4) Should the portfolio be customized for every situation, or can it be good for every occasion?
Angi: Consider your audience. The portfolio should represent your strongest assets accurately and reliably. Many artists prefer to have one standard portfolio, for simplicity. However, if the job is an important one, or for a particular project, it certainly helps to prepare your portfolio with that project in mind. Help them visualize why you would be right for the job.
Eric: It depends on the markets you are targeting. If you aim for book covers only, then your portfolio should focus on that. If you aim for the collectible card market, then try and tailor your portfolio to those styles and formats. As with a lot of markets, you can diversify your portfolio to suit a number of needs. Card and book cover examples could both be used to represent your colour ability, while the layouts of both serve each individual market. If you are a multi-talented artist who can manage many different styles, media, and formats, then a varied portfolio that nicely covers all aspects of your abilities could work. Consider, however, that even if you are the best colour artist in the world, and you include some mediocre pen & ink illustrations alongside your colour work, it may backfire on you. My own portfolio has a number of colour card illustrations, as well as various pen & ink and greyscale interior illustrations targeted at the card market and RPG industry. I was trying to economize as much as I could when I put it together, but I still made sure that both styles and media were of a caliber that I felt was professional-looking and best showed what I was capable of.
Judith: It depends on the job they are trying for. It’s best if an artist has several versions of styles in a variety of media. That way they can customize each portfolio to each interview. Some customers are looking for a complete variety; some are looking for a distinct look. You must know your potential customer before arriving at an interview–BE PREPARED!
5) Is it important to have an online portfolio?
Angi: Online portfolios are good for one thing: baiting interest. It’s a wonderfully convenient way to introduce people to your work when time or space is an issue. However, an art director is going to want to see your work (good quality slides or reproductions) in person. Online photographs can often be misleading, and a good art director is going to want tangible proof of your abilities. So many stories begin like this: “He described himself online as a Mel Gibson…but it was Mel Brooks that came to my door.” Make sure that your client knows ‘What you see is what you get’, both online and in person.
Eric: I use my online portfolio a great deal. In today’s market, creating an online portfolio is fast becoming one of the most important things you can do for your career. It is not critical to have one, and, in fact, there will always be a need for a physical portfolio, as some companies still demand a physical portfolio for review. Today more and more publishers have a strong online presence. The Net is making it that much easier for the management of certain production aspects like freelance portfolio review. Consider my own personal experiences with RPG companies–I can actually submit a portfolio URL to a publisher in the morning and be working on the job that night. And this is with some very well respected and long-time publishers who, themselves, are coming around to the ease of it. In the end, it is a personal decision to make. One portfolio type or another won’t guarantee work from everyone.
Judith: It is absolutely important. More and more customers want easy access to a list of artists without the hassle of interviewing in person. Also, this greatly broadens an artist’s area of employment. Telecommunications is becoming more and more prevalent in the art field.
6) Should the content be different in the online vs. the physical portfolio?
Angi: Absolutely. Put your best work in the physical portfolio. Make the online one a teaser and be sure to keep some little treasures tucked away in the physical portfolio.
Eric: I feel strongly that both should reflect the same level of efficiency, style, and ability. In fact, having different pieces of artwork in each wouldn’t necessarily detract from your presence or professional credibility at all, and might be a good way to be a little more flexible or diversified. But it is important that they both contain artwork that is your most current.
Judith: It really depends on medium. Obviously 3-D work is better represented in a physical form and digital work is better online. Again, get to know your customer ahead of time.
7) Can you recall a portfolio that was really awful?
Angi: Bad art makes a bad portfolio. Before you send a portfolio, make sure you’ve invested adequate time in your skill. If you haven’t invested time perfecting your craft, you’re not ready for a portfolio. Also, bad presentation is a killer. In a year’s time, Duirwaigh Gallery receives just over five hundred online portfolios and just under one hundred physical portfolios. The kiss of death is BAD PHOTOGRAPHY. One portfolio came from an artist showcasing twenty works in watercolour. Most were photographed outside on an easel where I could more easily define the goats in the yard than the content of the paintings. The remaining paintings were photographed in frames hanging on walls, complete with glare from the flash.
Judith: I can recall several. Here are some of the common errors they have sent us: Poor quality (not matted, stained, damaged, bad paper, faded, et cetera); Not remotely the type of work we carry (i.e. watercolour flowers sent to a modern ‘figurative’ gallery); Old work that doesn’t represent the artist’s current style or medium; and not enough pieces (we have had some people bring us one piece and believe it best explains their work).
