Like the title says, your portfolio is not only about your art.
Your portfolio is also about how you present your art.

In this article, I´m talking from my own experience, and you are also welcome to share yours to widen the topic and the discussion.

If you´re just starting in 3D, probably the idea of a portfolio is still a bit abstract.
So probably you have questions like:

What do I need for my portfolio?
What should be part of my portfolio?
How long before I get hired?

While some wording may sound rough, there is no nice way to say this and the topic may hit hard.

Your artstation page is not your portfolio page.

It’s deeper than that.

If you don´t have a portfolio yet, keep reading and you may find useful info on how to make your first projects.

If you have a portfolio and a few 3D models in your Artstation, you may have applied for some jobs but never received an answer and you´re not sure why.

You did one more project, applied to a few more jobs again, and again you received no answer.
You may even have some experience in the field but now suddenly it feels like no one is hiring.

There is plenty of hiring, but the truth may be that you are not the right fit for a reason.

The problem could be that you´re thinking only as an artist.
I did too, and I went through this cycle more than once where hard lessons had to be learned.

Your portfolio is not there for other artists if you would like to get paid.

Your portfolio is a showcase of your usefulness to a cause.
A cause of a company, studio (game, film, etc), or cause of your client.

Your portfolio is a reflection of a service you´re providing as a benefit to that cause.

If you´re sending only your artstation page to possible job positions, how well are your artworks aligned to the cause of your potential clients?

Please note that you are either pursuing the goals of a studio, or your own.
If your portfolio is presenting only your work, then the goals are not aligned.

Those are not only your 3D modeling skills, topology skills, or presentation skills.

If you wanna get paid for a service you´re providing, here are a few other factors that may not be so obvious.

How are you solving the tasks presented to you?
How well are you solving problems on your own?

If the art director/client presents you with a task, how confident will you be in the task completion?

If you´re new to the company, or if you get a new client, there will be some adjusting period, which is understandable.
Some teams may be understanding and they may help you adjust.

But even that adjustment process may be a test.
Even if it’s not, you are free to treat it as one.

A test to see if is there potential for you to move forward, or if your current position is proving to be challenging for you.

It’s ok to have questions.

But here lies the difference.
Will your questions be a on expense of the team’s/clients’ time, or will your questions be related to saving their time?

Are you willing to learn new things, or are you learning things you should already know?

Here is an example.
You have a project assignment from an art director or a person-to-person client relationship.

In one line of questioning, you´re asking questions along the way as you go, and by doing so, you may need to go back and forth to adjust to the answers resulting in project delay.

Second line of questioning, you ask all relevant questions at the start and deliver the project within the requested timeframe.

The first person is uncertain, second person is confident.
One is taking time away from the client or the team, the other is contributing.

Also what the second approach reveals is confidence in the process, anticipating issues, and predicting them before the project begins (of course other issues may arise too, but they may be minimal in comparison).

As someone who does a lot of contract work, I can tell you that clients do not like to waste their time answering questions.
They may appear helpful, do it this one time, but next time they´ll find someone else and go silent.

I will give you another example.
In case you follow my Maya Masterclass you may have already seen it in our discord or video reviews.

As a part of my Maya Masterclass, we have a grenade as a final test.
On that final test, we have a part of the assignment to UV the grenade which is an optional step.

It is also mentioned that this project is a simulation of a client-requested project that has certain parameters in the project brief.

Here are the results (what do you think how many did that optional step?).

Some will complete the grenade, and ask for feedback but ignore it and move on.
Those will probably transfer the same behavior into the next project.

The result is an abandoned task.

As we mentioned, if this would be a real situation, you end up with an angry client.

Some will complete it, and say, “I did not like the original design so I changed it a bit.”
In this case, the brief is ignored.
Your clients know what they want. That is what they paid for and that is not what they asked.
The situation now demands a new revision which again costs time.

Finally, very few will follow the references, listen to the feedback, refine their observational skills, and do the optional step that leads to project completion.
This is where you get paid by a satisfied client and open the possibility to get contacted again.
People like to work with people who they trust.
They wanna be sure next time they hire you, the results will be up to the set standards.

So now this question is for you.
From the examples above, who would you hire if you were in charge of bringing a new person to your team?

Would you look only at project completion? Or, would you look beyond the art itself?
Cause in theory all of them completed the assignment and have the grenade project in their portfolio.

However, the approach to completion was not the same.

Most jobs will have the the same or similar conditions.

• Create characters/assets based on direction from the project Art Director and input from the design team.

Your portfolio is your 3D modeling work, but also the presentation of your dedication, discipline, structure, and overall work ethic.

You are paid to provide a service. Either to a client or to a company.

If you´re looking to work for a company, you need to align yourself with company causes, goals, and plans.

If you do freelance, you are aligning yourself to the needs of your clients.

In both cases, the way you align with those interests is by bringing your contribution that adds to the purposes of the company or your client.
The more aligned you are, the better the chances of your success.

So now let’s answer the questions.

What do I need for my portfolio?

You need a presentation of your best self.
Works that present not only your art but your approach to art.

This might sound too much, I know, but if you wanna work in games, try to build your own game and see the skills that would you need.
At least know and understand the process.

Isolate the parts you find most attractive and set your focus there.
Master the pipeline.

Then align your skills to the needs of the production.
Either pursue the goals of the company or pursue the goals of your clients or even your own goals where you choose which projects to take.

How long before I get hired by a studio?

The answer is in the question (I know, it sounds cheesy).
How long does it take you to polish your offer?

Go to the recruiting page of a company you would like to work for and see what their requirements are.
Then another, and another, and so on. Don´t focus only on one. What happens if/or when you´re no longer needed there?

Find common ground in what they seek.

Here is one general example.

• Create high-quality 3D Models & Textures.
• Integrate 3D Assets into our game engine following the defined technical requirements and ensuring that both technical and artistic quality are met.
• Create environments and set dressing based on concept art & references.
• Work closely with the Art Lead and Senior members of the team to make sure the artistic vision is coming to life.

Can you do any of these?

If yes, that is great. Now, how efficient are you in producing the results?

Do you think you will be able to do the tasks fully on your own or would you need help?

If you would need help, where exactly?
If you know where you need help, those are your weaknesses and that is good.
If you know your weakness, now you can polish and refine your workflow to be even more efficient.

Show the artwork, but also show your way of thinking all the way through.

Do not rely only on one company, or one job.
That is the safest way to be replaced.

Build yourself adjustable, and pursue standards that are the same or higher than the jobs you would like to get.
The same or lower already exists in abundance, so your competition is already ahead of you.

One way you can go is to build the same portfolio everyone else has, spend time sending applications, and wait for maybe that one reply out of a hundred and hope it’s the winning offer.

If you were part of this group and managed to get hired but faced a layoff, the problem is, for you now the same cycle begins again.

Or, another way is, you know how to set a clear direction, know which skills you wanna possess, and which positions you wanna hold.
You are adjustable.
You are eager to learn and you absorb everything around you.

If one client is unhappy, you will self-reflect, fix, refine, and you will save the opportunity. You know what makes clients happy and you will deliver on your promise.

If the studio is letting you go, you already have a few other opportunities on your radar.

If you´re replaced by AI, you know that your skills and your art were taken for granted, and you will offer your service to someone who values intelligence and emotion of expression over algorithm calculation and chance.

You will find the cracks.
Others may be blinded by the light coming from those cracks and close it up, being happy where they are.
You will see it as an entrance to something else and look further cause you were already where you are now.
Where you are now, you already know, and now you wanna learn and see more.

Jobs exist, and opportunities exist, but it is up to you, whether will you be up to the standards of the opportunities presented.

-mario