters! They’re all so appealing and imaginative! I bet he can draw ANYTHING! You gotta hire him now! If you don’t hire him someone else is going to grab him and you’ll be kicking yourself when he wins an Annie Award for character design!”

But the other voice is saying: “Hang on! Look at those mediocre environments. Who’s this kid trying fool? Look at the perspective there. He can’t draw. You hire him and he’s going to flake out. He’s not versatile at all. And there’s no WAY he’ll be able to handle the demands of the production pipeline.”

Versatility is great in theory. But theory is not reality. In reality, people get hired because they can deliver excellence and expertise and because they have good reputations.

Versatility (TRUE versatility) is a plus but it’s NOT point #1. It’s something you gain with experience. It’s gained with pencil and brush mileage and determination and not being afraid to face the hard truths about yourself and your work.

So, only show work that demonstrates excellence. Less is more.

Emphasize excellence WAY over versatility.

Am I making sense?

The myth of versatility leads people to just put everything in their portfolios. And maybe you ARE one of the ten people in the entire industry who literally CAN do everything and if so, why are you reading MY blog?

But if you’re like most of us, you have one or a few areas of strength where you can deliver excellence time and time again.

That’s the “voice” that will speak on your behalf. Don’t invite the arguing voice to your portfolio review.

My resume is really stilted towards design – apparel, toys, ads, etc. because that’s where I keep finding work. They like the idea of “a designer who can draw” or something :p

Yet I want more work in illustration – concepts, character design, one-offs for product, etc. However I can see one potential problem – that my work experience runs contrary to what I apply for! What’s a good apprach to upselling the design experience in an illustration world? That is, show em I’m an “illustrator who can design” :p

When considering a concept artist portfolio, I often hear that adding environments is a HUGE plus. However, my specialization lies in character art. Would it be better to have something heavy in environments for the sake of filling a hole that needs to be filled, or show my characters front-and-center, with a few enviros at the end?

Thanks!

This post is what reminds me of your words that have so seriously changed my life this last year, “Do great work and be great to work with.” This progress driven mentality is what I really think was missing from my growth and it has made a world of difference.

Thank you Chris, I will continue to seek the opportunities and we have many great things ahead!

Dutz out!

Just don’t think that “being great to work with” is ONLY about attitude.

It’s about making regular, generous, contributions in the small things that are so small nobody else wants to do them and in the huge things that are so huge that nobody else wants to do them.

It’s about anticipating the needs and problems of your colleagues and supervisors and doing everything in your power to provide for those needs and solve their problems.

It’s about going the extra mile and then the extra ten miles and then the extra hundred. It’s about becoming completely indispensable to the studio.

Having a good attitude is step one.

Does that make sense?

It’s good to know these kinds of things though…

Thanks Chris!

My industry-break was triggered by ONE friend who recommended me for a gig. You can read about that in the post called “Ask for the Job” and hear about it in the episode of The Paper Wings Podcast where Lora interviews me:

http://chrisoatley.com/2011/07/11/ask-for-the-job/

http://www.paperwingspodcast.com/2011/08/pwp13chrisoatley/

It’s going GREAT.

I’m not sure if you’ve subscribed to my newsletter but I’ve been sharing about it there…

In all seriousness, though, a LOT of folks ask me to give them feedback on their portfolios so I’m working on a way to meet that need.

I have a few other higher-priority things in the queue right now but I’m hoping to implement something real by the end of the year.

Stay tuned!

I’m not sure what you mean by “fluffing it up.” Do you mean hyping it up with the way you talk about it?

If so, I don’t recommend hype. Being genuinely excited about your accomplishments, sure. But not at the expense of alienating others… …especially those who could hire you.

I try to let the quality of my own work speak for itself but I do enjoy talking about process and technique and struggle etc. with my fellow artists.

I hope that answers your question. If not, just reply and clarify and I’ll give it another shot.

At Disney, we talk about “right fit” and “cultural match” all the time.

Both mean similar things and it’s all about the effect you have on people. Lotta artists ignore this area of potential growth at great cost to their careers.

Clearly, Aardman has incredibly high standards. Good for you!

By the way, digging the new site design!