The entry level portfolio - What do you look for?

[ahmeds]

Hi.

 

I have a few questions about entry level visualization portfolios, I'm trying to figure out what to include in it. I'm looking for an entry level job in archviz, and since I'm transitioning from product design/visualization, I don't know where to start. I went on pinterest to find a couple of references to start with, but so far I've ended up pinning thousands of 'inspiration' images neatly organized into dozens of boards. I can't help but want to render everything and create the perfect portfolio.

 

Main questions:

1) Can my portfolio be made up of random, unrelated interior/exterior shots? I just want to show my skills in lighting, materials and composition.

2) Would it go against me if I used ready-modeled scenes from evermotion, even if I create the materials and lighting myself?

3) Is it a requirement for entry level artists to fully understand how to model from architectural plans or Autocad elevation drawings?

 

Best regards.

Edited July 24, 2015 by ahmeds

[thomascoote]

Hi.

 

This darned portfolio thing is giving me major headache, trying to figure out what to include in it. I'm looking for an entry level job in archviz, and since I'm transitioning from product design/visualization, I don't know where to start. I went on pinterest to find a couple of references to start with, but so far I've ended up pinning thousands of 'inspiration' images neatly organized into dozens of boards. I can't help but want to render everything and create the perfect portfolio.

 

Main questions:

1) Can my portfolio be made up of random, unrelated interior/exterior shots? I just want to show my skills in lighting, materials and composition.

2) Would it go against me if I used ready-modeled scenes from evermotion, even if I create the materials and lighting myself?

3) Is it a requirement for entry level artists to fully understand how to model from architectural plans or Autocad elevation drawings?

 

Best regards.

 

1) Not so much random, but it does help to show versatility and flexibility. I got my entry level job with a portfolio that showed 2 or 3 exteriors, a couple interiors and a couple product visualisations I had. Don't throw everything you have in there, show only your best work that demonstrates you'll be able to hit the ground running.

 

If you have a specific industry sector you're aiming for tailor it to that and bias your images as such. For example I work in office design and build as a Vis artist now, so for my current job I showed 5 office interiors I had, 1 exterior and 1 animation. The office interiors showed I was capable of working in design and build, and the exterior and animation were only to show versatility.

 

2) I'd avoid doing that. Use Evermotion assets by all means but try to build your own scenes. Work from reference photos and aim to recreate them to make things easier if you want, but I'd avoid a ready-modeled scene. It screams laziness, unless the job you are applying for is solely lighting and texturing.

 

Even if you have enough Evermotion assets to build a scene from, try to model some of the assets yourself. In every job interview I've had with anyone who knew what they were talking about, they specifically asked which parts I modeled from scratch.

 

3) It isn't a requirement, nobody expects you to know how to read plans if you're applying for entry level - that's something that you learn on the job. But a basic understanding of how to work from elevation drawings and CAD plans would help massively. Things like being able to take a PDF into max and work to scale (Extremely important) from the drawing would help you greatly.

[NoodleLuff]

I agree with the above poster pretty much on all points. I know your question is regarding portfolio, but if you are looking for a job it's worth mentioning that attitude is just as (if not more) important, for me at least. I have hired juniors with good attitudes and average portfolios over juniors with average attitudes and great portfolios. The reason being is as a junior you are not expected to come in knowing everything, these are all things that you will improve on and work on whilst working. We always look for juniors who are willing to learn and happy to put in the work it takes to progress.

 

With regards to portfolio, I wouldn't expect a junior to have a whole load of images as they haven't been in the game long enough. I would like to see a few good images of a couple of projects. Quality not quantity.

 

Hope this helps

[Ernest Burden III]

That's some good advice so far!

 

Even if you feel your previous work does not apply, it probably does. It will show 3D rendering. A box and a boxy building are similar, graphically. It actually helps if you can see the simplified shapes in a complex scene. You already have experience with the tools needed, show that. And any work experience speaks to your ability to show up for work every day and do your job, whatever that job was, and get along with co-workers and a boss or two. Those are important, too.

 

I think it is important to be able to read architectural documents. Find a few of the books by Frank Ching, read them. And of course at entry level you are expected to have promise over practice. It's great that you ask these questions.

[Scott Schroeder]

To add to this, I feel that there are 2 fields in architectural visualization. Working in-house for an architect and working for a visualization studio. While they share a lot of common requirements, they can be often treated as distinct job applications. Since I've worked in both situations, these are the differences that I've seen.

 

When applying for a viz studio, the art is where the bulk of the time will be spent. Your camera compositions, your light and color balancing, how the entourage fits into the scene, moods, and all things that make you feel warm and fuzzy about an image will be taken into consideration. The artistic skill and the portfolio rule supreme in this realm. More than likely you will get some sort of formal job training in your first few days/weeks at the place, so your skills can be a little more raw as they will help shape you into their production pipeline.

 

When applying for an architecture firm to work in house, the technical mumbo jumbo becomes more picked apart. What are your design skills? Can you take a massing sketch from a napkin and turn it into a building (that assumes some basic level architecture knowledge)? You will be expected to be very comfortable with reading a set of prints and finding info from them. Some knowledge of AutoCAD/Revit will more than likely be required. Simple things for those two software though, like being able to clean up a file in CAD or Revit for export/linking to Max. A crash course in those would suffice and if the office trains you, then you'll get that in house. However, I get the sense that your first day in an architecture office consists of here's your desk, here's your project, it's due in 2 hours. Welcome to the team.

 

A viz studio can look past your portfolio and see your skills. An architect who is reviewing your portfolio might get stuck on the fact that the firm designs commercial spaces and your portfolio is residential heavy. They will miss the fact that the skills shown in residential will translate over to commercial. So a much more targeted portfolio is helpful for an architecture firm. I'd say you need at least 1 rendering of what they do in your submission. A viz studio would just be your best 3-5 works.

Edited July 22, 2015 by VelvetElvis

[John Dollus]

1. yes but keep it organized. I would suggest you focus on commercial projects to maximize your appeal to designers and studios. Large design studios don't usually do a lot of bedroom and bath work. Look into the best lounges/hotels/offices of the world. Those projects tend to have deeper pockets and hire the best studios. You want to work for the best, right?

 

2. Yes, it would count against you. It's like buying a piece of furniture and saying you are a woodworker. Learn to create it yourself and you will be a more valuable candidate for a studio. premade objects often have various problems and you will be better equipped to address and correct them if you know the process intimately yourself.

 

3. While it's true that this can be taught like others have mentioned, I really don't feel I should be spending my time teaching such a core skill to a new hire. There are plenty of candidates who do know how to read/interpret drawings/schedules so don't give a potential employer any reason to cull you from the applicants by neglecting the basics. In the past, I would show a simple plan/elevation print with an obvious error to candidates and ask them to point out the conflict.

 

4. I would suggest adding one or two images showing how you created a particular finish/material (source image, material tree, maps, rendering). Having someone who can take a crappy iphone pic of a material provided by a client and turn that into a realistic rendered representation in a finished environment is more valuable than you might think.

[ahmeds]

Thank you for the informative responses guys, my stress levels have decreased quite a bit already

 

I should also mention my age which is 28 (although I look 40!), but I don't mind working my way up since I'm not experienced in this field, is it weird to have an old 'junior' in the office? I've worked previously as a product designer, and a few of my designs have made it to production, but I've decided to switch careers after my contract ended and have been out of work for over 2.5 years.

 

I'm targeting visualization studios Scott, but I'm limited to finding work in my city and so far I've only found 3 such places, so the odds are against me. But thank you for the explanation of the differences between the two fields, it's answered a lot of questions I've had.

 

So I definitely won't be using pre-made scenes then. I am skilled at poly modeling, I only considered the idea to save time. I'll focus on commercial and hospitality environments as well.

 

Ernest thank you for introducing me to Frank Ching, I'll look for his books.

[thomascoote]

Thank you for the informative responses guys, my stress levels have decreased quite a bit already

 

I should also mention my age which is 28 (although I look 40!), but I don't mind working my way up since I'm not experienced in this field, is it weird to have an old 'junior' in the office? I've worked previously as a product designer, and a few of my designs have made it to production, but I've decided to switch careers after my contract ended and have been out of work for over 2.5 years.

 

I'm targeting visualization studios Scott, but I'm limited to finding work in my city and so far I've only found 3 such places, so the odds are against me. But thank you for the explanation of the differences between the two fields, it's answered a lot of questions I've had.

 

So I definitely won't be using pre-made scenes then. I am skilled at poly modeling, I only considered the idea to save time. I'll focus on commercial and hospitality environments as well.

 

Ernest thank you for introducing me to Frank Ching, I'll look for his books.

 

I was only successful in finding my first graduate job because I was willing to move 200 miles south to London - because the major cities are where the work is most of the time

[Scott Schroeder]

Age means nothing. 28 is still very young so I wouldn't fret about it one bit.

 

Like Thomas, I moved for my work as well. My first job I moved 2,500 miles from the Midwest to California for work, so you might want to expand your search radius a bit. Where I work now is 1,000 miles or so away from my hometown. It's up to you and your situation if you want or can move those distances, but it helps immensely to be quite flexible in location.

[notamondayfan]

Regarding point 3, I'd say modelling is key, and you really need to nail this to get a good foot in the door. There's 100s of tutorials out there, and CAD drawings to use.

Also you could use a google warehouse model to start with, then re-build it, as clients sending low quality sketchup / revit models is becoming more normal.

 

As for your age, if anything this probably goes in your favour. Someone straight out of Uni at 22 with no life experience can be a big risk.

 

Regarding location, Liverpool has many CGI studios, some might just be hidden away more than others. There's also Manchester which isn't far at all on a train, again with plenty of studios.

[ahmeds]

I completely agree with you guys about expanding my search, but my circumstances require me to stay here a while longer, which is why I'm stressing about creating a portfolio that's too good to turn away, if there ever was one.

 

Dean, it's the DWG files images that are overwhelming, all those yellow, purple, green, blue lines are a bit difficult for me to understand and I have been sort of avoiding even looking at them. I can model from a simple black and white plan drawing like the one I've attached. You're right though, I need to learn how to read them.

 

I have also included a couple of wip projects that I had started earlier this year, to show where I'm at modeling wise. The Burj Khalifa apartment is empty at the moment until I start modeling some furniture and scene accessories. I'll create a proper wip thread for these in a fortnight.

 

Best regards.