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As we make a start to 2025, I wanted to have a bit of a refresher run with this blog series, giving artists an opportunity to quickly brush over their active portfolios before starting their new job hunts. Across the board we are seeing more and more studios now actively advertising Art Roles as the industry begins its journey to recovery following on from the multitude of layoffs in 2024.
A quick reminder, internal recruitment teams will often not be experts in game art specifically, so a first viewing of your portfolio will likely be a box ticking exercise before your profile is delivered to an internal Art Lead. They will want to be able to quickly and easily identify what it is you do, how well you do it and how wide your skillsets are. Your portfolio is there to provide them with that information with as little resistance as possible, so we have assembled a quick checklist to follow that can help your profile stand out among the likely hundreds of other applicants:
1. Studios will always want to see your working.
Make sure that when arranging your portfolio, where possible, you aren’t just including a simple screenshot of your work. A games art portfolio is essentially your proof of working capabilities, so showcasing the full development process of your art, whether that covers wireframing, concepting, LODs or whatever aspects go into your specific avenue, including all of them will showcase not only your skills but your attention to detail.
2. Make your portfolio obvious upon the first glance
Typically, an internal recruiter will look through hundreds of portfolios whilst choosing the candidates they want to proceed with. This means that making your portfolio as visually obvious as possible has now become a real key aspect in creating that immediate first impression. The best ways of doing this include:
- Ensure the thumbnail for each piece of art is a clear image of the art you have created, if it’s a prop, show off the prop, if it’s a landscape, make that the centrepiece etc. - A game logo will always look more professional, but make sure it never takes up more than 10% of the thumbnail. Your art is the reason we are all here. - Ensure you detail your work in the description, especially for larger scale projects. Although it may seem like a smaller detail, listing the software and steps behind your creative steps is always a good sign. - When posting multiple aspects in an art thread, make sure they are relevant. Often it can increase your profiles WOW factor to include props & level art on different threads with their own individual working.
3. Ensure your profile is updated, both with art & your contact details
There is nothing more frustrating for a recruiter than looking through an outdated portfolio, so making sure your location, contact details and availability are all listed correctly can make a massive difference in speeding up your applications. It is also essential to keep your portfolio as updated as possible with your latest work, as soon as you can post it.
Going into 2025, there are likely to be even more candidates on the market, so making sure your portfolio sticks out from the crowd by hitting those key points immediately can drastically increase your chances of landing your dream role.
