ArtSpots Portfolio Submission Criteria

What should you include?

Upload three to five pieces for review. What should they be? What you feel is your best work; pieces that illustrate the criteria set out below. Something to keep in mind is that, similar to a chain, your portfolio is only as strong as its weakest piece.

The pieces should be properly scanned and cleaned up, and of a reasonable resolution (within 1024x768 pixels or so). Treat this like you might if you were applying to get into a college or job. Sketches are good. Including at least one sketch will help your portfolio, leaving one out will hurt it. Even if you do finely rendered pieces, we want to see at least one sketch. But, we would also like to see at least one piece that you consider "finished." Please use recent work rather than pieces more than a year or two old. If you do not submit recent work, you will be asked to reapply. If you are reapplying, unless told to do so for a particular piece, use new pieces.

Re-read the above paragraph. If these guidelines are not followed, there is a good chance you will be asked to reapply.

We will only be reviewing the skill level of an artist. We do not care the style of which they choose, nor the aesthetic they prefer. We are not here to say what is and is not art, no. We will only determine if the artist knows what they are doing. How will we do this, you may ask?

We will examine four fundamentals: anatomy, perspective, lighting, and composition, in that order of importance.

Anatomy

Do they understand proportions, structure, musculature, and how they fit together? Are any muscles missing? Are there some new ones that science does not know about? We will look to see that everything is in place. You do not have to know the names of all the muscles (but it helps!), just as long as the general shape and proportion of an area looks right (like a thigh, or lower arm) you are okay.

Perspective

Can we tell there's a horizon line even if none is plainly visible? Do all objects respect the same horizon line? What is the eye-level? Do elements overlap and converge, and seem like they're on the same plane? It is alright if you are still working on this. Even professional artists have trouble with perspective, so we definitely do not expect you to be a technical designer. Just as long as you have a basic understanding, you are okay.

Lighting

Is there one or more definitive light sources? Are they represented properly by the shadows? I admit, this is somewhat reliant on perspective, so it is not weighted as much. Is there enough contrast? Just ask yourself, "If I squint at this, can I still tell what is happening?" Or does it still read okay if you use Photoshop to grayscale it? Do the shadow shapes make a pleasing..

Composition

How well balanced are the lights and darks? Where do you lead the viewer's eye? A good composition is nice, but I will be honest with you - artist to artist - this is not that important in our reviewing. This is, how do you say, higher level stuff. If they have a single character in a minimal space, as long as it uses the page well it is okay. No going off the page unless it is intentional. We are looking to see how much, if any, thought was put into composing the piece. But! A very good composition sense can make up for other spots that may not be so good.

Take a look at our sample portfolio for better explanations and examples, including common things that result in declined applications.

Completion and Response

Our reviewers might take around a week to review your application. This is the normal turnaround time. Some get done sooner, and a few may slip through past a week. Once done, you will receive the response via email.

After your work is reviewed, you may be provided with one of your submitted images "redlined." That is to say, gone over to show corrections and areas to improve, usually in a multitude of colors, not just red. By submitting your artwork, you are allowing a reviewer to critique it in this fashion. Be sure to read the redline portion of our FAQ. If you do not feel comfortable having this done to your artwork, you have the option to opt out.

Now that all that is said, I really, truly cannot emphasize this enough: We are not looking for industry professionals, just artists who have a basic idea of what they are doing. If you are declined, that does not mean we do not want you. We do! Just keep practicing and try to meet us half-way. The greatest thing you will ever learn, is to draw, and draw in re— wait wait, that's not it. It is to have fun!