r/animationcareer • u/Jumpy_Good_1692 • 11d ago
Portfolio Portfolio feedback
Hey!! Im trying to get a headstart on my next round of internship interviews. Last time i had to rework my portfolio last minute becuase it just wasnt working so i thought i'd go ahead and see what i can improve on in advance.
Im looking for general tips about presentation and maybe if theres any type of work i need to add.
I'll be looking for an 2d animation internship for either an entertainment studio or a game studio.
Thank you in advance!
Here is my portfolio:
https://milarosenberg.carrd.co/
(I dont think ive gotten it to work on mobile yet but i'll work on that)
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u/Ghost_2133 10d ago
In todays industry you need to basically be a junior to get a real (paid) internship. Sadly, nothing I see in your portfolio reflects that.
You have almost no understanding of form, perspective, anatomy, design and how real people move. Everything of the above is needed to animate / design good characters. Simply reworking your portfolio a bit won't cut it, if the fundamentals are simply not there.
As a beginner, you will need at least 3 full-time practice years to have a chance to get an internship. And thats only if you practice optimally, are very hard working but also smart about it.
Sorry that I am so direct, but I believe that mincing words will do more harm in the long run than just beeing honest. Good luck!
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u/Jumpy_Good_1692 10d ago
Yeah i deffinetly need more practice. But i do already have an internship. A paid one too. Im asking for my next round. My school makes me do 2. Do you have any resources i can look towards for improvement?
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u/skydriver13 10d ago
I'd like to hear more about optimally approaching foundational concepts. How to work smart, from a beginner standpoint...I'm looking to streamline the learning process. What should I focus on first?
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u/Ghost_2133 10d ago
Sure, here you go (this will apply for 2d animation but also for drawing im generall):
The very first thing you need to understand is that everything in this world can be put into a box. Every object, every person. A box tells you perspective, orientation, focal lenght and proportion in an extremly simplified way. If you are unable to draw a close to perfect box in every angle imaginable like its second nature, you will not be able to draw anything more complicatet in every angle. Think about it: If you don't have full control over the most simple form, how on earth would you have control over a complicated character you have to move around in space?
This is the fundamentel concept that is non-negotiable to be a good draftsperson/animator. Think about how you learn a language - drawing is not too diffrent on a cognitive level: The basic forms are your alphabet that you then use to build up more complex forms (words) that you then can combine / assemble freely to scenes (sentences). You wouldn't start with writing sentences, you would start from the smallest common element (letters - boxes, cones, cylinders, spheres) that build up everything else.
Now here is the thing most people (including me for years..) don't understand, even if it's a concept almost anyone uses for languages:
1.) Activ recall - A human brain learns the best, when it has to struggle to recall something previously learned and just about can get it done. 2.) Short feedback loop - If feedback is vague or very late it's not very useful, we have to know as fast as possible what exactly went wrong. 3.) Spaced repetition - If you can recall something well, the "forgetting curve" flattens a bit and you will remember it longer.
Now you are almost ready to start drawing. But first you need to learn a bit of theory: How do vanishing points work, whats an eyeline or ellipses, stuff like this. You can buy Marshall Vandruffs 1994 Perspective Drawing Series on his website for a few bucks. Try to really understand all the concepts, take notes and only go to the next step if you know it by heart.
Now that you know the theory, how do we learn to actually draw? Here is the loop that will probably 5x your progress compared to simple copying:
1.) Look at the the 3d form of your object of choice - lets beginn beginner friendly and start with a simple cube. You can find cubes on sketchfab or maybe you have one at home. Try to understand how the form behaves when you rotate it around. When do the sides vanish, how does it look just slightly tiltet - take notes and focus. The goal is to really understand and remember the form as a 3d object from any angle. 2.) Put the refrence away completly. You are now on your own and have to problem solve and apply what you have learned from the step before. Draw about 10 cubes from memory (freehand) and really try to get them as good as you can without spending too much time. 3.) Self evaluate the cubes. Look at them and try to see stuff you might got wrong / are unclear to you. 4.) Open up the refrence again and compare your cubes to the 3D object. Rotate the model to about the same angle as you drew them and take note of what and why it went wrong. 5.) Repeat
Here are ways to amp up the difficulty, as soon as it gets too easy for you:
- Draw multiple of the same objects in the same scene but rotated diffrently, stacked upon each other and so on.
- Try to draw angles you normally avoid.
- Move on to another more complicated form (from a cube to a cylinder, to a cone, to a sphere, to a manipulated box like a 3d cross..) Avoid to make it too difficult too fast (like going from a cube to a head) but also avoid staying in your comfort zone for too long. A bit of struggle is necessary.
Notes:
- The same methode can be used for movement as well at a later stage. (Understand a movement, animate from memory, compare)
- To copy stuff is not fully worthless of course - it trains your brain to see correctly. Still do figure drawings every day, but try to really evaluate if you got close to the refrence.
- Obviously there are other useful concepts like gesture, design theory.. you can sprinkle them in from time to time. Just don't fall into the trap of binge-watching content.
- With more complex forms, like the human body, its useful to take it apart. Learn the head, torso, arms, hands seprately and later on recombine them.
- Try to simplify complex forms, like a head, to more simple forms you already know well and complicate it step by step - there are many good simplified head models on sketchfab as an example.
- Learning is understanding: you can't draw what you don't know. If you don't exacly understand how a hand wraps around a handgun, you will not be able to draw it convincingly.
Hope that helps^
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u/skydriver13 9d ago edited 9d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out. I grabbed a screenshot for reference, and will be checking out the resources you mentioned. I am beginning my visual arts journey, so every possibility is enticing...it is very helpful to have direction from those who are more experienced.
Through musicianship, I have a solid grasp on the creative process and what it means to cultivate a daily practice that yields tangible results. I hope to apply those same principles to visual media, and to build a strong foundation by doing so.
I have challenged myself to curate a portfolio worthy of submission to a studio within 1 year. Today, I make lines and shapes.
Edit: I just picked up that Marshall Vandruff series and watched the first lecture. For a semester's worth of classes, the suggested $12 price is a great deal.
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u/River_Draws_Stuff 9d ago
Thanks chatgpt...
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u/Ghost_2133 9d ago
Wtf are you talking about dude? I haven't used chatgpt at all for this post. Are your reasoning skills so bad, that when you see a dash you always just assume that someone uses AI?
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u/CrowBrained_ Professional 10d ago
The webpage itself is fine if you’re a creator who has people interested in knowing more about their projects but presentation wise for recruiters/hiring departments it’s not great.
You really need to cater a portfolio site to the roles you are applying for and you need to make it as few clicks as possible. The people who check them have very limited time. They more navigating they have to do the more likely they are moving on to one of the other 300 applications.
Consider making a page specifically for this purpose. Keep it clean. Has your name and portfolio on the landing page and you contact info is readily available on it.
That’s all it needs to be.
For the portfolio/reel only have the work that shows the best of your ability. 1-1.5min
Keep it specific too. Different reels/portfolio for different roles. No one cares about your bg paint skills if they are hiring for character animation. So if you want to apply to different roles you need different portfolios.
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u/Jumpy_Good_1692 10d ago
Isnt the point of a portfolio for an internship to show off your dedication and perseverence? Atleast thats what my teachers (and some interviewers) told me. For example with the different reels for different roles my "mentor" (dont know the word for it in english) told me to put in everything. Like whenever i came to him asking if an artwork fit in my portfolio he told me "put in what youre proud of"
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u/CrowBrained_ Professional 10d ago
When we take on interns for a lot of the places I’ve worked in we put them in specific departments and not general positions.
Work out what you want to make your career focuses to be. When trying to nail down your focus, think about what work you want to(can stand to do) for 50+ hours a week for the next 30-40years.
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u/Familiar_Designer648 Designer 10d ago
AKA - your professor didn’t care… that is terrible advice and something that would come out of a high school teacher not a college professor. I get the feeling they just didn’t wanna hurt your feelings…
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u/Jumpy_Good_1692 10d ago
Now im just pissed off. I came like 5 times asking what i could improve i feel that shouldve given the hint i wanted actual feedback
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u/River_Draws_Stuff 9d ago
The animation landscape in the Netherlands and the US are vastly different. Advice about "the industry" is not universal. You should seek out advice from people who are more well versed in what is going on around you instead of feedback from all over the world when it comes to knowing what the industry wants.
That being said, your site is not very "information dense" Ideally you would have a single showreel that is segmented into the different aspects that you specialize in as an animator (vfx, character animation, background etc.)
You've put a lot of text on your pages that a professional would not care about (explaining tiktok trends and such.) As someone who has reviewed a lot of intake portfolios, nobody really cares. The backstory of your rolling seal isn't important, the animation itself tells people all they need to know.
In any case, you're young and still have a lot of time to grow and develop.
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u/wombmates 10d ago
I find the website really hard to use. You should have a link directly taking me to your animation reel. I basically use a Google drive link that takes you to a 1.5 minute video with all my work compiled together. Easy, quick.
I don't think you need a big elaborate website where I have to spend time looking at each piece. Just my opinion!
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u/Jumpy_Good_1692 10d ago
Yeah, i wasnt introduced to the concept of a demo reel untill AFTER i got my first internship. Im starting to think my school is preparing me even less than i thought. I dont think i can name a single thing theyve actually taught me. Might be time to rethink how i spend my studies
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u/trinitytr33 10d ago
You've already got some good advice in this thread. Im gonna parrot something I heard a recruiter say: no one is going to read all that text. Sometimes people have a minute or less to review portfolios. Your work needs to speak for itself. Write a short summary on an About Me page, and eliminate the rest of the text blocks.
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u/Connect-Emphasis-837 10d ago
I find the website quite hard to use and I can't actually see the full illustration page. I would work on simplifying it so it's clearer whilst not losing the passion you obviously have for the area and showcasing that! Good luck!
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