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Thoughts on Art Portfolios
🕑 Added 2025-01-15 16:54:50 +0000 UTCSo, a few days ago I spoke with a Patron (Cayetanax) about portfolio. To be precise the winner of the Art Compass (Discord challenge) from last December. You know, every month we do this challenge, and the winner can speak with me for an hour.
Although I have plenty of pieces in my portfolio, I didn’t feel very qualified to give advice on this subject. Partly because I think creating a portfolio requires certain research and planning, and I could not care less about this. If I were to describe my portfolio, it’s like a child making things he want for the sake of exploration, learning skills, and gaining popularity. You know, it’s like seeking approval while exploring things, I guess.
So, it wasn’t designed to meet the requirements of an employer or to get a job. Of course, I wanted to get a job, but I was not, let’s say, clear on my goal. Because I managed to do this thing where I was sharing art every day, I was lucky to get some gigs.
Anyway, that’s why I don’t feel qualified. I just want to share my experience and give you some advice on what I think is effective. Now, this is not just theory, it’s also based on my experience working in companies like Riot, for example.
I believe you can get a job by using a more balanced approach than the one I took, aiming for your portfolio to speak the same language as the person who needs your help. At the same time, you can use, let’s say, visibility or popularity to achieve your goal, rather than to fulfil an empty space in your existence, kind of like what I was trying to do.
Research!
I've already said this on Patreon, but I think the issue always pops up because we know what we like, so why go beyond that? We enjoy it, but in the pursuit of a job in that direction, we need to dive deeper after answering: 'What are the things you are passionate about?' List all these things. What are the mediums you enjoy consuming as an artist? Whether it’s comics, games, or something else, these will give you a sense of direction for research.
I understand that we might have to make money from a job that isn’t in tune with our passions or interests. Being an adult means taking responsibility and sacrificing short-term goals for what needs to be addressed.
But it’s very important for you to be clear about what those things are. Otherwise, you get confused about your goals and start to focus more on materialistic things, like money only. Money isn’t bad, I’m not demonising it. I think it’s a very useful tool. But it’s important to recognise that money is secondary. The main thing always needs to be what you feel attracted to, and whatever you do should align with that direction, at least in the long run.
For instance, if it’s comics your direction, what are the comics you like? What are the subjects you like about those comics? Who are the companies that make these comics? Who are the authors behind them? Do they have portfolios? How do these portfolios look?
If you search in the tab of my Patreon about "portfolios", you’ll find plenty of information on this kind of research. Nevertheless, I want to make it clear that research will help you develop a frame of reference for presenting your portfolio.
This isn’t necessarily about the concept in detail or even the theme, but once you have an idea of how a portfolio should be presented for the specific job you’re aiming for, your presentation will be more sophisticated. It will allow you to compete against other artists who may be more skilled or better connected but lack the awareness or experience gained from this kind of research.
The research will help answer why it’s more effective to take certain artistic directions or make specific decisions. The deeper you dive into this, the more you will align with what the employer needs. It’s about speaking the same language as your employer.
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Ideas, Concepts and Stories
Now, as artists, we tend to focus a lot on visuals. Of course, we are artists, so we care about colours, values, lines, drawing, and rendering, all of these are important. But I think it’s equally important to understand how strong the connection with people is through ideas, concepts, and the story you’re telling.
Often, the connection with the viewer stems from the familiarity they feel with your idea or concept. By familiarity, I mean the relationship they have with the subject of your story. We understand each other through narratives.
This understanding will also emerge from your research. For example, if you research horror movies and notice recurring themes, such as survival, you could incorporate that theme into your work. Making an analysis of the subject is crucial, so you don’t fall into superficial or shallow topics.
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More Than a Presentation Card
Another tip is to treat your portfolio as more than just a presentation card, it should be a personal project. Imagine that the project you’re building, whether it’s character design for comics, concept art for movies, or something else, is going to become a real thing. This perspective will motivate you to invest more effort into it, going beyond the minimum requirements.
For instance, if you’re designing characters for a game, don’t stop at three or five designs. Explore all phases of the characters’ lives within the game. Ask questions like: what does the character look like when they’re about to be defeated? What do they look like when they reappear after a battle? These kinds of explorations demonstrate a deeper understanding of the task and make your portfolio more compelling.
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What To Do With This Magestic Piece Of Art Once It's Done?
And the final question is what to do once you have completed this project, once you have finished this portfolio. Of course, by that time, if you have done careful research, I assume you will have some names and emails to send your portfolio to. Probably, you will aim to nail the job at the big one, you know, the big company with the big name that will guarantee your income. But I think that, although ideal, it is not realistic, especially if it is the first time you are doing this.
Now, that does not mean you should not try. I think you should try anyway, but you also need to expand your vision beyond that particular goal. By that, I mean try to have a plan B, plan C, plan D, so you can also approach or knock on the doors of other companies, perhaps competitors of the big one, where you can at least get some feedback. Always try to be humble. It is not just about presenting yourself as someone providing solutions. I think a better way to gain the interest of companies is by asking for feedback, maybe reaching out to artists who work there and asking, "What do you think about my portfolio? Do you think there is something I could improve? I would really like to work at a company like the one you work for or on projects that align with that.
And who knows, maybe someone will recommend you to another person, and you will get that job. I think most jobs come from networking. Someone recommends another person. In my experience, it is better to be recommended by someone who trusts your professionalism than to rely on being hired as a random person from the internet who claims to know things or shows good work but whose responsibility and reliability are uncertain.
As for the networking aspect, I suggest not becoming too obsessed with popularity. Although gaining numbers on social media might help, you never know who is actually watching. It might work, but it could also be entirely useless for your big goal. If you are lucky, you might reach the right person to get that job, but the odds of that happening are uncertain. Again, this does not mean you should not try, but I want to be as clear and effective as possible in helping you direct your portfolio and skills in the right way.
Anyway, I think that is pretty much it for today. I hope this was helpful. I am having these conversations once a month with the winner of our Discord challenge. It is a 30-minute daily sketch, basically. If you want to discuss subjects like this with me, please join the Discord. You just need to post art as practice. I think it is a very effective way, and if you win, we can have a discussion.
I'm currently working on a new poem that I'll be sharing soon, along with insights, a process video, and files for those on every tier.
Thank you so much for your patience.
Comments
Ramon Nuñez
I’m happy to read this, keep going!
Veronica Colin
I’ve been meaning to work on my portfolio for a while but the idea of it not coming up the way I picture it to be never fails to unmotivated me, another factor is that I don’t know where to begin or what to show or even what to do once I’m done with it. But I‘ve found this article extremely helpful! I never actually thought about messaging professionals or people who work in the studio to ask opinions or feedback about my page. Instead of just limiting myself of showing only whenever there’s an opening. The advice you just gave is an extremely good way to open networking with someone who is already in…. I guess it never crossed my mind to do it because I’m extremely shy and it’s so out of my comfort zone but it’s always worth giving it a try. Thank you so much for this Ramon!
Ramon Nuñez
Yup, you might not always get what you want, but asking yourself 'what that looks like' and aiming in that direction is definitely better than not knowing at all. Also, there are plenty of ways to network. Cold emailing or calling is one of the traditional methods, but interacting based on shared likes or interests might work just as well.
Alex Hernandez
Seems like having good research into what a job may require of a role based on what you’d be interested in is important. Therefore making work targeted towards that company and the context of the medium or genre. I see this with like action animations some professionals will show battle scars and their clothes torn up or bruises and such. Networking seems scary 😅 just cold calling someone out online- though that availability to message anyone I should take advantage of for sure. Thank you again Ramon 👍🏼
