I have been trying to build up a portfolio and break in character design (2D/3D). I studied animation in college but it has been 10 years and I never got a chance to use those skills ina professional setting. I became a graphic designer (newsletters, ads, etc.). However, it is not my passion. I really want to work in character design. I have been drawing since I was a kid. I have been studying 3D modeling in Maya and sculpting in Mudbox. I did some work in Zbrush (trial - can’t afford the real deal). I’m also proficient in Adobe. But it has been hard to know what skills/portfolio work I’m missing when I don’t have a sounding board other than myself. Plus, it seems like you need to invest unserious (expensive) hardware/software to create a portfolio that is good enough to get hired. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Struggling to gauge if my skill level with no formal training
I took a look at your site, and it’s apparent to me that the main issue you have is the clear lack of foundations as a visual artist. You’re relying stylization as a crutch, but in terms of actual fundamentals such as composition, perspective, lighting, values, form, color theory, anatomy/figure, etc., you are missing a lot of knowledge that proficient artists must have. It has nothing to do with you needing to spending a lot of money on high-end equipment/software, and has everything to do with your need for learning/training in the critical foundations as an artist.
I suggest you go and read the sticky threads in the Art Techniques & Theories subforum (linked below in my signature), and in those sticky threads, you’ll see lots of very helpful information on effective artistic development using the right approaches, instead of wasting years of your time and not really seeing significant improvements.