Tailoring my portfolio?

[Ms.Quelquefois]

I have a little bit of a problem. I can't be excited about any one medium or style. I like to do them all. Some turn out great and I really feel they are portfolio worthy. I'm finding that it might be a problem though I feel like potential clients will be turned off by seeing so many different styles and subject matter. If I want to get clients should I tailor my portfolio to their tastes? What if I don't have enough examples of one style? If I find a job that wants a particular style should I pass it by or try and mimic it?

I just feel like my portfolio is all over the place sometimes and I'm not sure what to show people.

[cloudcan]

No rule that says you have to have one single all-in-one portfolio If your style/mediums are really that radically different, separate them into broad categories and only show ___ clients your ___ work, etc.

[TinyBird]

What if I don't have enough examples of one style?

..Draw more examples? I mean that's what you'll going to have to do anyway if a client wants that specific style.

[dierat]

I can't be excited about any one medium or style. I like to do them all. Some turn out great and I really feel they are portfolio worthy.

I think you should continue to explore what style(s) work best for you and that you can reproduce with consistent results. The reason why artists put together a portfolio with a single style and a certain level of quality is to show potential clients what they can expect to receive for their money. It sounds like right now you're not really sure what the image is going to look like until it's finished, and sometimes it's a winner but sometimes it's not. You don't want to end up in a situation where a piece that you produce for a client is one of the failed experiments that didn't work out.

Try to put together a small body of work for each style (like 5-10 images) that demonstrates your ability to produce relatively consistent results. When talking to a potential client about what they would like, you can show them examples of just one style that fits their needs or you can show them all of your examples and allow them to choose. You might charge different rates depending on the style and medium considering that a more detailed process will take longer than something simpler and easier to produce.

[Livoshka]

I think having a diverse range of mediums and styles is great. I've tons of work that are anything from printmaking, ink, graphite, mixed media, digital painting, but all of them are identifiable to my style because in the end, you can't really avoid your own style.

If someone wants you to mimic a style, do it in your own way, because it's IMPOSSIBLE to match someone else's work to a 100%. If they want something changed, they'll tell you and you can change it.

If someone says they're looking for x type of work, show them that, because they're just going to skip over what they're not looking for anyway.

Other than that, I agree with everything else that's posted here.

[dpaint]

Style isn't something you pull from a list. Style is like your handwriting, it is you. Doesn't matter about the medium, if your style doesn't come through it means you haven't worked on your art long enough. Bad artists pretend a style, good ones don't. Your style is your ability and what you believe is important about art. It is an organic thing and should slowly change over time as your ideas and ability change; anything else is bullshit and trying to cut corners. Artists who change chameleon- like from job to job do so because they are crappy artists, not good ones, and are too much of a coward to develop a personal professional style.

[Arshes Nei]

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/20...e-masters.html