Howdy folks,
The name's Morris, and I am looking for some opinions
on my on my port. I graduated 2 years ago, worked at a
couple of places last year, however I seem to be down on my
luck this year.

I want to be a character modeler, but I do draw characters on the side
to facilitate the creation process.



my website is
http://www.themindofmorris.com)
and for character descriptions
check out
themindofmorris.tumblr.com

and here are some of my recent fellows

hey ill start off by saying your stuff is cool. you have alot of really fun characters with interesting color choices.
however, if you're looking for jobs you have some issues, firstly the way you show your work in your reel is very bad. your turn arounds are all weirdly timed and you miss the front of them frequently, i never feel like i got a good look at any of the models. those small mistakes are caught by potential employers.
secondly all of your models are a very specific style, no where in any of your work do you seem to be pushing anything but what you know, this is great if you get hired to do specifically this but you need to show more things and expand/ push your limits as an artist. there is a big lack of real anatomy and gesture happening in most of your models.
thirdly, you need to pick your best 5-10 pieces and only highlight those in a very clear way. when you put old work on your portfolio that isnt up to par with the rest of your stuff it only makes you look worse. if they want to see more work they will ask. i know from experience, culling the herd is difficult but you really have to look at it in a detached non bias way, if you find flaws with stuff, cut it.
another big hole in your folio is the complete lack of texturing. you need to get good at this if you want to break into the industry today. your portfolio shows promise you just need to lock yourself in a room for 6 months and make a couple show pieces that you would see in a tripleA game today and go from there.
your 2012 works remind me of League of Legends (in a good way). i dont want you to misunderstand me on the style issue, it is good have a style, it helps if you are targeting a specific job to be doing their style but it needs to be PUSHED because what is in their game right now is what your competition is, it is not ok to just get close to them you have to be as good but in most cases better than them.
to reiterate my earlier point it is always very good to show a wide range of ability, even if you are applying to Riot it will help alot to have a realistic model in your portfolio next to all your kick ass style pieces. here is some ref for you, this guy works at Riot, aim for this and if you hit it i am pretty sure you will be inundated with offers http://cghub.com/images/view/239907/ check his entire folio look at the anatomy he displays, the clean wide range of surfaces he models and the textures he shows. this is why his portfolio is exceptional.
i hope you dont take this the wrong way, your stuff is very cool and if you didnt mention not having a job and wanting to get a job i wouldnt have been so harsh but i thought this would be more productive than storking your ego. just work hard, dont give up and you will break back into the industry in no time.

_________________
DDFTHREAD- viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5186

Thanks indeed for responding, I really appreciate the advice, the only way I really would have taken wrong was
if someone state that making death/shooter/gun based things was the only way to succeed.




Indeed, I was thinking of making a new reel, that one was from 2010; however I am never sure if I have the right
components or the right models as you stated before hand.


I wanted to also state that I am not trying to stagnate,
I just model ideas that I come up with or characters that I have drawn
I am not actually trying to stick to one certain thing you know?

As for variety someone once told me that it would be a good idea to model someone else's characters
to prove that I could do the whole pipeline thingy; so I actually promised an online pal that I would do
one of his human characters. (also that would help with the texture thing)

Also I was planning to make this cuckoo clock that I found online for item's sake




About texturing, I was one for texturing awhile ago.
However I wanted to try the toonshade, and it seemed to go well

I just had a really bad experience with this model

when I tried to make everything from scratch in zbrush as apposed to starting with base meshes
People were complaining that things were either not textured enough or had too much texture, that was no good.

To tell you the truth, most of the games I play seem to have things in either solid color or really shiny textures
(I take most of my influence from mario, and other nintendo games) Half the time I am not really sure where to texture
without over doing it you know?



I was really trying to get into retrostudios this year, however things don't seem to be working
out. I barely have been able to contact that studio. Riot seems to be a viable option as well,
(at this point I just want to leave the hell hole town that I am currently residing in)

Also I am not sure this email application method is working either you know?

Someone also suggested that I model some Nintendo characters that had never been in 3D before to try to go there,
riot studios does seem like a viable option though. You really think I could jump in again with ease?

also I made this today


but I am not sure if it is up to par or if people will like this one.

Ok, so I shaved the portfolio down to a couple of pieces.

I also began this character based upon an online friend's design
Not sure how I am going texture this one though, would it be acceptable to
do meshes textured individually?

that texturing you have there isnt texturing. you need to really sit down and look at how things get textured and try to understand coherent proper thought out materials.
here are some examples
http://cghub.com/images/view/235116/
http://cghub.com/images/view/236388/
http://cghub.com/images/view/236127/
you can even find how to texture things proper in the concepts, look all over this forum, here is the thread right below yours
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5612 your textures should look like that. really nailing what things are suppose to look like.

toon shade will never cut it. and about what to model specifically, if you're stuck as for what to model next toys are usually a good idea, its almost cheating but it really helps to make a folio better and solve alot of issues quickly. you look like you're concepting in the modeling process which is great for learning how to be creative but thats a long ass difficult journey to learn both design and 3d at the same time so if you need some direction heres mine; find a cool toy, post the pictures of it here or in some work in progress thread somewhere and try to match it exactly so people can help you along the way. the stuff you're posting and in your folio is less helpful because they are just you're random creations and so abstract in some cases that they are uncritable and unevaluateable to people posting in a WIP forum or to a future employer

the guy you posted in your last post is a step in the right direction, i am not sure what you mean by texturing in pieces, do it whatever way you want just make it look great. however, id keep working on making him better before you think about texturing. things like his hands/wrists being too small, his collar bone is way to much of a V shape it should be a subtle S shape and his traps have a bump in it, traps usually are one muscle the way you have it looks like 2, his neck could use more fleshing out.
doing some boring realistic anatomy studies might really help you to get a slightly better grip on these things and show potential employers you can do a realistic humanoid chars. as well as these stylized characters.

having said all that, dont freak out and think you have to stop doing your sweet fun characters and dont feel like you have to ask a forum what your next move should be. when people crit the shit out of my things i use to get anxious and try to do everything everyone was saying right away, id start asking way too many questions, stress myself over it, not trust my own instincts ect., my best advice to you is dont stress out over it, dont overthink it, dont be in a rush, think carefully, slowly, and confidently about what the next thing you want to do is then aim high with it.

_________________
DDFTHREAD- viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5186

Sorry to be a bother, and I do not want to seem rude or like someone who isn't one
who takes crits; but a few of the statements said a above "rustled my jimmies" so to speak.

1. I REALLY get miffed when folks say my characters are "random" or they don't know
what they are. I take time to insure that each one is ironic or based on a play on words.

As for their appearance, does it really seem that hard to distinguish what they are?
Ship, beehive, robot, puppets, submarine, cloud fellow, it's not that abstract; things like this
would fit in well in a Nintendo game or something similar.

Seriously, show this to a kid or someone who
isn't into the medieval games, death/gore/gun deals, or folks who aren't obsessed with being super mature
they'll know what they are...

Also you yourself seem to be making things that are way stranger (that isn't a bad thing); that's what really gets me it seems as though others can be abstract, yet I am forbidden.

Also it seems like you are saying "throw everything out" and that my endeavors thus far were no good
and I should re place everything with certain things if I am going to succeed in life. That cannot be.

2. The texture types you posted, the first one seems good, but it looks like it's origami
I'm not a fan of that look, when things are textured that way (or seem jagged), they look very "flimsy"
like if you poured a glass of water on it, I'd wilt over.

I take my example of things like
http://www.mariowiki.com/File:Cloud_Mario.jpg
http://www.mariowiki.com/File:BJ_NSMBW.png
http://www.mariowiki.com/Giga_Lakitu
when I try to think of what a character will look like or be designed like really.

Second one seems on point, however, I haven't made anything with that rough of skin
(well I have, but that one was done in 2009)

The third is not what I am trying to achieve wholesale, I really don't like those games at all,
the people who do like those/ make those don't like me either. I am not trying to go for woodland,
or gory based things, that is not my mission objective. I am one for studies, and other such,
but not that, texture seems to be on though. I am not sure.


I shall continue working on this one though and fix the things you mentioned

ah internet is a bad place for communication some times.
let me clarify some things, when i said random i meant we do not know your intent, you could have made the sweetest stylized submarine in the world perfect to the picture in your minds eye but we have no way of knowing that, Like i said, looks cool, but we have nothing to compare it to we do not know how successful you were. when you do it closer to things that already exist it is easier to evaluate your skill.

so your second concern.... me knowing what the models are (ie a submarine being a submarine) has nothing to do with anything. i get you were making a stylized submarine....ok i can make a submarine that you know is a submarine in 5 seconds on my draw something app

as to you not liking my examples, sorry, i mean that guy made a badass game model, its a solid design and solid execution. he got front page on cghub, you can hate on it all you want but that shit is quality. i favorited it as reference for myself. i am not a huge fan of that style but his execution was fantastic.
the references you linked here are barely textured, its lit and shaded well and its super cool. but_theres_no_texture..........

your efforts thus far have not been in vein, you are improving and that is what you take with you, just because you make a new portfolio does not mean you lose that. as to you feeling bad about throwing out all your work and starting a new folio, yeah....this is a bitter ass pill to swallow ive done it twice, id get use to it if i were you <3 you dont see carlos huante showing his sketch book from 15 years ago to ILM. you arent getting a job with that folio, im pretty sure its not because you arent applying. if its broke, fix it.

to be blunt your and my opinions and tastes mean so so little when looking for a job, and that is where my point of view came from when responding to you. you are trying to enter into a world of money and constraint, they need to know you can do it all. its more about showing the level of difficulty you can nail rather then showing people what you like to do. if you made that barbarian chick i sent you, you might hate it but i can promise you everyone would know that are more than capable of making mario riding a cloud. but if you only make mario riding a cloud i have serious doubts of you making barbarian chick.
also....the more detailed the art typically the more artists required to make a project work. its about availability, timing, and your artistic range. right now you are pigeon holing yourself. if that is how you wish to continue, fine i got nothing to gain here, go for it and good luck to you.

you dont have to make gore or whatever to make a really good reel. i thought the references i sent you were tame but take a look at this
http://cghub.com/files/Image/107001-108 ... 92_max.jpg
do you see how you know this guy can do it all? do you see how clear everything reads in a hyper stylized manner? while you are looking at that guys portfolio you should check out all his pics and see the range of badassness he shows.

and again dont let any of this discourage you, keep on truckn you will find your way whether you agree with me or not, artists gonna be artist<3

_________________
DDFTHREAD- viewtopic.php?f=44&t=5186

Aw man, I've been quite the busy fellow as of late.
Sorry I didn't respond

I've been trying to work on this one to show the structures and other such, however I am really bored
of my mind, either that or I seem to be getting drowsy for no apparent reason.
I've been trying to figure out how to add more texture to it, however nothing seems to be enough.

Here is the base.



In other news I sketched this one the other day so that I would have something complete to show.




I gotta figure this out fast so that this can can work you know?

how's that

Oh dear I was gone for awhile,
I tried out zscuplting from scratch the first time this week

also are these fellows more identifiable than the others?

Nice work. I think you need more blocks of different colours to break up different areas on your characters. The second-last colour one you posted gets illegible because his body is one big purple block, when on closer inspection it's like a vest, chest area, and collar (which would ideally be three different colours).


... if that helps??

_________________
blog: http://mcjohnstable.blogspot.co.nz/
deviantArt: http://blightedkujo.deviantart.com/

First and foremost, you are a fellow to be aspired to.
You've got the wackiest work I've seen in quite some time.



Indeed, I think I added too much purple while trying to simulate 80's flare. Perhaps I'll re-render him with a darker "spacier" theme
It seems as though these renders look different on different computers; on one the purple looks muted, and on th e other it looks much too saturated

anyway, I did some altercations to the zscuplt I made awhile ago, I thought the orginal looked unsatisfactory.
I inflated the arms for a much more cartoony feel.



nex

fixed as instructed


another fellow


same fellow in 3d


a queen


queen wip, not sure if I have the gusto to finish




a poster for a story pitch i want to pitch not much a story thus far
but here goes

Alright I finally mustered the gawl to make a story pitch
Koubalt blues-
A riveting tale of galactic conquistadors, monsters, magic, and mystique.
In an illogical pocket dimension ethereal beings called Silly Soverns seek deity status by acquiring small planetoids and molding them to their liking.

One cannot just recreate a world as they fit, no, no, they must either acquire the Cathexis Core that resides deep within a realm, or perform a series of menial tasks, or gain the favor of the general populace and assume pseud- godhood.

Recently many of the old world deities have been dying off and a new generation of silly sovern are beginning to rise to the occasion.

How does one become a Silly Sovern? Simple, one is either born into it , one chosen by the universe, or one augments themselves to be one.

Recently a newfound deity name Hivemind has been warping worlds into dismal factories for his
buzzbeat army.


w

made adjustments to that beta carrotine fellow

Redone version of the earlier one


Someone said I should make a character from a game, so I made Masamune


myself as an oni


monkey girl

monkey girl drawn


Beta Carrotine redone


Occular overlord redone