Note: The advice in this post is not mine, but someone else’s. In some cases, my opinion may differ.
Sorry this one is late. I don’t know if I was caught up in my own things or what, but I didn’t really catch anything new to jot down last week. However, my office mate had a lot to say about his preferences for artists who submit portfolios. With his permission, I’m paraphrasing his advice here:
1) Have a website that showcases your work; an online portfolio.
Don’t include your portfolio in an attached Word document, or PDF, or anything like that. My office mate really hates to open (or download) PDFs. A URL that points at your website will be fine, thanks. If you don’t know how to create a website that showcases pictures and art, check out Flickr or DeviantArt. They’re both relatively easy to use and they won’t stop an art director from checking your stuff out.
2) Keep your, “Hi there,” note short.
There was one that he especially liked. It was something like, “Hi. I’m Bob. I make art. You can view my portfolio at http://www.somewebsite.com/portfolio. You can contact me at ###-###-#### or by replying to this email. Thanks, Bob” In reality, the note wasn’t quite that casual, but my example was probably longer than the real email was. My office mate liked it because it was short, to the point, and didn’t imply that the writer expected a response if his art didin’t fit our needs.
3) Your art is what matters. Your reliability is as important, if not more so.
This is a corollary of sorts to #2. Your education and training is less important than your ability to produce and what you produce. Professional references are also very useful to include.
4) Thumbnail + larger version + full-resolution options = happiness.
This is an extension to #1. If your website has a page of thumbnails that you can click on to get a larger, screen-sized version, that’s good. If visitors can also view high-resolution versions of your art, even better.
5) Don’t rely on a specific screen size.
If you’re making your website yourself or hiring someone to do it for you, don’t rely on viewers having a specific screen size if you can help it. Odds are that any art director will have a monitor that’s more than big enough to view what you choose to display. A related tip: Please don’t force the browser to resize the window. It’s irksome.
That’s about all I have for this week. It was a good week, and I’m looking forward to Protospiel South 2010. That’s one month away. Wheee!
— Jonathan A Leistiko :: thought : gaming
Invisible City Productions is a collective of game designers, writers, and artists who provide this as a space for the creators of secret media to come together and touch antennae.