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website portfolios


alexandre
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hello everyone,

 

i took a tour to the new poll and was a bit taken aback by the choices : 4) if you label it "work" than you should bill it before you do it so, yes, eventually you'll get paid for it; 3)lower your prices doesn't answer the topic question on getting visibility (how do you get your client to know that you have lowered them and what are your comarison prices); 2) talk (where? to whom? about what?); 1)show your portfolio (that would be the obvious choice but do you have new clients to show them to and how ?

 

so, even if some 44 of us have voted, i haven't.

 

on the other hand, i would like to ask you if you have personal websites or portfolios and if so, have they brought you more clients ? i'm currently thinking about putting my "oeuvre" ;) on the web and wondering about the ways to do it, so thank you for sharing your opinions

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thank you quizzy,

 

i agree that our web-building skills are secondary, btw did you buid it yourself? - i know i's become a lot easier nowadays, photoshop includes some tools, and the hosts usually provide you some - was this your case ?

 

anyway, your site looks good and your work, too :)

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Hi alexandre,

 

Here is ours www.ams.be

The page won't do the job on it's own. A mailing that informs people is necessary too. Togethers it works, but real prospection is still much better: keep your eyes open to anything you see, and call people to show them your work and products ;)

 

nisus

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alex,

we have a website that contains a gallery of recent images. i don't think by itself it has brought in new clients, but it has definitely helped get the word out on what we are capable of doing.

my advice on the website is to make it good enough that a client will focus more on the work itself rather than the webpage. it should be able to compliment the style of your work.

biggrin2.gif

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm working on my portfolio as well. I'm planning to upload it within the next 4 months.

I think that a good web site says a lot about how professional and serious your services are. Of course, it will never be as important as the quality of your work ;) . In my case I would like to upload only the best of my work. That's why is taking me so long to finish it, if you take in consideration that I'm learning on the process. biggrin2.gif But hey, I have to start somewhere. Does anyone has more insights about web sites "portfolios"?

 

[ June 21, 2002, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: CHE ]

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Hey STRAT,

 

I disagree about the portfolio bit. You can't be featured on CGarchitect without an online portfolio ;) and I would't have been able to "pre-screen" many of my interviews without one either. I hate it when I see incredible work get submitted and I can't go to their site to see more. But that's from a somewhat slanted point of views as my site relies upon online information and user sites. my 2 cents FWIW :)

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well, even tho i dont see much use in them i still have had ideas for specific personal architectural tuts and galleries for ages.

 

my huuuuuuuuuuge major problem - my pc at home, it's only a p100 laptop, 32 meg ram, 800x600 256 colour screen. how sad is that???

 

having a mortgage and a shop-o-holick girlfriend means that pc's are a luxury, not a nessessaty.

 

I'm so frustrated with it. luckily i got a cable connection, but even things like solitaire run slow on my 'puter. never mind....1 day....

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I believe an online portfolio works great wether it be trying to get clients/employees or even trying to get a job. For a firm I would not work for them if they did not have some sort of website because it shows they are a little bit behind in the times. Plus it is an easy way for someone to see what kind/quality of work can be done.

I have on on-line portfolio. It is not geared towards CG yet. But it definatly helped me get my job. And a few clients for my side job.

 

http://www.design-oriented.com/Lloyd

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i think online portfolios are a must.

simply becasue it opens your doors to more "potential" clients, and also makes a show of being in the current centuary.

I do however believe that using the multitude of forums to post images is better, in a way, than online portfolios, after all, i posted a fantasy building on a forum, and was contacted by a guy from the staters (i live in ireland) to work on some comic stuff for him, after doing a few bits and pieces for him, i finally landed a gig working on the internal architecture for some scenes in the recent 100% CG spiderman comic.

 

However, for local clients, i think mail shots and word of mouth are the best methods, simply because "who has the time to sift through the web" if they need a visualisation done up....

 

But, i also think that if you are sending a mail shot, via snail mail or e-mail, a link to a PROFESSIONAL website can be quite informative.

 

and lastly, if you are seeking employment, then yeah, an online portfolio is a must... but like quizzy said, it must be baby proof, BUT, it should be 100% professional.....

 

just my tupence worth........

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www.animagicproductions.com

 

Our site generally is visited by people looking for jobs and other CG companies. After several years, we have had no work come as a direct result of the website. In my experience, the website serves as a handy 'quick-check' from clients to grab a phone number or address if they have misplaced a business card. We decided to put a few small visuals with text file inserts for quick updating as we add to the site about every other week.

 

John D

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Guest adrian_dav
Originally posted by STRAT:

i personally dont see any use in on-line portfolios, but hey, thats just me!

 

altho thinking about it i may one day write some HTML and put up a gallery just for fun :)

 

here are a couple of old tuts i wrote once tho -

 

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sjleworthy/wp-02/front.html

it depends in which way you arranged to work. if you are employed there is no reason to have one. you would cause distrust becasue your employer could think that you use renderings of office projects to get work on the side and are therefore not 100% focused on your work.

 

if you are working freelance, like me, you will have to have one. the rare exception would be if you were able to find a good agent. this is difficult since only few agents try to sell 3d renderings.

 

the way freelance work gets sold is usually the following:

 

-direct mail(i.e. postcard) to advertise web portfolio

-potential client visits web site

-some of the potential client invites you to show demo reel and portfolio book

-you get an assignment

 

an online portfolio is breaking the ice. many of your possible clients wouldn't be willing to invite you to show your book but are willing to visit your web site anonymously without any obligations. other interested clients may want a kind of 3d-product you don't sell.

your phone will not ring as often, but the people who call tend to be much closer to sign a contract with you.

 

your uninterrupted work hours alone are worth it.

 

best,

 

adrian

http://www.adriandavidson.com

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I can't agree more with Adrian...

 

Prior to setting out on my own, my employer (a large regional A&E firm) used web based portfolios extensively when reviewing work from viz firms. As an example we surfed for firms from a master list screening down to the 3 whom we would ask for printed materials from (right from their website) and a later request a proposal for that particular project. In the end one was selected and granted the commission. The last I was involved in was for a viz project in excess of $23k (US).

 

The portfolio site gives potential clients a feeling for what you have done, as well as an impression of your visual style. It might not generate so many contacts but it might just keep you in the running when people know of you.

 

A couple things to think about

*Keep it simple, and quick to load. remember that the folks making decisions don't always have the fastest hardware and they may be checking things out during "off" time from a dialup.

 

*Keep it logical. Think about what potential clients will be looking for on your site and how they will find it.

 

Chris Arnold, IDSA

Design Foresight (yeah, still working on the website)

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hi guys,

 

i just wanted to thank you all for your valuable input; based on what i supposed and what you wrote i am currently working on building a site; as soon as it's online i'll post a link.

 

alexandre

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