Portfolio content for character concept illustration?

[chinadrgn]

Hi all, I was wondering what a company looks for in portfolios. Should there be a broad range of work or should it be very specialized. Is there a style that is more preferred? Should 2-D be separated from physical 3-D or combined?
Are there set guide lines that a person can follow?

My ADD is running amok and I can't figure out what to put in so I just run around in circles (figuratively, not literally).

Any help/advice would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

[Justin.]

From what I'm told, it's important to show your range but not your weakness. If your strength is in character work, show characters (that are diverse). If they have a style preference, they will usually say so.

More and more companies are looking for fine-arts based work, either combined together with your concepts, or seperate.

honestly, almost any company with a website will tell you EXACTLY what they want in a portfolio on their site.

[Seedling]

There is no one single formula that will get you a job, and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all-companies portfolio. You need to think: what do the specific companies you are applying to want to hire you to do? What do you want to be hired to do? What don't you want to be hired to do? What art do you have that isn't relevant to the position but that could convey your personality or other skills to the team? Etc.

[BlackGuy]

Does it have to be divided? Like do you have to specialize in environments or characters?

[chinadrgn]

Hi BG, were asking me or the pros?

[Sulk-Sal]

I've actually been wondering about this too. I'm more into character/vehicle designs, but would a few landscapes help? I also wonder about copyrighted characters or races, are they ok if I have my own spin on them, or should I stay far away from them? Also, what about pure design of a character vs an illustration of said character?

Also, I was wondering if a small project I'm working on, a small guide to a race I'm making (including ethnic groups, society, history, etc) would help in any way?

Thanks in advance for you patience.

[BlackGuy]

I'm asking whoever would know the answer I guess.

[RogerAdams]

I would check out the adverts in the jobs section. Or search developer websites to see what they look for in submissions. Bioware, for example, currently has openings for concept artists.

One other thing I will share, is during portfolio review day at the Montreal workshop, pretty much everyone I showed my stuff to asked where the work from life was (like an idiot I didn't have any of that), so be sure to include some life drawings/paintings.

Good luck!

[Sulk-Sal]

Thanks for the info and link! Very helpful. It never would have crossed my mind to include life drawings.