[3D]How good does the portfolio have to be to apply at college?

#1

Hi guys,
I’m a graphic designer, who was always fascinated by 3D graphics. I decided I want a change in my career, so I figured pursuing 3D graphics is the best choice for me. Now I am doing more 3D graphics in my spare time, because I want to improve my skills and prepare a portfolio in order to get accepted at a college.

I don’t have a lot to show off yet, since I just started, but here’s my most recent modeling.

I am curious how good I have to be in order to have a chance of being accepted at a college?

#2

Different colleges have different standards.

#3

Hi Andreas,

From my experience, I can say the quality of presentation is primarily what they evaluate, the actual material much less. Considering: If you’re applying for school, obviously the work in your portfolio is not as good as you want it to be. Schools are just as aware of this.

Building a portfolio for school is a great opportunity to create the outline/blueprint of your portfolio, and then in school as you complete projects, add/replace old work with the new. Get the foundations of a portfolio in order: cv, demoreel, and breakdown sheet. Have a website that presents these materials in a user-friendly manner. It’s all presentation.

I hope I’m of some help.

#4

Interesting. Should the demoreels and breakdown go together, or should they be seperated?

#5

IMO yes there should be a breakdown in your demoreel for each project - as long as they’re not repetitive (i.e. if you have two modeling projects that used the same modeling methods, only breakdown one of them).

I’d recommend keeping the breakdowns brief, but try to get them to flow nicely/cleverly in and out of the project. There’s a balance you have to find, don’t take away from the project with something too flashy, but do enough that the breakdown is informative.

I stress presentation specifically in this regard, break it down and have it an enjoyable ‘aha’ presentation of your skillset. Professionals can’t use breakdowns because technically the workflow belongs to the company. Students don’t have this limitation, so have fun.

Edit:

If you have graphic design experience, sell that in your port too. It’s certainly a transferable skill. And pretty much everyone in FX comes from different walks of life prior to FX industry, whether it’s computer science, fine art, or graphic/web design etc.

#6

It depends on the school you’re applying to. When I’m reviewing portfolios for admissions I look for work that shows strong traditional skills and at least a basic comfort with technology. For me the ideal portfolio would include traditional drawings and paintings and some digital work. Some 3D models would be an added plus, but I would rather see strong traditional skills than a portfolio full of mediocre 3D work. The purpose of the portfolio is to make sure the potential student has the basic aesthetic abilities needed to succeed in the program.

#7

If you are applying for a Masters program, you need a strong demo reel and a portfolio. However, if you are applying for an undergrad program, most of them require a portfolio containing drawings from observation. You REALLY need to check out the admission portion of the web site for schools of interest. They will tell you what they want.

#8

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