An artist reached out to me about sending their comic portfolio. I don't have time for in-depth critique, but was willing to see what they were capable of. The work was okay, but there were also a lot of common mistakes, so let me signal boost some general advice- - ThreadSky

jimzub.bsky.social • 3 days ago

An artist reached out to me about sending their comic portfolio. I don't have time for in-depth critique, but was willing to see what they were capable of.

The work was okay, but there were also a lot of common mistakes, so let me signal boost some general advice-

Comments

rvtinkertraveler.bsky.social•3 days ago

Nice share.

Sems cartoon is the thing right now or at least all I'm seeing.

fifthacecomics.org•3 days ago

📌

theorobartist.bsky.social•3 days ago

I’ll check my portfolios for these. Don’t have a post thread about how to get portfolios in front of hiring editors out of the con scene?

snowy-11.bsky.social•3 days ago

reality check
but i HATEE REALITYYYYY

edendeleon-art.bsky.social•3 days ago

@keiserarrieta.bsky.social Creo que te podría interesar esto

lowattage.bsky.social•3 days ago

📌

drawlypsy.bsky.social•3 days ago

Thank you! This is really helpful and in depth. You did a good job laying all this out and I feel less nervous about building a portfolio.

figueiredojames.bsky.social•3 days ago

Thank you, this is a very helpful thread! Definitely gonna put a 📌 on it!

olessart.bsky.social•3 days ago

One thing that made John Romita Sr's Spider-Man so awesome, Spidey wears a mask so you can't see his facial expressions, Romita Sr. used Spider-mans hand/finger positions to convey emotions. Genius.

jumpcity.bsky.social•3 days ago

📌

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

About 1/3 of the portfolio was unfinished work - roughs for illustrations or incomplete pages.

If the best work you have to show right now, the work that represents your skills, is not complete, you are not ready to present that portfolio - full stop.

goonandgander.bsky.social•3 days ago

The here’s my novel, but it’s a handful of napkins and scribbled notes.

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

I know you're eager, I know you want this, but the first impression that gives the client is that you do not finish things and may not finish projects you're assigned.

It also makes it clear that you don't have enough pro quality work right now to present 10-12 finished pieces!

sacredsapling.bsky.social•3 days ago

This point is so interesting! I was always taught that 1/3rd sketches/unfinished was *essential* because all art directors want to know your work process. Has that changed in recent years?

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

If you have 12+ finished pieces in the portfolio and want to include a few process shots on a couple of them or link to process recordings, that's fine. In this case the artist only had roughs for 1/3 of the portfolio, meaning that the work was not finished.

sacredsapling.bsky.social•2 days ago

Gotcha, that makes sense! I wasn’t sure if the 12 was an employer-imposed limit or their choice.

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

If you want to work in comics, that also means you need finished comic pages - line art that looks 100% ready for coloring/lettering.

This person had a couple good pages in terms of layout, but the quality of finished line varied wildly.

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

Yes, you will improve through practice and experimentation, but those experiments aren't always portfolio pieces.

You should strive to show an editor/art director professional consistency in your samples, especially when the goal is them taking a chance on someone new.

snohwie.bsky.social•3 days ago

I'm beginning to draw and would like to publish one day. Do you think it's better to write something small or go for a larger idea first?

aavedonpaulakroy.bsky.social•3 days ago

Do you have an email because I’m working on an script for anthology that is being published

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

For a comic portfolio, the ideal is a complete story from start to finish, even a short one, so we can see how you handle different aspects of the job (establishing location, character acting, emotional beats, action, etc.)

Random pages without context are harder to evaluate.

jimzub.bsky.social•3 days ago

This artist works digitally and included their process recordings, which was helpful for me to see how they build up a page/illustration, but also made it really clear how they rush through core skills I consider critical: gesture, anatomy, perspective construction, light and shadow plotting, etc.