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Post by Lizica on Nov 18, 2019 22:48:43 GMT -5
I've recently been trying to make my art website more professionally presentable and more representative of, like, the art that I actually like doing (and not just a lot of stuff from old college classes and only a few recent things). And since there's such a cool group of artists here, I wondered if any of you guys might have any advice/pointers/general thoughts about art websites and portfolios? (I rambled a lot below, but I've highlighted some of my main questions. I'm sorry in advance for the rambling. xD;; )
I currently have most of my art arranged in a giant hodgepodge. xD On the one hand, I sort of like the element of discovery and “what could be next?” buuut I also realize that it’s messy, there's just too much stuff in one place, and if you were actually looking for a certain medium or technique, it would be harder to pick it out. What do you think are some good ways to sort your work? Is it important to distinguish by the medium at all, or is it better to put things together based on, say, broader definitions like “illustrations” or “sketches” or “sequential art”? I have problems trying to divvy up much of my art stuff into solid categories, which is why I’m prone to the giant hodgepodge. What are the NTWF RP posters? Are they promotional art, even though they had nothing to do with promoting? Are they graphic design or digital art/cut paper/photography? What about pop-ups? Do you just lump stuff into "mixed media"? How do you even categorize things like the lenticular-printing-inspired tree painting I did in college, I have weird things I still want to keep in my online portfolio???)
Belatedly speaking of sketches, though--I've heard that some jobs like seeing applicants' loose sketches and designs. How do you judge what makes a sketch worthy of being in your portfolio? I'm so used to only having polished artwork in my portfolio, so I'm not sure how you would choose or display unfinished things.
Also, many art job applications just request a link to your portfolio. But by some definitions, your portfolio is similar to your resume in that it's specifically tailored to the job you're applying for? So I'm sort of confused--should the link you share on applications just be your general website portfolio, or should you create a special page with the examples they ask for, or am I just way off base and out of touch with how this works? xD
How bad is it to have fanart in your portfolio? xD Is it very unprofessional, or does it not really matter except to the big name employers who are persnickety about copyrights and only want to see original stuff? *holds up that Ampharos drawing and two select Neopets comics to the light to see if they still pass muster*
Slightly off-topic, but I currently also have some (very, very outdated) writing samples (a few story starters, and one old essay). But what makes a good writing sample? Years ago, I added them because it felt wrong to me to have artwork, but none of my writing. xD But now that page just makes me cringe because I desperately need to update it. I deleted the link to it, but it's still hiding there.
TL;DR, Lizica is very indecisive and clueless about websites and stuff, what do?? ...Okay but yeah, if anyone has any suggestions or pointers or good portfolio website examples to share, that would be a great help. ^^ And I know I asked a lot of questions, so no one should feel obligated to answer any or all of them. xD (And I'm sorry if these have been asked somewhere on the thread before, in which case, please redirect and forgive me. x'D)
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Post by Ginz ❤ on Nov 19, 2019 0:04:07 GMT -5
Lizica - Okay, I want to preface this by saying I have no real experience, and these are just my opinions, so please take them with a grain of salt. I still want to share them in case you find them useful or helpful, though! So anyway, I think you need to make your portfolio work for you, so presenting the art you actually like doing is a great move! People will hire/commission you to do more of what you show them you can do, so use that to your advantage! In that same vein, I think you should categorize your works depending on how you personally define them. Is there a medium you favor above all others? Maybe it deserves to be showcased in its own category, and you can sort things by medium then. But if, instead, what you enjoy most is say, doing 'illustrations', regardless of the medium, go for broader categories! For things like the posters, pop-ups, and more experimental things, maybe you can have a Miscellaneous category? Speaking of sketches and WIPs, I would put them in their own category. I think mixing them with finished works can be distracting. In my opinion, a good sketch is one that shows an insight to your process. Do you use lines of motion or guidelines to build up your figures? You can show that. (I know for design projects at least, it is desirable to explain your process by showing different iterations of sketches and color variations, and things like that... and explain your reasoning on why the one you chose to go with worked best for the intended purpose. It probably doesn't need to be as in-depth for an art portfolio, I don't know. But I think people who are interested in sketches want to know how you work) Also, i'm definitely not qualified to comment on whether fanart is unprofessional in your portfolio, but honestly, a lot of people's jobs are actually technically drawing fanart? So it might depend on the kind of work you're looking for. I feel like there will be people who defend fanart, and people who'll look at it with disdain... but as someone who draws 90% fanart, I wish it was justly valued! >>; Anyway, best of luck!! 💖
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Post by Twillie on Nov 19, 2019 1:37:24 GMT -5
Ooh, I can try my best to help out too! I have a portfolio site that I've maintained for a year or so now I believe, so I've faced a lot of these same questions. That said, I'm definitely no expert, and I wouldn't say that my site is the pinnacle of what an art site and its content should look like x3 I'll try my best to help based on my own experience, but of course take it with a grain of salt as said experience is limited! x3 How to sort work? I've seen a variety of ways to organize art! I don't think there's a best way to do it, but rather what best fits for your personal collection of artwork. For me, I kept it simple and divided it between digital work and traditional work, and then another tab for my comics. I just did this because I felt it'd be the easiest to maintain and organize without getting too caught up in all these categories and pages. I've seen other sites that sort artwork thematically. Maybe the artist did a miniseries on a certain subject, or they have a bunch of art related to one character, so they put those under one heading. Maybe you want to put all the art you did for Inktober into one category. Maybe it could be a combo of a few of these! I've seen an artist's site before that sorted their art via design, character, and inktober (or something similar to that). I'd just say try not to get too caught up in uber specific labels. Don't be afraid to use broader terms to categorize your art, otherwise it be easy spending too much time trying to define each and every piece. And websites can always be edited, so if a certain job application is asking for specific types of art, then perhaps you can rearrange your site to temporarily match what they're asking for to make for easier browsing :3 What makes a sketch worthy?
Similar to Ginz, I often pick sketches if they show some part of my creative process. Sketches can also help fill in the blanks of your artistic abilities that finished pieces may not be able to show. When figuring out sketches to include, a good first question to ask is: What are my primary artistic strengths? And then going even further with that: Out of those strengths, which ones are not as represented by my finished works? For example, some of the sketches I've included on my website are compilations of character exploration and the final design: And both observational and figure studies: Strengths of my own that I identified included figure drawing, shape construction, and character design. While these can all be displayed via finished works to an extent, that may not always tell the full story. Sketches can help highlight those strengths you want employers to pay attention. The character design compilations directly show how I think and the time I put into reaching a final character. Observational studies let viewers see the literal shapes and lines I used to create more complex objects. And then the figure studies show off my anatomical skills and line diversity, and it shows how I can translate that into the more stylized characters they've already seen. Another thing I use sketches for sometimes is filling the holes of what may not be a strength, but of just something I may not include in my finished pieces as much as I need to. One of the sketches I included on my site is this: (which still isn't done, whoops >>) A piece that's clearly wip, but there's still a lot of experimentation with perspective and background design. Those are things that may not be a strength of mine, and I don't have a lot of finished examples of, but they're still important to show I'm capable of doing. For something that may feel like a weakness to you and you're worried you don't have enough example work of, that can be another good time to show off the sketches. Link to website or special page? I may be wrong as I don't often apply to art jobs, but I think often when they ask for a portfolio, they want a pdf or something similar with those 10-20 works on it. The website then is something else they can check out to see a wider range of your work, if needed. And this of course is assuming your portfolio is for 2D or static work, I'm not as familiar with the platforms or files animators use for their portfolios. But again, I'm no expert in this area, so the circumstances for a number of applications may vary a lot from what I've said xD Fanart, yea or nay? Ah man, I wish I had a definitive answer for this one as well. I've looked this up before to pretty mixed answers, but from I remember, it can depend on the job you're going for. For example, a position related to character design may not be the place for fanart, as employers want to see your ability to design originals yourself. You're not really showing this skill if you're just drawing others' characters. I think the general idea might be that it's okay, but go about it carefully. Don't make your entire portfolio fanart, don't use fanart if it masks a skill you're supposed to be showing off (like aforementioned character design example), and make sure that any fanart you include still has decisions original to you put in it. Show off your composition skills, color theory, anatomy, expressions, etc. to still make it your own, rather than something just emulating someone else's work. Perhaps a general rule I'd say is that for whatever skill you're wanting to show off, if you have original work that does this, use that before considering fanart. I have some Neopets artwork on my site (heck I have all my Neo comics on there, so if nothing else you won't be as bad as me xD), but I'm also kind of discreet about labeling it as such. I don't outright call it "Neopets art" unless absolutely necessary, as I don't want the word "fanart" to be immediately associated with it. Not that I think fanart is lesser than original, but it's just good to be aware of perceptions or stereotypes out there and how it may affect the way others view your work. Despite everything I've said though, I'm super iffy about how good or bad it may be, and lowkey wish I had enough original work to just not worry about using fanart on my site at all xD Would make life a lot easier if I just didn't have to worry about the debate to begin with lol. Writing samples? Alas this I do not have much experience with at all, so I don't have advice for it sorry :c
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Post by June Scarlet on Nov 19, 2019 12:46:48 GMT -5
Lizica I'm just going to answer one question for now, before lunch, and hopefully come back to more later. But as to how to categorize your work, I like to use tags on my Portfolio website. So like, My Game Jam game is under art and teamwork, both. I have a third tag, coding. I don't know if your platform supports tags, but I really recommend them as an easy way to organize your art. My website is geared more towards User Experience, so I haven't really put much art up there. But it's something I'd like to research, since I'm considering making a second portfolio website for my online handle June Scarlet. I use WordPress as my backend, which does support tags for posts and portfolio pages, which is nice.
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Post by Zoey on Nov 19, 2019 19:14:53 GMT -5
What do you think are some good ways to sort your work? I've been under the impression that it's best to put the most impressive stuff on the front page. Like, www.yourartportfolioURL.com, and bam, the Gallery of Impressiveness is right there. Straight to the point. Not TOO many images on it, and organize them in thumbnail previews that blow up to full screen when you click on them. Maybe have some contact info at the bottom or top right or somewhere easy to access. Maybe put the contact info on every page. That way potential clients and employers have everything they need from you to make a decision in just one page. Beyond that I personally have subsections for different subject matters (ex. people, fantasy, etc.) on a hamburger bar, but I use mine more for display rather than job purposes (but I'm super lazy about updating it, so only putting my best work on there suits me just fine LOL!), so I imagine you can categorize these other sections however you want. Home page is the spotlight, though, you want to make that one count. How do you judge what makes a sketch worthy of being in your portfolio? Basically if I like it and I think it can stand on its own as a piece of artwork, I'll put it up there. Again, it's not the home page so I don't sweat it too much. Only thing I consider is whether it may discourage people from choosing my work because it isn't as polished. So I'm sort of confused--should the link you share on applications just be your general website portfolio, or should you create a special page with the examples they ask for, or am I just way off base and out of touch with how this works? Maybe consider creating sections for different jobs, like illustrations, concept art, etc.? So that you don't have to remake a new one for every single job description. Perhaps for certain jobs you'll still have to create a curated PDF portfolio like Twillie mentioned, though. How bad is it to have fanart in your portfolio? I agree with Twills, as long as it's just a subsection and your website is full of other original art that shows your skills, you can choose whether or not you want to put it in. Especially if the fanart is super impressive, who knows, that might help you!
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Post by Lizica on Nov 19, 2019 23:49:24 GMT -5
Oh my gosssh, you guys are the best. ;;A;; This is all such great advice to utilize and think about! Thank you so much, Ginz ❤, Twillie, June Scarlet, and Zoey!! I think I sometimes have this bad habit of falling into the mental trap of "what do other people expect or want my art to be?" So I really appreciate the nice little reality check and reminder that the site should fit my art (and not fit my vague, uncertain notions of what is or isn't "professional"). Glancing at what's currently on the art page, maybe I could divide it up into illustration, photography, and possibly miscellaneous, and sketches/studies, or something? I dunno, I can mull it over a bit. But thank you for all being so consistent in that good advice! ^^ I'll look through my sketches with what you said in mind, too. I used Weebly to build my website, which doesn't have tags as far as I can tell, unfortunately. I've mostly been using the gallery widget, where you can click on thumbnails for a larger version, and hover for the caption. I think I could apply that advice similarly, though, because crossposting a piece that fits into more than one category would probably be a wise move, just to make sure it hasn't been missed. And that's really good to keep in mind with regard to portfolio submissions! I haven't applied to that many art jobs, either, but I feel like some of them only asked for a URL link? (Or maybe they were asking for a PDF, but online, in which case, no wonder I never got those jobs. xD) Butyeah, that all makes a lot of sense to me! I'll definitely keep that in mind and be ready to produce the format someone might ask for. That's also super helpful advice to spruce up the home page directly with the best art, and to add contact info in more accessible places! I can definitely try to do that. And re: fanart, I agree, fanart really should be more respected than it is. >> But still, that's a constructive way to think about whether or not to include it in a portfolio--by evaluating the strengths the piece shows off. (I currently only have three fanart things on there, but I was very careful to put "Neopets (c) Neopets.com" or similar after the rest of the description, just because I'm terrified of the line between fanart and stealing and wanted to make it clear to anyone viewing that I didn't create those character designs. xD)Anyway, ahhh, thank you so much again, guys, for all your help!! <3 You gave such great examples, constructive advice, and insightful ideas, and I feel like I have a much better handle on what I want to do with the site now. Stay awesome. ;w;
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Post by Nut on Nov 27, 2019 12:23:20 GMT -5
Okay I'm not one to talk because I have no real portfolio site and maintain my social media in a totally unprofessional way, but I just wanted to drop a couple of thoughts after seeing everyone else's great advice: Basically categories help people find what they're looking for faster, and people who find what they're looking for are more likely to keep looking (note also that not everyone will be looking for what you offer, and that's fine; the goal is for the ones who /are/ to be able to find it--so don't worry about catering to everyone, the important thing is making what you have easily visible and accessible). As others have said, there are a lot of ways for people to divide their work and I'd personally just go with whatever most naturally makes things feel easier to browse. Generally when looking at a collection of items, some things just seem to fit together, right? I'm sure there's a place for the tree painting (which sounds really cool, by the way!) if you want to include it--and, I guess it would depend on how many you have, but I could see a mixed media category including that as well as cut paper/pop ups. I mean, if you have like 7-10+ works that are cut paper, maybe they should be their own category, but if it's one or two of each I could see them being lumped together yeah. Sketches: In general, unless clearly stated I wouldn't take "we like to see applicants' loose sketches" to mean "you MUST include loose sketches in your portfolio". I wouldn't include anything I wouldn't normally want to show, unless it was part of a step-by-step process. Basically if you have a sketch you like I wouldn't feel discouraged from including it, but if you don't have sketches you want to show, don't feel like you have to. Links: I actually never heard of anyone who has time to create special pages for each client; I think it's standard to just hand out your general portfolio link. That's kind of the point of having a portfolio, so your stuff is there in one place and you can just direct people to it without having to put everything together to show each person (and, as Zoey said, different sections/tabs can be used so you don't need a separate portfolio for each type of job). But yeah if the job specifically asks for certain examples then you can put them together special for that application (and/or link the relevant pages/individual images on your site). Fanart: I personally believe that great art wants to be seen, and if great art happens to be fanart, then show it. Especially if it's only a few pieces--I've seen industry people say that having one or two fanart pieces in a larger body of original work probably won't make much difference anyway. As everyone else has said, though, the opinions on this are mixed. I also have the feeling that it's unprofessional, but I've reached the age that I am with a body of work that is almost entirely fanart, and I kind of came to the realization that I can either show this or I can show nothing--this is what I have, so I'm going to show it. People who are bothered by it will pass me over, but there are people out there who don't care as much and I've gotten paid assignments with an entirely fanart portfolio (to my amazement, actually--I'm always like wait! I need to spend 2-3 years creating an entirely different body of work before I can show aNYoNe aNyThInG and like.. we all know I'm not gonna do that) so yeah I'd say it depends on the job. You can only choose between showing or hiding the work you've got, so if there's something that feels like it wants to be shown, show it. I've seen plenty of artists with a separate tab on their site for fanart, so it's there as a bonus for people who are interested but those who aren't can just skip over it. My two cents! And a disclaimer that honestly I have no idea what I'm doing and I operate from way more of a hobbyist than professional mindset, and having had a few people referring to and sharing my social media as my "portfolio" has me flailing and running to change my display name everywhere to my full handle (because it turns out trying to introduce myself professionally as Nut is actually awkward, who would have thought).
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Post by Liou on Jan 4, 2021 8:24:17 GMT -5
Random comments based on "doodle-an-animal-a-day" challenge * this is the first time I've worked with something I can't erase, aside from watercolours, and it forces me to figure out how to roll with mistakes, which is. Uuugh, but also, eeeh? * unlike with watercolours I cannot outline with pencil at first because erasing would smudge the ink (glossy paper), so I have to visualise an outline without actually drawing it @_@ * mammals. Y U have so much hair. And no neat outline. Worst animals. (jk ilu) * human hands, I owe y'all an apology. Animals also have fingers, and they are worse. * bird fingers and lizard fingers are suspishously similar... ("Liou that's because they're claws -" nO it's because they're ALL DINOSAURS)
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Post by June Scarlet on Feb 4, 2021 18:26:30 GMT -5
I've noticed artists around here taking commissions and having shops and the like. The problem is, they talk about this on Discord, where I read something on break and forget to come back to when when I get home until it's another link buried in a sea of replies.
I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to have some sort of pinned thread on the Art Chat here, where artists can link to their shops/websites/commission pages. Or maybe start a trend of putting such information in their art threads.
I wonder about potential problems as well. The NTWF isn't an online marketplace, and I don't know how close doing things like that would run towards that. Personal art threads, less so, but a thread for advertising? Maybe more so? Would have to consider how best to handle that.
Still, I think it's something to think about. Meanwhile, I suppose I'll contact artists directly about something called a red bubble shop...
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Post by Twillie on May 5, 2021 17:38:07 GMT -5
How do people make good art, I don't get it.
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Post by Celestial on May 5, 2021 18:04:59 GMT -5
How do people make good art, I don't get it. I don't understand it either. But if it helps, you're one of the people I don't understand how makes amazing art consistently.
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Post by Twillie on May 5, 2021 18:50:01 GMT -5
Aw, thanks <3 You also have amazing art, and I always admire the amount of effort you put into it!
I think my method most of the time is to stumble upon someone else's art that I like, make a ton of mental notes on what I like about it, and then try to recreate that multiple times over xD I'm actually feeling alright about my art, but sometimes when I see what other artists are making, it gets tiring thinking about the amount of work and practice that goes into art xD
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Post by June Scarlet on May 5, 2021 20:55:38 GMT -5
Personally, I just settle for passing art. I tried to make good art, but I was always running late on my art assignments in school. I took forever to do anything. Eventually, I somehow got much faster at art, but by not trying to make it perfect.
I'm not saying that my art is bad or anything. But like, I don't usually draw fingers, or even shade. It's passable. Not perfect.
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Post by Moni on May 5, 2021 22:19:39 GMT -5
according to plato, art is a mere imitation of an imitation, and thus it is a delusion that is probably harmful.
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Post by Thorn on May 5, 2021 23:56:18 GMT -5
according to plato, art is a mere imitation of an imitation, and thus it is a delusion that is probably harmful. Okay but hear me out: Plato was a delusion and probably harmful. (Also I love all of your art okay, Twillie and Celes and June and Moni, those not involved in this conversation too!)
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