Portfolio Development
Why create a portfolio?
When you want to land a job or go to a school to pursue working in the creative industry, you will undoubtedly need a portfolio. The best way to showcase your work is through an online portfolio, but that doesn’t mean just adding your short videos to a website and calling it a day. To improve your chances of getting noticed and actually landing a job, you need to put some time into building your site.
Why create a website?
A website and the portfolio’s design can be just as much a part of the portfolio as the rest of the content. It can set the tone for your work and it shows your direction. A well designed portfolio should be an extension of yourself where you can control the colour, font, design, and layout.
Why can't I just use Behance or social media like Instagram, Twitter, etc.
You limit yourself if you don’t have a website, because every social or portfolio platform has its limitations. On Instagram, for instance, nobody writes long descriptions of work. People usually don’t read a lot on Instagram, they just look at things. With a personal website, you have your own space so you can work out how to put all of your content together and display it in the most suitable way. You’re not confined to small image sizes. And if you’re only visible on social media, what happens if they change their algorithm or the design of the content’s presentation? You ultimately don’t have control over your own content and work, and could potentially even lose ownership.
What goes into a portfolio?
Depending on what type of portfolio you are creating (animation, concept art, game design, photography, etc) you should incorporate some of the following:
- Drawings (life drawings, objects, layouts, character, character turn-arounds, storyboards)
- Animations
- Shot breakdowns including design, rigging, composting
- Showreel/Demo reel (1-3 minutes long)
- Software/tools used or are proficient in
- Contact info
- Links to social media
-ONLY INCLUDE YOUR WORK use text to indicate what you worked on if there is group work
For game design:
- Models/art from game
- Game play footage
- Coding
- Level breakdown
- Showreel/Demo reel (1-3 minutes long)
- Software/tools used or are proficient in
- Contact info
- Links to social media
- ONLY INCLUDE YOUR WORK use text to indicate what you worked on if there is group work
What can I use to create a website?
There a variety of sites you can use to create your website. There are free options such as wix, tumblr, wordpress, google sites. There are also numerous sites such as squarespace and format which offer trials but you do have to pay. Also note that if you want a custom URL you will have to pay $15/year but has the advantage of being personalized.
Some examples to professional portfolios
Mandy Clotworthy
Australian storyboard and concept artist Mandy Clotworthy has done 2D and 3D storyboarding for a range of projects, especially children’s TV shows—she most recently worked on a modern reboot of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Alison Donato
Alison Donato has done character design, visual development, and color styling for Disney TVA, Nickelodeon, ReelFX, and Cartoon Network. Donato’s website is as fun and playful as her work, with a retro-styled logo bringing personality to her sidebar menu. Including a resume on her about page helps Donato showcase her professional background to potential future clients.
Bradley Gake
Bradley Gake is a background designer specializing in cartoons. Gake has worked for Disney XD, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, and designed for Nickolodeon’s much-beloved Fairly Odd Parents. Gake’s website design allows viewer to take in each image one at a time, helping the small details of his designs shine.
Trent Correy
Do you want to build a snowman? For Trent Correy, the Animation Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios working on Frozen 2, that was actually his job, and the Canadian artist and animator has helped build that snowman since the original film.
Correy graduated from Algonquin College’s Animation program before going on to work as an animator for Disney’s Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, before stepping up to work as the animation supervisor for Frozen 2.
Tomas Pajdlhauser
I’m an artist and Creative Director based in Ottawa, Canada and co-owner of Birling, a local skateboard brand and shop. By day, I work as an Art Director for animated TV shows and movies and have worked with clients including Disney, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, and Mattel. I’ve always been interested in the tactile and physical process of design work and in recent years have shifted my focus from digital commercial design to projects that highlight my love of travel and adventure. My personal work is based primarily on my lived experiences captured on-the-go in sketchbooks.
