ArtSpots Sample Portfolio Pieces

Many people have asked for examples of what kind of pieces we consider good for a portfolio. This page is an attempt to explain what we look for and why. We will go over the four fundamentals we look for—anatomy, perspective, lighting, and composition—and the extent that we feel are "the basics" of understanding.

We are more than happy to answer any questions or concerns, either on our forums in the feedback group, or through our helpdesk.

This is a wonderful example of all our criteria. The anatomy on the figure is accurate and proportionate. Notice how you get a sense of 3D shape and volume of the character based on the shadows. This is why we look for a good contrast between light and dark—it helps define shapes! Perspective, while not utilized in its most technical form, is used effectively here by overlapping elements and atmospheric perspective. Light has a solid source with reflected light from underneath. Composition is well-thought out with the character off center and the dark shapes balancing with the light. Even in a mid-to-low-key composition like this, the heavy shadows throughout are balanced by the spot of bright light on top. Notice how the bottom line of the top branch leads you to her head, which itself is a dark shape within a light area, the contrast causing it to stand out. See how all the fundamentals relate to each other? While we look for strength in some more than others, such as anatomy over lighting, knowing lighting well will help define anatomy, and knowing how light works is based on knowing perspective.

Hopefully you were not too intimidated by our first piece! In portfolios, it is good to start strong and end strong, and still keep things going good inbetween. We are not looking for the most realistic work, or even fully-finished pieces. We love sketches! In fact, not including at least one sketch in your portfolio will most likely hurt it. Even in sketches the fundamentals come into play. Notice how even while in a cartoon style, anatomy is believable and has form. You can tell the tail is leading away because of the stripes following the contour, which is part of perspective. Ellipses are used for circular forms on a flat surface (the water), which also make the raccoon seem round around the middle. Because it is a sketch, you can see some of the rough lines used to define simple 3D shapes like boxes and ovals. The duck is basically a circle and oval connected by a cylinder. We cannot over-emphasize the importance of breaking everything down into simpler 3D shapes! Do it, learn it, and if you know it you will most likely get in.

We even do not mind "white voids", as long as the characters in them are well done and some indication of placement exists. In this painterly sketch, see how perspective is noticeable in the size and space differences between shoulders and ankles? The skateboard shows converging lines as well. Even a light source has been thought about, casting a shadow into the white space and giving the piece a solidity and a surface the character is on. The patterns on the character help indicate the 3D forms which make up its body, the brown fur on the back following along the cylinder of its body and then curving around to show it is heading into the distance. You can also caricature anatomy as long as it remains proportionate. Do a Google search for sloth and see how while stylized, the anatomy is still quite recognizable.

Proportions sometimes mean more in anatomy than specific details. In this sketch, the more animalistic proportions of a mouse are kept even while he stands upright. Believability is the key! Part of this believability is, and you are going to get tired of hearing it said if you haven't already, keeping in mind the characters are 3D forms that exist in 3D space! Even while a doodle, see how the sketch lines on the legs follow their circular form—every line, every line, has a direction and purpose, moving with the contour of the figure. Dance your pencil or pen along the "surface" of the character rather than the surface of the paper. Also note, while just a doodle, it is framed nicely and given a background color, showing how even a minimal sense of composition can make a world of difference in even the simplest of pieces.

Value, value, value. If you want to do more realistic drawings and paintings, keep repeating those words to yourself. Do not be afraid to make one side of your character shrouded almost entirely in shadow. If it worked for Caravaggio, it can work for you. See how everything casts a shadow opposite the light source, which was thought about and kept in mind throughout the painting. Do not be afraid to lose details, or have "lost edges". It doesn't matter if you can render fur or feather if it is in the dark—focus most on what is in the light. Squint at this piece. Take it into Photoshop, choose Image -> Mode -> Greyscale, then Image -> Mode -> Bitmap. Select the 50% Threshold method and click OK. That's fine, we'll wait... Look at that! You can still see what is happening. It does not matter if you use paint or pencil, knowing proper shading will impress us. It is third on our list, and knowing it is a little more advanced, but we do expect to see at least some contrast and no "omnilighting," which is no defined light source. That's bad.

After all that talk about shading, value and light sources, we are going to move up the ladder again to perspective. While we consider the basics of perspective knowing where the horizon line is (yes, even if it is not visible), one and two point knowledge, this piece shows the importance of it when it comes to light sources. Even if, make that especially if, a light source is obvious, the shadows that are cast in the scene need to make sense in relation to that source. Here it is obviously behind the bluebird night-light and all shadows are direct lines to it. For added emphasis, this artist painted the lit areas in strokes that also led to the light, but that is more technique. The translucency of the bird was just a bonus, but this shows us they make observations and references from life.

If you have "a style" or a certain way you draw a character or piece, it ought to show that you know how the fundamentals as well, and that the style is a conscious choice. The anatomy here is very caricatured, but it is believable because it is proportionate and consistent! The character has a solidity because it exists in 3D space (we're back to that again!) and is firmly in their world. Notice how every line in the trees follows the contours, giving them a definite shape. We know what objects are below our line of vision and which ones are above. The lighting isn't highly contrasted, but it is enough to designate shapes and are in the right places to show that the artist knows what they're doing. The composition is also highly thought out. It may not have the same impression of work that the above rendered pieces have, but it is obvious to a trained eye that as much or more time went into this piece as did those.

Back to more "realistic" proportions. A single character sketch that shows everything we look for and yet has no background. Anatomy is solid, a nice cross between animal and human, using "dwarf" proportions to good effect. Perspective is obvious throughout in both overlapping forms and size differences between fore and background elements, with contours helping show what is extended forward and receding back. The light source is very obvious! To emphasize this, they made the background a single neutral tone, which helps to both emphasize the lit areas as well as the shadowed ones. Composition, which while we mostly look to see if thought was put into it or not, shows here in how the piece was cropped. Simple, yes, but it is not haphazard.

Again, just to remind folks—sketches and drawings, we love them! Having a page like this in your portfolio is a good thing. It may not show all the elements, but these kind of character sheets are great for showing anatomy and proportion. We can see how an artist is able to keep them consistent, even if it is entering the realm of caricature or fantasy. All the different angles show perspective, treating the character as a 3D object. More than anything, looking at this shows that the artist is aware of balance. In the action poses, you do not get the sense the cat is going to fall over, that they are in full control of their body. So, having one page like this would not hurt your portfolio, but benefit it. Having all the pieces like this though, that would not be recommended. It only shows two of the fundamentals, but it shows them very well.

Ending with that piece also serves another purpose, leading into an oft asked question: Why don't we judge applications on things like color? Color can indeed make great art. But we are not here to judge what is and is not art, only the skill at which an applicant can draw based on the fundamentals. Color, at its heart, is an artistic decision. While there is color theory and definite things you can learn to do with color to help pull your audience where you want, it is beyond the scope of what we look for. In the end it really doesn't matter beyond an artist's choice. If you still do not believe this, take oCe's The Conversation, the one at the top, into Photoshop. Choose Image -> Adjust -> Hue/Saturation, and play with the hue slider, perhaps even the saturation a little. You will see that while the color shifts, changing the mood the piece has, it does not change the drawing underneath and shows why value is more important than color. Once you have the value down, color choice is arbitrary.

Things that will most likely result in a declined portfolio:

Only side or front profiles, either of heads or entire bodies. This tells us you need to work on perspective and get more comfortable with drawing objects at various angles.
Parallel perspective lines, mis-matched perspective lines, no obvious horizon line. These do not have to be shown, but we must be able to tell where the horizon line is and if we are looking up or down based on that. Everything is subject to perspective. If you are to draw a line through the eyes of a character, one across the front edge of the nose, and over the tips of the ears, do they match proper perspective?
Not drawing figures and elements as objects in a 3D world. In order for a drawing to look believable, it has to create the illusion of 3D on a 2D plane. Perspective with a heavy dose of contours and shading are the key to this.
"Omnilighting." This is the phenomenon where there is no obvious light source and objects and figures are shaded evenly all around. Picking a light source and shading accordingly increases your chances a lot.
Trying to draw every strand of fur or hair. Focus on the shadow shapes and highlights and the fur or hair will come out more natural and result in a more realistic image.
Related to the previous point, well-rendered images on top of drawings that are off. Good rendering does not equal good drawing. We can appreciate the time that goes into a heavily rendered piece, but on several occasions more time should have been spent at the sketch stage correcting errors before applying the polish. Good rendering should be applied on top of a good drawing.
Well-drawn characters and hurried backgrounds. There have been times where having a full background has hurt an otherwise good piece, where even simple graphic shapes would have added more interest. If you are going to spend time doing the background, put the same time you did into the character or think more about composition on a page. Photographic and altered photographic backgrounds are a big negative.
Copyrighted characters/fan art. This is about your art and design, not someone else's.
Not frequenting the critique groups in the forums. We are here to help. Really! Like anything, the more studying and guided practice you go through the sooner you will improve. Think of the critique forums as a big study group. Even the reviewers put stuff up for critique, because they are constantly learning too. We are all here to help each other. You can view us as adversaries or friends. One is counter-productive, the other is not.

We hope after seeing and reading through all this, nobody is discouraged. One of the toughest things about art is realizing that it is a skill, something to be learned and practiced like any other. Part of this is realizing that our skill, all of ours, reviewers included, is always going to need improvement. We all look at our work and see every flaw—no true artist is alone in this. Nothing is ever good enough and there is always room for improvement, always being challenged or looking for challenge. This is a good thing! Look upon any critique as an opportunity, because it is how we see the holes in our skill that we missed and can practice to fill them in. We then move forward as artists, able to see a little further over the horizon... to all the holes waiting for us there.

All artwork used with permission.