CONCEPT ARTIST - YOUR PORTFOLIO
Tips on career, portfolio and online presence.
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Hey everyone. I've decided to share with you, what I believe are good tips
and guidelines on creating a portfolio and online presence as a concept artist that will attract clients.
These are my personal beliefs and they should be seen as guides, not rules.
However they have worked for me numerous times and I believe they can help others.
1. KEEP IT SIMPLE
The most common mistake in portfolios is the need to fluff things.
Maybe it's a long boring intro, a gimmicky but tediously slow flash site, or a bunch of links and long texts that are irrelevant.
Big clients have little time and want to see what they are looking for fast. Your job is to provide that.
Keep things simple and clean. If you want to add clutter do it without obstructing what really counts: your work, resume and contact info.
2. TRIM THE FAT
When you are inexperienced and just starting out you tend to think: clients want to see a lot of info and work experience.
Sure, that's true in a sense, but adding things for the sake of adding is no use. On the contrary.
This doesn't only apply to your artwork, but also to the info you add. Mentioning that you like to bake muffins for a hobby isn't going to
get anyone more excited to hire you. It's good to make things a bit personal, but try to stick to the point.
Don't add work experience that is too small to be relevant or skills that are too insignificant. It's ok for a concept artist not to know
how to use excel.
3. SHOW YOUR BEST WORK
This one speaks for itself and should be common knowledge. Show your best work only, don't show work that isn't good enough just for the sake of
having more images. Your worst work can make clients doubt about your overall skills! It's ok to have a lot of images, it's even ok to have
older works, as long as you feel they are relevant and an accurate representation of your current skill level. Not happy with this one
painting? Take it out!
4. GET A DOMAIN
Custom domains cost nothing these days. You don't need a fancy .com but as long as your name is behind that 'www' you are already one step
more professional then people using a free subdomain that comes with a website. Professionals aren't stingy over annual domain fees, so why would you be?
Your name is your brand and it's worth the small investment. You can also add metatags to your pages that will help people find you easier!
5. GET A GOOD DESIGN
As an artist, your website should look well designed, it's as simple as that. It doesn't need to be complex, simple and good will do.
Pay a designer, design it yourself or find a website that offers good portfolio pages. There are plenty of cheap or free sites that
will give you a nice portfolio page that is maintainable without any webdesign knowledge. You can link all of these to your own domain
so that your name stays in the URL bar.
6. BLUFF BUT DON'T LIE
Sometimes you have to polish the truth a little bit. Did you manage to do an intern job at Ubisoft? Why mention you were an intern?
Just put them on your client list! If you have a contract with your and their name on it, that's enough, you worked with them. A little vagueness won't hurt then.
However you can't go around lying about skills or experience, because obviously someone will find out at some point and then
your career is down the toilet... just remember in the end good art, work ethics and generally not being a dick/cunt will get you plenty far.
7. BE VERSATILE YET SPECIFIED
Don't take the saying 'jack of all trades, master of none' too literally. It's good to have a varied skill set. However you'll still want to
stay as specific as you can. Aim for what you like and want to do. Maybe you're awesome at characters and environments, but you like doing
one more. Shape your portfolio to what you want to do. Sometimes its beneficial to create a little selection of works just for one specific
job, because the client is looking for something specific. Be smart about it!
8. USE SOCIAL MEDIA
Maybe you don't like some of Facebook's policies or its time wasting qualities, but let me tell you it is one of the best PR platforms today! Industry professionals and
aspiring artists have never been more connected. Being active on Facebook, Twitter, DeviantArt, CGHub or any place where artists meet or employers
might find you will benefit you. There is nothing to lose. I've gotten jobs through Facebook from art directors who I didn't even know where following me!
Like me you might just end up owing your success to fans and followers sharing your work. Appreciate them.
Be sure to also check out business based networking sites such as LinkedIn. They can be invaluable.
9. BE ACTIVE
There are a lot of good artists out there, and if you're not active you might get pushed to the background even if you are really good and experienced!
Make sure you stay in people's golfish memory by being productive and maintaining an online presence. If you're working professionally
its good to make some time for some personal work once in a while, just so you can share something fresh without being tied to NDA's.
10. SHOW YOUR PASSION
My love for art is bigger than that for money or jobs. It might not seem smart doing your own stuff when you have deadlines around the corner,
but a true passion for art and creation shows, and clients love it! Share your passion with the world, your friends, family and fans
and try to hold on to it for as long as you can. Passion is one of the best creative motivators and inspiration sources and your future employers know this.
10. HUMBLE BRAGGING
It's ok to show off a bit, just don't be a douche about it. Got a few thousand followers on Facebook? Add a button to your site. People like
big numbers even if they don't mean much, it's wired into our brains after generations of capitalism. Share your fresh work on Facebook, or tweet
when you've landed a new job. People will congratulate you and give you confidence that will ultimately work in your favor.
However do keep in mind that arrogance, spamming or other generally annoying behavior will turn people off. Give people the chance to freely
find or share your work, don't force anything in any way, ever. Be humble but proud!
11. GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
Concept art is like magic, you use a whole arsenal of techniques and sneaky tricks to get good end results. Naturally you want to keep some of this for yourself.
However remember that giving to the community pays off too, on top of giving you a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Do you have a pretty secure career?
Why not share your resources and knowledge with aspiring artists? Don't see them as competition. See them as companions and be excited about
all the awesome stuff they'll make in the future! I've gotten other talented people jobs who I didn't really know but wanted to help, and I believe
that good karma favors everyone in the end!
Well that's it! Hopefully this helps some people and of course feel free to share the love as always!
