EDIT (13-06-2012):

MY NEW PORTFOLIO IS AVAILABLE AT b-kaczmarek.weebly.com

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Here's my first portfolio that i launched about 1 month ago. I'll happily take some criticism and feedback.

Blaze K - Portfolio

note:
-my control over layout, fonts etc is really limited (free site)
-the "Concept art - Characters" thumbnail doesn't look good, i'll change it.
-i didn't finish an english version of cv/resume yet
-pics are automatically resized to 800x800 at max, hence the different sizes of info bars

questions:

-are there too many pictures in "Environment Textures"?
if yes, which ones would you remove?

-'prop textures' folder contains few models made by me. should i make a new category just for them?

-do you think that inclusion of "illustrations etc" folder is justified? or is it not game-arty enough?

-i do have some ingame screens of my textures. would it help to show them if textures don't look so good there compared to xoliul and other realtime shaders?
(it's source engine)

-should i provide a link to bigger resolution pics on Picasa when applying for a job?
or is such site no pro enough? do recruiters even care about high resolution pics?

-anything else that you would change or add?

come on... don't be shy, i really need feedback.

Wow man, the textures look great and you're no slouch on concept art either.

- On the environment textures - yeah, some of them seem redundant. Either the cylindrical tiling pattern or the flat one should be fine. I really like the sci-fi looking ones like the hexagon pattern and the one below it.

- Props and prop textures together is fine.

- I can't say on the illustration. I like it but other people might not so /shrug.

- I've heard some companies mention they like to put work on a big projector so people can view it. if thats the case, you could make a big zip file or something with all your images in it in case people want a high-res version.

- I think you could pick some better thumbnails for the concept art and illustration thumbnails. The ones on there now look alright, but I think the 2nd environment concept art looks more polished. Same with the headcrab guy; I would move him up and use him for a thumbnail.

Personally I'd prefer to see the content put into one location for 3d. There's not enough worthwhile content to need the separation like that. There certainly are too many environment textures, and its mostly a problem because the quality starts to vary too much. The metal plates with bolts, the cracked plaster, and the concrete slabs are easily removeable and dont do much for the portfolio. Those pieces at the top are the stars, and everything else past the plaster texture is nice but doesnt do much for me except the cells which are mainly interesting. The turbine should go too in the 3d section. The clock as well, its not ugly, but it doesn't seem to demonstrate much that the monitors dont do.

Your thumbnails are terrible, pretty much as bad as can be. You've got good quality work, but on my first pop through of the website, and thought "eh, I dont even wanna bother looking". Your work is much better then those thumbnails suggest. You should remove probably 80-90% of the concepts and keep only the second image, the room with the water turbines, and the image 3rd from last. The rest feel too rushed or unfinished. Similar with characters, I'd say the last 2 images are worth keeping. and the first illustration is interesting, but dont start or end a page with it. Then I'd say combine the 3 2d art pages into one. I suggest this cause those pieces are MUCH better then the other content and will raise the general bar for you portfolio in that area. Keeping the other stuff just doesnt seem to be worth it, I'm not sure the others demonstrate anything worthwhile that the ones i'd keep dont.

Otherwise you've clearly got texturing chops, its just trimming the fat. I'd be interested to see more interesting materials done in something like UDK or a full environment. Oh and light all your environment textures from above, your normals look inverted when you light them from below. hope that helps!

You are showing some nice works on your portfolio. But I think some of your textures have overkill on rust details. I think those details should be subtle.

Thanks for comments people, this is quite helpful stuff.

Originally Posted by Tickwomp

Either the cylindrical tiling pattern or the flat one should be fine.

Hmm, that's what i thought. i find it hard to choose though, both cylinders and flat screens have their advantages.

I think the 2nd environment concept art looks more polished.

ok, i'll see how it works.

Same with the headcrab guy; I would move him up and use him for a thumbnail.

Yeah, that's how it was originally. but i have mixed feelings towards showing the non-original design first. or do you think that it won't matter?
I have one more colored, original concept that i'll upload and try out.

I've heard some companies mention they like to put work on a big projector so people can view it. if thats the case, you could make a big zip file or something with all your images in it in case people want a high-res version.

that file would have to be really big though. like 50MB or something. i guess it could be placed on some free hosting site.

Originally Posted by danjohncox

Those pieces at the top are the stars, and everything else past the plaster texture is nice but doesnt do much for me

Yeah, i indeed put the best ones on top.
exception is the organic texture, i can move it on top as well but i thought it looks out of place between steel and concrete stuff.

But since there isn't much diversity in style of textures (most of them were made for same mod) i thought that i should show at least some diversity in shapes.
I guess i'll remove a few and then see if that's enough.

Your thumbnails are terrible, pretty much as bad as can be.

All thumbnails are cropped and zoomed automatically, i can't move it to make it cover another part of the picture etc.
also, the first pic in the folder is always the one that gets onto thumbnail.

However i just discovered that setting thumbnails to 'medium' makes them cover a bigger part of the picture. i suppose it looks better now?

you should remove probably 80-90% of the concepts

I kinda agree that many of them look unpolished or rushed.
Despite what description says I started making environment concepts only about 1,5 year ago, so i'm still experimenting with various approaches to style and workflow.
I want to show that i do have some skills though, even if those pieces aren't best looking.
So i'm certainly not going to delete 90% of them, unless more people advise it.

and i agree that last two characters concepts look best.
Unfortunately they are redesigns and not my original characters. i don't want to only show stuff that was based on Half-Life creatures.

dont start or end a page with it.

not first and not last? not sure if i get the reasoning here.

Oh and light all your environment textures from above, your normals look inverted when you light them from below.

Good point.

Originally Posted by Roelant

I think some of your textures have overkill on rust details. I think those details should be subtle.

Well, i do have a bit of a rust fetish. not sure what you exactly mean though. Are you talking about amount of rust, strenght of normal map in rusty places or something else?

Originally Posted by Blaisoid

not first and not last? not sure if i get the reasoning here.

You always start with your best piece end often end with your "second" best piece. And usually you put more mediocre things in the middle, so you start and end strong. Think of it like a concert, a band will often start with the really big popular current song, then have whatever in between, and end with the big "finale" song, maybe not as strong as the first one but still one of the more memorable songs.

^ i see. that's the logic i'm using but i think the other pieces simply aren't really better than that one.
maybe i'll add some color stuff to this folder but it's lowest priority right now.



---
So, i made few changes, deleted some stuff and re-arranged few pictures.
There's probably still too much pics it so i'll perhaps delete few more renders.


here's two possible layouts of the main page:





On the first one the thumbnail content is cropped in a shitty way. there's no denying that.
However, the layout itself looks somehow more professional than the second version.
Opinions i got so far were mixed: screw the layout vs. screw the content. So i hope to get more opinions on that.


btw, I applied to 2 texture job ads so far.
There's one more interesting ad, a full time at major studio so i obviously want to make that portfolio look the best it can. using content and tools i have at this point, that is.

any more advice before i send it?

First of all your texturing work is off the hook!! Could you possibly make a small breakdown of how you go about your metal texture's and rust? Second of all in my personal opinion I personally like the first layout you posted right above this for me it provides a cleaner more organized view of your work. And last but not least I would ditch the illistrations and drawing's part of your portfolio as to me it read's as the weakest link and deteriorates from your absolutly awesome concept art. Anyhoot I'm no portfolio expert but just looking over yours those were some thoughts that came to mind.

Your metal textures really sing!
I think the only thing that feels off is the 2D art.
I feel like some of those pieces are super slick and some feel more like quick sketches/doodles and lack the polish. If your do one more pass and whittle some of those down you'll have much stronger package.

Thanks for replies.

Many of those pretty polished concepts took me way too much time to finish so i also wanted to show something quick.
but maybe that's not the way to go after all.


i assume that those line-art characters is what stands out. do you think that with added shade their designs would be ok?
or do you think that concepts that aren't in full color aren't worth showing?
i've certainly seen some professional concept work that was monochrome and line-arty.


In environment concepts i'll delete this one:
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...png?1320429970

not sure about the rest yet.

fate of illustrations/paintings is uncertain as well.
but would you rather delete last 3 or first 3?


As for tutorial - sure, i'd love to write one if i find time for it.
I don't think it would reveal anything groundbreaking but still - it would be fun to add something to game art community's pool of shared knowledge.

Also, tutorials are probably a good way to get more recognition (which translates to more employment options).



In meanwhile, a guy from one of the studios that i applied to earlier just wrote back.
He wrote that their current project is in cartoony style and offered me an art test (i mentioned earlier that i don't have much experience with hand painted textures), and also attached an NDA asking me to sign it.

The studio itself doesn't seem very professional but it looks like they manage to get commissions/jobs anyway.

So if things don't work out with my primary target, maybe i'll get to work for them.

Update:

finished the art test, the company wants me do some freelance jobs for them (yay!)

in meanwhile, i colored the 4 character concepts that originally were just line art.
hopefuly they don't stick out as much anymore.

I'd still want to get more opinions on layout choice btw.

aaand... bump.
don't wanna be pushy but i think the layout thing is important.
(read post #8 of this thread)

i was about to switch to version one but then i stumbled upon this folio:
http://jeangorospe.carbonmade.com/

and i felt pretty much what danjohncox wrote. "don't even wanna bother looking".
(no offence jean)
but then again the auto-cropping on my page doesn't seem THAT hardcore.

congrats for the job! and portfoli really solid. i really love your style of drawing!

^ thanks.

i deleted bunch of stuff from each category, and i'll probably throw away few more pieces since the more i look at them the more issues i see.
Recently i added a new prop, this time diffuse only:




and also a new environment concept:
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/2313265.png

now i'd like to make 2-3 more handpainted pieces and make a separate Hand Painted Textures page, most likely replacing the Digital Painting page.


should i add "modeler" to the portfolio title? or change into 2D/3D artist? or generalist?
i'm not sure which has the best connotations.
modeling isn't my main skill but i'd like HR people to have no doubts that i can make models at basic level.

I would almost suggest making one banner for your textures and putting them all on one page, and one banner for your Concepts and Characters, and putting them all on another page. The way your homepage is now it seems a bit redundant.

If they are all suppose to be separate at least name them something more then just personal.

hmm, dunno about that.
at the moment i think there's too many pics on each page to combine them.
but i'll take that into account.

If they are all suppose to be separate at least name them something more then just personal.

you mean the "guard duty & personal" etc texts?
it's supposed to be a field for client's name, but i can imagine it's not too clear.
i changed that to "personal projects", i don't have any better ideas.
if i leave nothing in that field. it'll automatically change to "no client"

i can hide all the homepage text though.
does it look better this way?
http://shownd.com/bkaczmarek

Your work is on the cusp of being professional but I feel like its falling short in a few areas. Generally speaking I think your work is too noisy in both your textures and your concepts. I would remove all of your 3d generator thing textures. Thats a good example of way too much noise that contributes nothing to the form of the object. The doors you did are one of your more successful pieces. There is still noise and detail but lots of flat areas that help our eyes understand the surface form. Your tombstone piece is kind of a failure for me because what you have seems like a good base texture, but it needs edge detail and where there are chips in the stone it needs the surface properties to change. Also the specularity on it seems off. Less is usually more with specularity, dont fall into the trap of pumping that up to show off your details because it will make your stuff look wet and plastic.Throwing a cube map on your metal textures would probably be a good idea. Your concept art has potential, your isometric drawings of different rooms were actually quite good, you need work on getting color into your work though. Particularly developing a strong atmosphere through color. Your environment works suffer because there is no sense of atmospheric perspective. Those are just some quick thoughts, but overall your work is shaping up.

love your texture work

^ thanks.

@Laughing_Bun
gee, that block of text could use some formatting.
you make pretty good points nonetheless.

i suppose that by "generator thing" you mean this?
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/1918977.jpg

i can only agree that it has lots of issues and too much of high frequency detail.
i was kinda hoping it won't be as noticable.
the texture also suffers from:
-lack of baked normal map
-crappy uvw with big differences in texel density and stretched bits
-texture seams

the high specularity is caused by the fact that it's standing in the water and it's meant to be pretty wet. But i did have doubts about whether it looks as such.
i'll see if i can fix those issues, if not then perhaps i'll remove it.

As for the gravestone, i'm indeed guilty of pushing the specularity in order to make highlighs more pretty, maybe i overdid it.


anyway, here's a new WIP texture that'll hopefully bring more variety to my portfolio:



i recently decided that i have too much of contemporary stuff so i'm trying out other styles.

I cant say that im a big fan of most of your textures. Most of them seem to have excessive amounts of dirt, which looks like youve just plain slapped it on top with a blend modifier.. the dirt just looks out of place.
most noticably on these pieces:
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/1917906.jpg
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/1917936.jpg
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/1917984.jpg
http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/1917918.jpg

that said, there are some pieces i do like. Most of the cleaner textures look really good, and that organic cell-like texture is pretty funky too.

What really blew me away was your concept art.. Mostly your environment pieces are really awesome, but i also like the character concepts.


One thing i might suggest is that you trim the amount of models youre showcasing to just the "best" ones.. Having two concept art categories (env and char seperate) is just bad, because your work needs to be accessible. Theres a lot more you could be doing to better present your portfolio, but i understand that most of the free sites have restrictions and pre-made portfolio templates you need to follow.

oh and one more thing. I really dont know why you have this in your portfolio: http://files.shownd.com/b/k/a/bkaczm...ge/1918960.jpg
The diffuse is plain and simple, the specular doesn't work with the rusty material at all, the normals are flat and repetitive, and it just overall doesn't represent your level of skill at all. (worst of all its nearly at the top of the page, and tbh it might turn some potential employers away without even looking at the other [better] stuff below)

ha, ain't it interesting how different people find different pieces appealing/crappy?
i swear i did get completely opposite opinions as well (concepts = meh, textures = cool).

almost all of textures you posted have been made for usage in a section of the mod that takes place in dirty, rusty canals. so obviously they had to be dirty.
as for the execution of dirt, i've been experimenting with different methods and results vary alot.
i think this one isn't too realistic, but others like this and this look like normal rusty metal to me.

that said, i'm still learning and all, so some pieces are present in my portfolio simply because 5 months ago i didn't see anything wrong in them.

as for the machinery, Laughing_Bun pointed it out already. like i wrote, i'll try to fix it or remove it.

concept for possible second hand painted portfolio prop:

progress:





i'm experimenting with different colors. specular map needs more work i guess.
on previous renders i used a grayscale spec map, these have a colored one.

at the moment texture has few seams, i'll fix that later.

i like them swords! you have a unique style and its cool to see. keep up the good work