Portfolio advice from industry professionals

This page collects portfolio advice from people who hire, review and teach game artists, with a link to each source. Roles and credits are given only as each source states them. Quotes are exact and short; follow the links for the full advice.

For how to apply this advice, read portfolios, planning a portfolio piece and making (and reading) an art breakdown.

#At a glance

#Artists and art directors

#Jared Sobotta (Naughty Dog)

Role: his ArtStation calls him "Principal Environment Artist @ Naughty Dog" (ArtStation: CGSociety Interview "How to Make a Stunning…); CGMA lists him as Principal Environment Texture Artist at Naughty Dog since 2015, with credits including The Last of Us Part II, Uncharted 4 and Star Wars: The Old Republic (CGMA: Jared Sobotta).

Advice: his portfolio links a CGSociety interview, "How to Make a Stunning Portfolio", which offers "some of my tips and tricks for the aspiring Environment artists" (ArtStation: CGSociety Interview "How to Make a Stunning…). On Polycount it was recommended as a "MUST READ" for game portfolios (Polycount: What is the best way of showing my work…). The article itself is written in his voice and introduces him as an Environment Texture Artist who has worked at White Moon Dreams, BioWare and Naughty Dog (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…). Its main tips:

• One profession, few pieces. "It's important to stick to one profession", and "1 or 2 very well made environment pieces will be better than 6 mediocre pieces any time" (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…).
• Finished work first. "Completed work should be what your portfolio primarily consists of"; keep work-in-progress on community sites, and "Put your best art first" (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…).
• Aim at the studios you want. Cater the portfolio "to the types of games you would like to work on" (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…).
• Be original. Skip the barrels, crates and red brick walls everyone makes; build a small scene around a focal object instead, such as an antique phone on a cluttered desk, and credit concepts and tutorials you used (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…).
• Composition, scale and light. A clear focal point, rule of thirds, foreground, midground and background, strong silhouettes, a character-sized scale reference, checking texel density in the engine early, and a scene that is "bright enough" to read on several calibrated screens (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…).
• Presentation. Post-processing used subtly, renders of at least 1920 × 1080 (he renders finals at 3K or 4K), plain backdrops, name and contact small in a corner, and process material (fly-throughs, wireframes, texture and material breakdowns) placed after the finished shots (CGSociety: How to Create a Stunning Portfolio with Jared…).

Learn from his work: his "River Rock Breakdown" for The Last of Us Part I is a well-structured breakdown: overview, sculpt, ID masks, Substance Designer layering as GIFs, Marmoset renders and "Finally, the in-game outcome" (ArtStation: River Rock Breakdown). 80 Level featured it, with his own description of his role (80 Level: Breakdown: Setting Up River Rock in The Last…). See making (and reading) an art breakdown.

Links: http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/3027/how-to-create-a-stunning-portfolio-with-jared-sobotta (free) · https://jaredsobotta.artstation.com/projects/3x96A (free) · https://www.artstation.com/artwork/AlkYEq (free) · CGMA course "Vegetation and Plants for Games" (paid; CGMA has paused new classes) (YouTube: Vegetation and Plants for Games With Jared…).

#Jeremiah Estrellado (Massive Entertainment)

Role: Lead Environment Artist with 13 years in the industry, who has mentored an online art community for four years (Massive Entertainment: My Top 5 Portfolio Tips – Art).

Advice: five tips: show the role you want, stay consistent ("A lot of it is also about consistency within your work"), focus on art over tool demos, make thumbnails count, and keep work in progress on a blog because "Your portfolio should be a place for finished work to show the world" (Massive Entertainment: My Top 5 Portfolio Tips – Art).

Link: https://www.massive.se/?p=9303 (free). He also appears, as Jeremy Estrellado, in an ArtStation live portfolio session with Respawn senior environment artist Alex Beddows and art director Jacob Norris (ArtStation Magazine: ArtStation Live Event: Building a Games…).

#Dion Rogers (Blizzard Entertainment)

Role: Art Director on Overwatch and Overwatch 2, at Blizzard for over 15 years, with work on Heroes of the Storm and World of Warcraft (Activision Blizzard Newsroom: Land a Job in Video Games with More Portfolio…).

Advice: only your best work, since "ok, but not great" pieces reflect on your judgement; "five to 10 pieces of your best work" if you are not yet employed, ten to fifteen shipped pieces if you are; captions of "no more than two or three sentences"; "show your process and reference"; and never take credit for others' work (Activision Blizzard Newsroom: Land a Job in Video Games with More Portfolio…).

Link: https://newsroom.activisionblizzard.com/p/blizzard-dion-rogers-videogames-jobs-portfolio (free).

#The GDC 2019 "Killer Portfolio" panel

Who: Greg Foertsch, Moby Francke (Riot Games), Gavin Goulden (Insomniac Games), Claire Hummel (Valve), Wyeth Johnson (Epic Games) and Alison Kelly (Alison Kelly Consulting) (GDC Vault: Killer Portfolio or Portfolio Killer Part 1…).

Advice: ArtStation Magazine's summary lists ten tips, including Goulden's "A good portfolio reduces friction", Foertsch's "The first thing I look at is the portfolio", and "Be clear and honest with what you're responsible for in a collaborative project" (ArtStation Magazine: Top 10 Portfolio Tips for Game Artists). Johnson recalled hiring an environment artist with only three strong pieces (ArtStation Magazine: Top 10 Portfolio Tips for Game Artists).

Links: https://gdcvault.com/play/1026103/Killer-Portfolio-or-Portfolio-Killer (free on GDC Vault) · https://magazine.artstation.com/2019/03/games-portfolio-top-10/ (free).

#Dekogon Studios and Dylan Abernethy

Who: Dekogon describes itself as an artist collective focused on environment art and asset production for AAA games (ArtStation: Dekogon Studios). Dylan Abernethy is a senior environment artist who has worked on Far Cry and Gears (ArtStation Magazine: Prepare For Your Environment Art Test With…).

Advice: their ArtStation Learning "Environment Art Test" series tackles "one of the biggest challenges artists entering the industry face: the art test", with a mock art test breakdown and the key points Abernethy looks for in candidates (ArtStation Magazine: Prepare For Your Environment Art Test With…). Their environment production series is a good model for production-like portfolio pieces.

Links: https://magazine.artstation.com/2022/11/environment-art-test-with-artstation-learning/ (free article; courses on ArtStation Learning, pricing not stated) · https://www.artstation.com/learning/instructors/dekogon-studios.

#Beyond Extent

Who: a community site offering weekly blogs, monthly team and solo challenges and free environment art tutorials (Beyond Extent).

Advice: Beyond Extent does not, as far as the handbook could find, publish a dedicated portfolio guide. Its challenges and tutorials are useful for building pieces, for example its long video on planning modular kits (YouTube: The easiest Way to Create Modular 3D Kits…).

Links: https://www.beyondextent.com/ (free) · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77xPHfzciiY (free).

#Joyce Jiao (The Rookies)

Role: no job title given; she was freelancing while making the Rookies piece described (The Rookies: Tips for Creating a Piece for Your…).

Advice: a four-week piece built by breaking down the concept, budgeting time per asset, using Megascans for texturing, and blocking lighting early because "the brightest part in a visual is usually the focal point" (The Rookies: Tips for Creating a Piece for Your…).

Link: https://blog.therookies.co/2023/08/28/tips-for-creating-a-piece-for-your-environment-art-portfolio-within-scope-and-time/ (free).

#Studios and recruiters

#Riot Games: internship study guide

Who: written by Christian "DrCurls" Suero, with quotes from former Riot interns (Riot Games: Portfolio Tips & Advice: Riot Games…).

Advice: "Tailor your portfolio to the specific craft you are interested in"; put the best relevant work first; curate rather than include everything; show process as well as final renders. Fan art, coursework and game jams are all acceptable (Riot Games: Portfolio Tips & Advice: Riot Games…).

Link: https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/art-portfolio-tips-internships-study-guide-riot-vol-3 (free).

#Jay McDougall (Skillsearch)

Role: Principal Recruitment Resourcer at games recruiter Skillsearch (Skillsearch: Pyxel-Perfect Portfolios #2: Environment Art).

Advice: show what you actually do ("make sure that your profile represents what you spend your time doing"), stack each scene's images in one ArtStation post, and keep it current because "In a AAA space especially, your most recent projects are likely to be the most relevant" (Skillsearch: Pyxel-Perfect Portfolios #2: Environment Art).

Link: https://www.skillsearch.com/news/item/perfect-your-environment-art-portfolio (free).

#Requirements in a studio listing

A Sucker Punch Productions listing for a Staff Environment Artist asked for a "Portfolio of work demonstrating strong proficiency as an Environment Artist", "Five or more years of professional experience", and stated "A portfolio review is required" (Hitmarker: Staff Environment Artist). Reading real listings for your target role is the quickest way to see what to show.

#Level designers

#The Level Design Book

Advice: an unfinished but direct page: "register your own domain" if you can, "say what you are at the top", "don't write too much", include "3-5 screenshots and a short video" per project, and keep the CV to "1 page at most" (The Level Design Book: Level Design Portfolio). It links example portfolios by Anthony Panecasio and Magnar Jenssen.

Link: https://book.leveldesignbook.com/learning/projects/unfinished-wip-pages/level-design-portfolio (free). See also level design and environment art.

#Community critique

Polycount's forums are where working artists critique portfolios in public. Useful threads:

• "Environment Artist Portfolio Tips" (2020) — a junior's portfolio critiqued in detail, including "too clean and clinical" and "just needs more game focused scenes" (Polycount: Environment Artist Portfolio Tips). https://polycount.com/discussion/comment/2728309 (free)
• "Portfolio with various skills of expertise" (2018) — Eric Chadwick on specialising: "If you're aiming for big studios, then specialization is key" (Polycount: Portfolio with various skills of expertise). https://polycount.com/discussion/comment/2626629 (free)
• First-job portfolio thread (2021–2023) — on Megascans in portfolios: "It matters that you are transparent and honest" (Polycount: I'm an 3D Real-Time Environment Artist…). https://polycount.com/discussion/comment/2753788 (free)
• "What is the best way of showing my work online?" (2017) — ArtStation versus other hosts, and screenshots versus Marmoset renders (Polycount: What is the best way of showing my work…). https://polycount.com/discussion/comment/2560905 (free)

See also communities and critique.

#Further reading and watching

• game art breakdowns: a curated library — the handbook's library of AAA breakdowns to learn from.