My Portfolio / Need Critiques please.

[A Former User]

Here is some piece of my portfolio.
I try to master a lot of style and be much versatile as possible.
I would like your opinion on my work please. Do you think I'm good enough to work in the animation industry?

[Heather Boyd]

@Jérémie-Lecompte

Hi Canadian (Toronto area here)!

Your work is delightfully cheerful with lot's of energy. I like your softer edge work. I think you have done a lot of work. I don't know much about animation. I am currently taking the How to Make Money in Illustration part 1 -that goes through description, skills needed and expectation in the different illustration/art industry (just finished up the entertainment business) - that would be my limited advice to check out that class.

are you on Instagram?

[braden H]

@Jérémie-Lecompte Is there a particular job in the animation industry you're looking to get?

[NessIllustration]

@Jérémie-Lecompte Typically, those are all separate jobs. I.E. if you're a background designer, you only do the backgrounds, if you're a prop designer you do the props. Is there a reason in particular you are attached to the idea of working in the animation industry (especially since you say you don't want to animate at all)? Maybe a better fit for you would be to be a freelance illustrator so you get to do varied work. After studying animation and working 3 years in a mobile games studio, I struck out on my own to be a freelance illustrator and I gotta say, I don't regret it one bit. It's tough to get started but I love the variety, I love being able to develop and work in my own style instead of having to match the style of an existing production (which is not always a style you'll like. I loved working on a MLP game, but when I got assigned to Thomas the Train, ugghhh! That was a LONG 6 months!) And I love working from home in my pajamas and making my own schedule. Now after a year and a half of being full-time freelance, I can't imagine myself going back to a studio job. It's also something you can build slowly, one contract at a time, gaining experience before you transition to full-time, instead of a studio job that's all or nothing. It's worth considering, it could be a good fit for you

[NessIllustration]

@Jérémie-Lecompte It is stable, but it's not the only option for sure Good news is you've come to the right place to learn about finding clients and business management! There are plenty of people here on the forum working pro full-time or on their way there and we will all be happy to give you advice. I would also suggest listening to the SVSlearn podcast if you haven't already, they give a lot of business advice like how to build your portfolio, how to network, pros and cons of an agent, etc.

For children's books, if you are looking at French Canadian publishers it's true that sometimes it doesn't pay much. However you don't have to stay in that market. I made my first 2 books with a French Canadian publisher to get experience and portfolio material, and after that was able to get book contracts in the US and UK. Those pay much better! You can also negotiate. Recently that French Canadian publisher asked me to work on a new book for them, but the pay was much too low. I explained why this isn't viable for me as a professional, and told them the very minimum I could do the book for. Surprisingly, they told me they will try to find the money. I still don't know how this will shake out, but it just goes to show that you never know!

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

Hi! You have good pieces here. Are you trying to get into Animation school or are you trying to get an Animation job? If you’re trying to get into school, you need to show more real life figure drawings of humans, animals, etc. Do a lot of gestural drawings. If you’re trying to get a job, you need an animation reel. Pehaps you can make a short animation of some sort?

Now, i don’t want to sound rude but I don’t think this Portfolio is suited for animation. Also, in animation you are not expected to be a master of one style. Animation studios expect their employees to be versatile in many styles. Each new project that you’re going to work on will have different looks and you need to show that you’re capable of adapting to it whatever it may be. I do hope this was helpful. Feel free to ask more questions.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Jérémie-Lecompte hi after reading a few comments, I learned that you want to be in concept development? That’s cool! Now, is your portfolio good enough? I have to be honest here and say you’re still not there yet.

You need to polish your draftsmanship, you need to master your forms, values and colors. You still need to develop your skills. The concept art or visual development field is very competitive and most of the artists who are working in this field are miles ahead of your level. If you want to compete you need to level up.

On a brighter note though, we are here to help. We are not visual developers here but we can help you with your fundamentals. If you want to learn visual develpment, Schoolism and CGMA have classes specifically geared for these areas. They have a lot of great teachers there and a lot of their alumni got jobs at major studios or are currently working freelance. Perhaps give them a try.

This might be discouraging to hear but don’t loose hope just yet. The art industry especially visual development usually take years to master and find sound footing in. There are still a lot of challeneges ahead but if you’re really determined and you work really hard for it, you’ll get there.

[burvantill]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz @Jérémie-Lecompte
I was going to suggest Schoolism as well.
I follow both Schoolism and Bobby Chiu on you tube, I think if you are looking into that area of work, then these might be a good place to start researching so you know for sure.

[xin li]

Hi, @Jérémie-Lecompte It might be helpful to decide which particular job you are interested in the most. This does not mean that you turn down other job opportunities in the animation industry. This just means that you can perfect your portfolio geared towards a specific job title.

In order to make a decision on a job title, you need to know a bit more about the industry. I do not know the animation world very much personally. But I thought I will share my strategy of getting to know a new industry (I worked as a UX designer for 10 years, and switched to becoming a picturebook illustrator two years ago).

1. Find podcasts that talk about the industry - Learn what is like being a concept artist, or character designer, or background painter, and how other people made it in that industry. (don't just listen to one source, listen to a number of them, after a while, hopefully, you would start to see some kind of pattern, or get to know what type of skills are required for different job titles).
2. Find an online tribe that is more focused on animation. SVS is fantastic. But I think it is more geared towards children's books. if I would want to work for animation, I would still stick around SVS for improving my fundamentals, but I would also reach out to another community that is more geared towards animation. I found that following conversations on this forum has really enriched my knowledge of the picture book industry because a lot of people here share their industry experiences, and ask industry-specific questions. I assume joining an animation centered forum will have similar benefits for you.
3. If you can, find a mentor in the animation industry - Someone that is a couple of years ahead of you in his/her career. This will save you so much time.

[burvantill]

@Jérémie-Lecompte I figured you for a will terry guy. Some of your art is very reminiscent of will terry’s.

[Laura Brown]

@Jérémie-Lecompte
If you want to illustrate picture books, a good place to start would be by joining scow.org (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). They have chapters all over the world, sponsor conferences, and have critique groups (some by email) and online webinars, some aimed at illustrating children's picture books. Also contests for illustrators.

There are several classes on svslearn about picture books. They will give you important background on the industry. There are also books that give a lot of help on illustrating for picture books. Search for them in your local library and read as many recent picture books as you can. See how the illustrators add more than half to the book.

[ZeeZeeMonster]

@Jérémie-Lecompte

Looking over your pieces, the first one you posted seems the most mature color/lighting, story wise, but I will agree with Nyrryl Cadiz that your drawing could use some work. (Of course, mine can, too).

I would recommend the How to Draw Everything class. I've been going through that one slowly, and it's been a real help on filling in some gaps I had in my knowledge.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Jérémie-Lecompte hi, I don’t know how the instructors at Schoolism teach but they’re pros at their field and you best believe they know what they’re doing. @Will-Terry is a great guy but he specializes in illustration. ( No offense Will) That’s not exactly feature animation visual development. SVS will definitely help you with your fundamentals but along the line, you’re going to need a visual development mentor. Though similar to illustration, Visdev requires different a process and even a slightly different skill set all together. Perhaps you can ask @Jake-Parker on how to best prepare for this field. He worked in VIsdev for Blue Sky. Also ask @Lee-White since he also taught Visdev in college. Also, if you want to get a job in visdev, you need to build connections and what better way to start than to be friends with your teachers who are currently working in the industry. Don’t just focus your learning on SVS. You are free to learn in other schools as well. Use all the resources available to you.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Jérémie-Lecompte you only like Nathan Fowkes’ class? That’s a shame. In my opinion, Schoolism is a treasure trove for Visdev students. Also, you could just get the monthly subscription if budget is tight but that depends on you.

You seem to be interested in a lot of art fields. You mentioned that children’s book illustration is your dream at the same time you want to get into visdev for the stability. Perhaps it’s best if you polish your fundamentals for now while researching what goes into each field, what skills are needed, and what’s expected from you by your potential clients. And hopefully, you can make the decision later in the future.