guitarboy Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Hey everyone, I’m just after any general or specific advice people might be able to give me as to ideas and subject material for a portfolio. I've searched and had a look thru older topics and found some good info, but I have also noticed that different countries and areas seem to look for different things, so I’m kind of hoping that maybe 1 or 2 Australian artists might lend me some of there knowledge and advice as to some things to try, and of course, anyone and everyone else’s advice is more then welcome. A quick bit of background info on me so u no where I’m coming from. at the moment I’m employed in an architects office in Brisbane as a drafter and have been trying to get into the 3d section within the office, problem is that there not interested in any more 3d people because the work isn’t there for a person of any level, experienced or junior, so I’m looking at getting a portfolio together and seeing where the road takes me. Plus I’m also quite good at the drafting work and keep getting pulled back into it no matter how much I try to move towards the 3d, haha, no fair. I’m getting to the point where I’m starting to get consistent results that I’m happy with for my level, though always trying to improve everyday, and really sick of straight drafting. Don’t mind the idea of moving to another state if the opportunity arises too. Sorry if that sounds a little all over the place, but please, ask me any questions and ill be happy to answer, and any advice is always good advice. Thanks heaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Hey everyone, I’m just after any general or specific advice people might be able to give me as to ideas and subject material for a portfolio. I've searched and had a look thru older topics and found some good info, but I have also noticed that different countries and areas seem to look for different things, so I’m kind of hoping that maybe 1 or 2 Australian artists might lend me some of there knowledge and advice as to some things to try, and of course, anyone and everyone else’s advice is more then welcome. A quick bit of background info on me so u no where I’m coming from. at the moment I’m employed in an architects office in Brisbane as a drafter and have been trying to get into the 3d section within the office, problem is that there not interested in any more 3d people because the work isn’t there for a person of any level, experienced or junior, so I’m looking at getting a portfolio together and seeing where the road takes me. Plus I’m also quite good at the drafting work and keep getting pulled back into it no matter how much I try to move towards the 3d, haha, no fair. I’m getting to the point where I’m starting to get consistent results that I’m happy with for my level, though always trying to improve everyday, and really sick of straight drafting. Don’t mind the idea of moving to another state if the opportunity arises too. Sorry if that sounds a little all over the place, but please, ask me any questions and ill be happy to answer, and any advice is always good advice. Thanks heaps. G'day... I'm a firm believer in customising a resume or a portfolio for a specific market. If you want Arch work, don't put a lot of 'Mechs in it. hehe What part of Arch do you like? Interiors? Exteriors? combining renders with real life shots? I think your best possible render of what you want to do should be the first thing they see. Percentage wise, I think at least 50% of your portfolio should be targeted towards your primary goal. Then mix the rest up with really, really good renders of other aspects that compliment or otherwise show off your skills. You might want to have traditional Aussie icon landmarks in the backgrounds or through the windows. Sydney Harbour from the lounge/family room of a nice apartment. The beautiful red centre behind a traditional house in a dry, desert environment. Most of my portfolio experience is geared towards non-Arch renders and work, so sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 There seems to be a bit of itchy feet going about. From my experience once you are locked into a role it is next to impossible to break out of it without the need to move onto an other company. Its sad that your company isn't interested in developing both you, 3D and their company further. As to what to put into your portfolio. You cant go wrong with a mix of commercial and residential projects , interiors and exterior. If you want an in-house job then have more conceptual style images. If going for a high-end job the only the best of the best of your work. Its better to have a small selection of quality than a whole heap of inferior stuff. I am at the other end of the spectrum. I am tired of doing "SK to DD" 3D, I want to return back to the high-end, marketing wizz-bang work I was doing in London. I believe that there is a market for it in Brisbane, but the funny thing is that dedicated, quality archviz firms are rear as hens teeth here, as my searches have proved. I have steady freelance work, so I think it is a relatively short strep to go it alone. (Its the fear factor). I too am putting my porfolio together so any suggestions (or job offers;) ) would be helpful to us both JHV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Hey, thanks for the replys. im wanting to get into the high-end level of renders, just my skill level doesnt get me there yet, haha, one day i will tho. nothings going to stop me, ill start my own business if need be. im not a huge fan of the low level SD-DD style work either, but ill have to learn how to crawl before i can walk first. im in no rush to get into things just yet, just keen and looking at the future. but i wouldnt say no to a job offer either like u Justin, haha. as far as the sort of work i like doing, i love it all, ext, int, montage, residential, commercial, etc.. the more i do the more i fall in love with the work. im focusing mainly on lighting atm mainly because that can make or break a render and am really enjoying that aspect of the rendering, but as i get into more modeling, texturing, and the other processes involved, i can see myself enjoyin all them just as much. i know of 1 or 2 brisy and goldy arch vis firms if your interested in talking to them Justin if you havent already, i know a bloke at one of them too, they do some cool work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 pm me , Im in the office for the next 10 minutes otherwise I'll check at home JHV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahorela Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 thought I might get in on this thread.......I think that Australian clients are definitely wowed and appreciate the high end archviz stuff.....I agree with Justin about the possibilities in the market for that. The problem is that I think that they have become used to the bog standard work that is around and assume that's all thats available. Archviz has become accepted by the market but I don't necessarily think that the market knows the quality levels that are possible. There are a few larger archviz companies around.....won't mention any names but I am unimpressed with alot of the work that they do. Perth is a big growing market at the moment (just turned down a job out there). But again I agree with Justin about the portfolio.....lots of variety....better to show a little of quality than alot of so, so work. I also think that it is a good move to have an online portfolio.....an easy way to get your work across to prospective employers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Haha, we should get all the truely passionate and keen artists from around australia and form one solid national company that strives for the ut most excelence and highest possible quality work and best possible service avaliable and rock australias foundations, show them wat really is possible. show those firms that true passion and skill is better then sending work overseas for slave labour rates and tryin to make a huge super profit. thats just stupid. (no offence intended to the actually overseas companies, there not the ones at fault) help give a stepping stone for young artists to break into the game while giving the more experienced artists the freedom and choice to work their magic in anyway they like on their renders and show how awesome things can really be. i call company president and founder haha, only joking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Next time we are all in town we should getogther and have lunch. It would be interseting to put the faces to the names JHV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahorela Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 definitely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 That would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 That would be great! First shout is on me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 When you are in town drop me a line JHV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 im in brisy anyway so pretty much anytime is fine for me just out of curiosity, how old r some of u guys, and what sort of experience do you have, work wise and study wise??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahorela Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 gonna be a while before I'm in brisso unfortunately. as for experience.......bout 4 years give or take, I'm 27 and I'm self taught I'm actually a business graduate got a feeling that Justin is the elder statesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 haha, i might be the youngin then coming in at 21, have to wait and see i guess. ive been self teaching myself for about 9 months now. no job experience of any sort yet, but keen as to start, just hard to get ones foot in the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I'm 41 and have been self-instructing myself for about a year. No work in any sort of 3D (arch, modeling, 'mechs) yet, but work a self-employed business of interior photography for recently-built houses for architects and home builders. I'd like to extend what I do to include interior modeling. If I did that, I'd be a very happy camper. I'm in Ballarat - about an hour or so west of Melbourne - and don't get up to Brissie much. I went to Townsville back in October 2006, but that was just for a holiday (on Orpheus Island - truly Paradise on Earth). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 Also meant to ask, whats peoples work flow regarding the programs they use? for me, i do all my base modeling, all my structural stuff, walls, slabs, roofs, door and window cutouts, etc... in ArchiCAD, then i import my 3d model into 3d Studio Max where ill put in all the detail stuff, furniture, fittings, acceroires, etc...,then ill light, texture and render using vray. then if i do any post work, ill use photoshop afterwards. i no alot of ppl will tell me i should stick to max for all my modeling, but for me, max is no where as easy to use as archicad is for these elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahorela Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 There has been alot said on these forums about what it's best to model in and if you ask me it doesn't really matter. If you can produce your model in the same amount of time in archicad as you can in max.......there is no issue. I have made the point before that the less software licenses you need to buy the better, especially as a freelancer.......ie if you can model in max it saves you having to buy archicad which from memory is an expensive program but as far as I can see thats the only real advantage. Just for the record my workflow is the same as yours except that I use max for my modelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 Sounds good to me the main reason i model in archicad is just because ive been using it for ALOT longer then Max, when i started archicad, didnt even know max existed. so i am much much quicker in archicad then max. i can model a tower in archicad in a few hrs that would take me days in max just due to my inexperience in it. but once i get my head around lighting and textures and those other demons, i am planning on learning to model well in max and then move into max full time, but for now, i enjoy how im working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 32, been in the industry 13 years, semi self taught. worked in Cape Town, London, Melbourne and now Brisbane. Depending on the project I either model in ADT, render in Max or do it all in Max. I have ne real preferance as to which package is better. For me its more improtant to be clean and effcient. Have a model that can be picked up by anyone so they are able to jump staight in and work. As to lunch, name a time and place and I will be there. JHV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Hey Bob I used to model in Archicad being a ex architect and i can tell you once you get used to modelling in max its a whole lot quicker, more intuitive and fun than archicad. Just gotta jump in! Its worth it. There are quiet a few forum members down in Melbourne I think. Afterglow is the only one Iv personally met. My company is also looking for 1-2 3D juniors at the moment. Could be suited to you Guitarboy if you would relocate! Bit of a ask I know. http://www.orbitsolutions.com.au/careers.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3D_IC Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Here in Perth there is alot of work around for any level of 3D. I work as the only 3d guy in a massive architectural firm. If you are willing to re-locate then there is always going to be a job here. I can put the word in if you are interested. Its ok to model in max, but if you want to fit into the workings of an architectural office as an in-house 3d guy then you need to know ADT or Autocad. Alot of people in the office can model in 3d which helps you to just get on with the fun bit, however model in Max and no one else can touch your models or help out. Creating sketchy basic design development images is always going to be a requirement in the architect office. If its just high end stuff you want to be working on then you need a good 3d studio. If you start up on your own then it is most likely you will be working on residential low end stuff. As for a portfolio it depends entirely on who you'll be showing it to. If its a 3d studio then they want to see that you can handle as many different 3d situations as possible. complex buildings, interiors, exteriors, aerials, montages etc. I'm sure you won't have any problem getting a 3d job, but it sounds like Brissy is saturated. if anyone is over this side of the continent then i'll buy you a beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Haha, bugger, all the jobs are on the south and west coasts, i might be moving down to melb later this yr, not sure yet, will know in about a month. if i do and the jobs are still open, ill deffinitely be in touch. But ill check out the site none the less anyway. it might just be the thing to seal the deal. thanks for all the interest, replys and help, its been great. another quick question, ppl have been sayin its better to use a resume with only a few quality pics rather then lots of sub par ones. how many do you think or recommend would be minimum? i know the more quality pics the better, but what would be the lowest limit? 10 maybe or is that too few? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Hunt Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Start off by selecting all of the best, then half that with the best of those. Keep on until you cover all the disciplines. Then ask someone else, who will give an honest crit to go over them. Some things that you love may be totally wrong in someone elses eyes. I have several different portfolios depending on who I am showing it to. One for architects, showing more conceptual and DA level work. One for developers with either commercial or residential marketing quality images. Then one with everything I have ever done, other than the stuff I am embarrassed to put my name to, the Alan Smithee stuff:p Also get the stuff printed professionally on good quality paper. Makes a huge difference. JHV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarboy Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Haha, if u se that method Justin, that means ill have 2-3 drawings tops, but that prolly a good thing. Guess i have a good bit of work ahead of me yet. Good thing its fun work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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