The Portfolio: An Artist's Best Friend

To become a creative professional, you will usually have to prove your skill with a portfolio. A portfolio can make or break an artist's chances of getting a job.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines a portfolio as "a set of pieces of creative work collected by someone to display their skills, esp. to a potential employer" or, interestingly, as "a range of products or services offered by an organization, esp. when considered as a business asset".

A portfolio can take the form of a CD or DVD, a booklet of reproductions, or a case of original works. It is a good idea to research the company to which you are applying to see what format they accept as well as what type of work they are looking for.

To answer some of my portfolio questions, I asked Russell Smith, a professional artist and former Arts & Technology teacher at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Q: Are there any basic rules for portfolios that artists should follow, regardless of the job they're applying for?

Russell:

• A. Put your best piece first
• B. Tailor it to the job you want (For example, if you are going for modeling, no need to put in the graphic design logo you created in computer imaging).
• C. Don't use techno music. If you can, have someone compose the music for you. There are plenty of music students. Or, find one and have them do a custom. Plus they can put it in their portfolio.
• D. Give credit where credit is due (for example if you worked on a group project and all you did was the textures, don't say you did the modeling).
• E. Have people take a look at it before you send it out (professor, artist that you admire, friends, heck, even Mom will have an opinion).

Q: Should portfolios be targeted to a specific industry/employer or be broad to show off all the artist's skills?

Russell:

• See answer B. No they should not be broad. If you graduate and don't have enough pieces, work on pieces for the type of job you want to get after graduation. The only exception is if you are applying to a small house that may need you to be more than just a modeler.

For more information, check out Russell's blog at atec2industry.blogspot.com. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook:
twitter.com/russell_smith
facebook.com/russellmania