8 easy ways to improve your portfolio

8 easy ways to improve your portfolio

Wondering how to upgrade portfolio and speed up its growth? To help you, we talked to Dmitriy Glazyrin – an experienced freelancer with an outstanding portfolio. Dima shares eight essential tips which will help artists to build a top-class portfolio.

The less the better

Adding everything you’ve created since your first day in CG is the best way to confuse your potential client. Only a few people will find time to look through the endless amount of projects of different level, style, and direction. It’s much better to find a few artworks you are proud of and spend some time on creating a beautiful project for each of them.

“When a client is looking for an artist, he or she has only a few minutes for each candidate, which is why it’s crucial to show your best work. There is another useful tip: if you are targeting a specific client, gather the projects which demonstrate how suitable you are for this company or job. Don’t send everything, send the best”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin

Choose what you do

At the beginning of the career, every artist tries different directions, styles, and programs. However, to get a job with the help of portfolio, you have to stick to the specific field to demonstrate that you are perfect for these types of projects. For example, if you are eager to work in matte-painting, share more of matte-painting and post less other projects. It should be evident for the client what skills you have.

“It’s an infrequent occasion when a person is equally good in lots of different directions. Mostly, people have one-two solid skills and a couple of additional ones. For a client, it’s very important to know your strong sides, specialization is the key to success”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin

Collaborate

Collaborations with other artists will help you to create more interesting artworks, grow your portfolio faster, make connections, and train soft skills. Use social media and portfolio websites to find people who are ready for experiments. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and offer help – one good connection may lead to a remarkable project, fame, and clients.

“It could be a real challenge for artists to make a connection, ask for help or collaboration. However, friends may help you with so many things. If it’s hard for you, find time to train your communication skills. It’s totally worth it!”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin

Tell a story

For any person looking through your artwork, it’s always interesting to learn how the project was created, what idea stands behind the artwork, what tools you used and what challenges you overcame to create it. Think what additional information can be used to describe a project – first sketches, making of, close-ups. Everything might work!

“Today it’s much easier to learn new programs and gain skills, which is why the idea comes to the foreground. For inspiration look through the awarded advertising campaigns – all of them are very creative, and there is always a good idea behind”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin

Ask for advice

Beginners might face unexpected problems trying to evaluate their portfolio. The best solution is to ask for comments and critics from more skilled colleagues. If you don’t have friends in the CG industry, don’t get upset – spend some time and find them. Another good option is to look for events and attend them – sometimes experienced artist and well-known companies are offering reviews during an event.

“There is no need to deal with everything on your own, this approach doesn’t make you smarter or stronger, it slows you down. If you don’t know how to do something – ask. It’s the easiest and fastest way to get an answer and improve your skills”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin

Don’t forget to update

Your portfolio is not a monument you are creating once and forever. To be popular and efficient, it should be alive, so never forget to update it and always save some time to create a new project. Even if all your work is under NDA and you cannot show it, that’s not an excuse. Use spare time for personal artworks – you will get some practice and new projects in your portfolio.

“Sometimes it can be tough to find time for your portfolio, but you have to understand how important it is. Every new artwork in your portfolio is an investment and a chance to get more appreciation or a better job. Always keep it in mind and try to organize your time wisely”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin

Stop avoiding Behance

If your portfolio exists only on your Google Drive, nobody will see it. To get comments and be noticed you have to use popular portfolio platforms, including ArtStation and Behance. Yes, you may get some criticism, but don’t let it distract you from your goal. There is no artist on the planet who was never criticized. What’s more, some comments could help you to improve artworks and get more appreciations, likes, and clients.

Make a showreel

If you have enough projects to show, create a short video about the best ones. If you put enough effort into it, choose beautiful artworks, give insights about your workflow, add nice music, it will pay off. In less than two minutes, the client will get all the information you want to share.

“Video content is one of the most popular – people watch it and share it. In a couple of minutes, you can tell the whole story about one project or your latest achievement. Don’t underestimate this tool”

-  Dmitriy Glazyrin