My portfolio website

[swedishamerican]

Hi everybody,

I'm an industrial designer thats out looking for a job. I'm always trying to improve my skills and try new things.

One of these is to try and do more conceptual art work for games, movies, as well as creating artwork that puts any future products I design into context. My website is:

www.swedesigner.com

What do you guys think of my portfolio? Is there anything that you think there should be more/less of

Thanks,

swedishamerican

[sunandshadow]

Wow, I love the 3D modeled interiors! I would be thrilled if I could get someone to do designs like that for my video game. (It's an all-volunteer project, so it's tought to get talented people.)

There are an awful lot of cars... o.O Maybe have the 10 best cars in the samples and put all the rest in a folder marked 'more cars'?

Major things lacking are people, animals, plants. Also some different vehicles, like a tank or an airship, would add nice variety.

Personally when I evaluate a concept artist's portfolio I like to see sequences and variations - how a concept evolved from sketches to final, or how one basic concept was attempted in several different styles. Like with the tank I suggested, a scary futuristic robot tank vs. a whimsical steampunk tank.

[Qone]

Nice stuffs you got there. YOur works are amazing.

About your website, you could add a little more text in there (tell a little bit more about yourself). Also, you might want to try differnt font (maybe something like "ARIAL"). I think it is easier to read. It could make your site looks better.

[Irish_Jim]

It doesn't look like anyone has had the problems I've had with your site. None of the images show up except those on your home page, and the link to the canadian auto show page in your resume is broken. It may be just an issue of browser compatibility, all I have here at work is IE.

[MissCeleste]

Brilliant designs on there mate, but lacking in variety. If you want more gigs spice it up. Your at the level I want to be at skill wise, cause I got mad crazy ideas for creating alot of themes for enviroments but not the technical talent currenly.. (one of the many reasons I'm here) This rant is going somewhere... It's good news for you... my desire to get to doing the kind of stuff your pumping out is cause I know alot of people in "the biz" from working IAAPA so many years... and after seeing "The Masters" work... I have some new goals.. and from seeing there stuff I know what there looking for... so I know a thing or two about how to sell yourself.

For gaming.. I assume you mean video games an computer games right? Try doing some items along with your enviroments that go with it seperate from the enviroment and then shown in the enviroment.. some real and some made up in your head based on reality.. weapons (hybrids that would function or at least create the illusion of functioning in reality are usually smiled upon to, as long as there not excessive and the only thing you provide) are really good too.. of every kind from every time frame in history. Let's see some more vehicles besides cars too, and again making up some original stuff (like a time machine or similar inventions that are some what fantasy/sci-fi... Think Leonardo Divinci's invention sketchbook) to put side by side with the realism show your creative and not just technically talented. It's always a plus. With your portfolio currently the only game I could see someone thinking "NOW THIS IS THE GUY TO HIRE!" would be a racing game of some sort.. just cause like... THERES WAY TO MANY CARS in your gallery man! Remember also, the people you really WANT To get with are the ones who have tons of applicants either because of the obvious benefits from exposure or good pay, so imagine being them for a minute with a turn in of 200 portfolios to look through. They skim it. No matter how great your work is they skim em all first.. so the frist thing I did to critique your site was give it a quick skim *clicked 3 images, scanned the thumbnails and closed out the window* and my throughts were "too many cars, not enough variet" Just a sprinkling of some other things would work wonders to your image... and I agree with sunandshadow.. Have a very obvious and clean bookmark that matches the rest of your site that says "See More Cars" so that whoevers looking at your site sees your love of them and designing them, because then that can be something your "known for" instead of uhm... "the only thing your good at." People will make this assumption/mistake about you if they flip through casually with the way the site is currently.

I'd alaso reccomend putting in a few roller coaster or amusement park designs (haunted house interiors or outside gardens/courtyards themed a certain way are good too) if you know anything about it coasters mechanics it might be a really good idea for you to show a drawing of a theme you'd come up with if you were a creative designer. If you don't I'm sure you could learn it fairly quickly because you seem to have a fascination (from what is shown in your gallery) with the mechanics of things. You wouldn't have to actually figuire out all the mechanics/engineering, you could just find pictures of one as a base and draw a "Theme" on top of it... like think "Dueling Dragons" from Univeral or the inside enviroment of "Space Mountain" or the partially outside/partially inside "Thunder Mountain" design from Disney... but then play with it and change it into one of your designs to show your innovative and desirable. Also, for movies you may want to include a few storyboards of people or creatures moving through your enviroments that match them so that the movie directors see you are able to create what feels like a fantasy reality through the illusion of your art.

Most importantly, Keep this in mind for whatever you do. It's what my mentors from the Studios told me.

Without Creativity, Technical skill is nothing.

Without Technical skill you haven't the proper outlet for your creativity.

To get hired and hired often you need both! Keep it in mind as you job hunt!

[CaptainInsano]

These are brilliant interiors. It's organic and ergonomic. I like it a lot more than the dry, contemporary Ikea style set up. You have a very good grasp of lighting 3D interiors.

[BMunchausen]

Yes, my critique of the site would be to edit the work down a little bit. Much of your work is really strong and just eye-poppingly beautiful! The environments both drawn and modeled are incredible and unique. But there are some things on the site - some of the 2D painted character work, that's just not up to the same standard. A great portfolio can be pulled down by the weakest of the work in it. I'd probably just edit those out completely.

[Rolo]

Nice work! I love it.
(advice, if you have ideas of some kind of design. Don't put them on your site! Yeah, maybe if you did copyright em. People will still take those ideas.)
ALTHOUGH I LOVE IT, YOU ARE SOOO GOOD AT DRAWING!
-Rolo