I made a portfolio website :)
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Well i it finally made a website ( kevinlongueil.com )still need to write a bio and such but i have a portfolio started - i think it is pretty interesting to see all the work together - really shows off weak spots - for instance color for me is my main weakness ..need more paintings in there - the other thing is the value of 3rd Thursday - my portfolio is made up almost exclusively of 3rd Thursday pieces - i almost sat out last month's because i did not think i could do character design ...and i'm not sure i did in the end but i think i ended up with some good pieces for my portfolio..... i was going to sit this month out too because classes are starting and i have lots of work to do (i'm a teacher)... but looking at my portfolio i really see the enormous value in doing the 3rd Thursdays for me - so i think i will be sticking with them - also plan on continuing the wizard of oz portrait busts and maybe doing the same with other public domain stories .... i used Squarespace for the website... i purchased the business website but i have not enabled many features yet - it was pretty easy to do - anyways thank you for looking - this forum is awesome!!!!!!
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You have a really nice body of work here! I think that second row has your strongest pieces in it and I would swap the first and second row out. I also think the last piece you posted is your very strongest piece of work (and super awesome) I would put that at the front of your portfolio so nobody has to scroll down to see it. I know what you mean about the Third Thursdays same thing with me all my best stuff is from them as well. Great work I wish you much success.
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Looks really nice, clean and viewer-friendly. Very nice body of work. I think my personal favourites would be unexpected for you: they are the goblin at the end and the piece with the trees and the fiddler. I also like the one with the giant and the house, but I do think that black and white is your strenght and is more unique to you. Have you considered concentrating on chapter book illustrations? These are almost exclusively in black and white (at least all that have passed in my hands from my kid's school library as well as any that I have bought for them myself). There is a huge variety of styles and subject matters in there too, and it may be your natural "home". Another area of interest for you could be graphic novel - I have seen styles similar to yours in bookstores here in Europe. Do you know the Australian illustrator Shaun Tan? He has created a masterpiece: "The Arrival" (it is also a bestseller) that you may want to check out. Here is an image from this book:
I agree, Third Thursday is also helping me a lot with building my portfolio towards children books - it has been a real booster and source of inspiration! -
Looks great your black and whites are really cool. The giant holding the house is epic too! I'd be tempted to separate the black and whites from the colours and have two areas of images maybe, depends what you want as your specialty I guess... Check this video out it's really good to see from a creative directors point of view looking at websites : https://youtu.be/idUqnZ3Vk7Q
I'm still working on mine, need a few more good pictures before I'm ready as mine are all over the place.
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Looks awesome, your values and composition are so strong! Congrats!
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great work Kevin! I think they look really good compositionally! The characters design are great as well.
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@Kevin-Longueil the forum is awesome as well as you. Its such a great community of people here all helping each other grow. Your site looks great!
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@evilrobot Thank you William - for your feedback and the kind words - i decided maybe not to put the Death one first though because it is a bit heavy for some folks i am finding....surprisingly to me. So i decided not to lead with that piece thinking it may create a negative bias to the newcomer ... maybe the "Friends will guide you" piece should be first though - or maybe you are right and i should just put it there anyways - i'll do some reorganizing when i get a couple more pieces up - really appreciate your support!
@smceccarelli Thank you for the feedback Simona! - really glad you shared what your favorite are - i am surprised and happy too - i think i would love to do chapter book illustrations or graphic novels - it is what i dreamed of doing before i went into art school 20 some years ago... i took a detour into the sculpture department and have only lately found my way back to my path - Shan Tan is incredible - we just watched the lost thing again the other night - i love his book "Rules of Summer" too - "The Arrival" is a masterpiece...almost overwhelmingly good. I really appreciate you looking at the site giving advice
@Jason-Bowen Thank you Jason! I love the One Fantastic Week show! Those guys do not hold back and are very informative - i totally see your point but i think the real problem is that my color work does not look like my own work yet - I think if it looked more like the pieces were made by the same person it would not feel like they should be separate - but i am trying I'm hoping to paint this month's 3rd Thursday and have it look like my black and white...maybe it will be minimally colored ... not sure Thank you for the feedback and the support!
@lmrush Thank you Lisa! really appreciate it ...by the way we really enjoy your book! (i gave it a review on amazon too
@Naroth-Kean Thanks Naroth! Thank you for the feedback
@Chip-Valecek Thank you Chip - always appreciate your comments and support! -
@Kevin-Longueil Congratulations on your website! It is fantastic to see all your work in one place. I like the clean and minimalist look, it matches well with the predominantly black and white pieces. I also like the fact that you can see all the various pieces easily.
I agree that you would make a fantastic illustrator for chapter books/a slightly older demographic - your work has a depth and sensitivity that would really work for that.
My main thought is that I will look forward to seeing more pieces added to your site in due course
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@Kevin-Longueil Thank you so so much! I shared your kind words with the author also!!! Keep us posted on your journey!
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I'm also a big fan of your work, both the coloured and black and white pieces. My absolute favourite is the giant from the "show and tell"-prompt - never get tired of looking at it!
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Hey kevin, thanks for sharing your website. Your work is strong and getting better with each submission. I love your drawing style and the overall tone of your work.
Once I clicked on your link for the site, I tried to view it as an art director and not an illustrator. This is helpful because illustrators look at things differently than the people who hire us. We look at brush strokes and texture, details and skills. Art directors look at things through a "how can I use this person?" kind of lens.
That brings me to my crit of your overalll site. As an art director, I would like the work, but have no idea how I could use you. It's not really children's book, it's not really editorial, it's not portraiture, it's not concept art, etc. I couldn't really figure out how I would use you. And that can be a great way to think about it moving forward, (provided you want to do this for a living. If not, just do what makes you happy).
In other words, a good next step for you might be to stop making images for a week or two and really figure out where you want to be. Find out some answers to some questions. Who is already doing the kind of work I want to do? Who is hiring them? How are they getting work? What would I need to change or adjust so I get that kind of work, etc.
Hope that helps some. Let me know if you have any questions at all. Keep it up, you are really getting good!
-Lee
-PS I MAY be offering a portfolio class VERY soon. It will be a live class and focus on building up your portfolio. Still working out the details, but class will probably be limited to 8 people. I'll keep you guys filled in if that is something you are interested in.
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@Dulcie Thank you Dulcie - I really appreciate your kind words! I will head in the direction of chapter books for sure
@Camomilla Thank you Cathrine! I'm so glad to here that one of the paintings is a favorite for you and Simona - i am surprised i think because i only see the flaws in my colored pieces - so maybe i'm being a bit too hard on myself - Thanks
@Lee-White Thank you so much for your critique! - you have hit on exactly my own thoughts of where could these drawings live - i would Love a portfolio review class - but i think if you can answer a question for me you will save me from hovering over the "buy" button until you run the class If i could prove to an art director through my portfolio that i would be a good choice for a chapter book illustrator - how would i bend my images in that direction - how much should i change (i have no problem changing i think) - what kind of pieces should i start making - .....lets say i were to illustrate the Wizard of Oz - not just with the eerie portraits but with real illustrations of the story - what should i keep in mind as i am doing them - .. i try not to ask for free advice but i just did..hope you don't mind - Thank you again for your critique and kind words about the work! -
@Kevin-Longueil that's a tough question. I would really need to get in there and look very closely at your work. Work with you to build a possible client list and then start tailoring it to be more specific. I wish I would give you a quick answer, but it's a more complicated question than you might think.
SVS Faculty Instructor
www.leewhiteillustration.com -
@Lee-White Thanks Lee - i thought it might not be an easy answer - this kind of question might be beyond the scope of the portfolio review class too i think - i'll make some changes after this month's 3rd Thursday and see what i come up with - less dark might be an easy place to start
a mentorship class might be hard to pull off but if you ever offer one i'll be signing up - Thank you again - you've given me a lot to think about -
The portfolio class will be a mentorship type class. It will address the things we have been discussing here. After all, there is no use critiquing an image if it's not an image that moves you in the right direction. I am firming up details with Will and Jake, but it may start as early as October. It will be a small group and be very focused (at least that is my goal).
SVS Faculty Instructor
www.leewhiteillustration.com -
@Lee-White I would be very interested in that too! October is a difficult month for me - I hope it will not be that early
Looking forward! -
Definitely the sort of thing I'd be interested in as well.
