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Hey everyone, wondering if I could get some feedback on my portfolio and resume. It's time to start looking for a new job and I need some more feedback on the stuff I'm handing out to people. resume: http://www.mcthrill.com/downloads/gerritt_mcgill_resume.pdf portfolio: http://www.mcthrill.com/downloads/gerritt_mcgill_portfolio.pdf For the resume I mainly need feedback on the content and writing, the layout is only temporary and will not be the final layout. As far as the portfolio, are there any projects that should be taken out? What about the order of the projects? If anyone has time to take a look, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
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Jan 28, 2011 07:04
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Thanks everybody, those responses were a big help. I'm making changes as we speak, I'll update when the next version is done.
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Jan 30, 2011 04:24
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It's always been explained to me that your cover letter should basically tell the employer why you would be the best candidate for the job, so I wouldn't assume that mentioning deficiencies would be part of that. Basically, I've heard from people that it should complement your resume, and tell the employer why you want to work for them and what benefits you will bring to the company. Go into detail and give the employer some details that they wouldn't know just from your resume. Unfortunately I don't have any examples of cover letters right now except for one that I wrote. I might as well post it here too, because I'm sure it needs some help as well. quote:Dear Mr. Olsen, Writing cover letters gets easier the more you do it. One thing I would recommend is writing a cover letter, then proofreading it the next day before you send it off again. Also, this may not apply to you, but write a new cover letter for each place oyu send to, tailor it specifically to the studio and the job posting. It also helps to find the name of the person who will be reviewing your application.
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Feb 1, 2011 19:09
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quote:Dear Sir/Madam, The biggest problem I see with this letter is that it only talks about how you will benefit from the position. You want to tell the employer how THEY will benefit from hiring YOU. Take out everything about how you will prosper and what you want to do in the company and replace it with how the company will prosper from you. Put in some details about projects you've worked on or specifics on why you would be so awesome for this company to hire. Also, I've heard that it's best to break the letter down like so: 1st paragraph: explain how you heard about the position and why you chose to apply - did you hear about it through a friend? Teacher? Website? Which website? 2nd paragraph: explain why you want to work for the company. Talk about tehri reuptation/ things they have made, and sell yourself as the guy who knows he can meet their standards. Talk about some specific points from the job posting. 3rd paragraph: talk about how some of the experience on your resume makes you a good candidate. Try to give some details about things that are on your resume / in your portfolio that they can't get from either of those. Relate those to responsibilities or qualifications in the job posting. 4th paragraph: one more sell, let them know what is attached to the email (or what will be enclosed in the envelope, if this is snail mail) and what your next course of action will be (i.e., "I look forward to hearing back from you to set up an interview or answer any questions you might have"). Sign with your name, and contact info. Keep in mind, I have yet to actually get a job from this, I am solely going off of advice other people have given me so take my advice with a grain of salt. However, one of the things that I have heard over and over again is to emphasize what the company will gain from hiring you, and make no mention of what you will gain from being hired. The company already knows that you are getting a lot out of this (insurance, benefits, prestige, salary, etc). Also, don't start with "Sir or madam," call and find the name of the person who will be reviewing your application. If you can't find out, put "hiring manager" or some more official sounding position.
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Feb 1, 2011 20:04
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A5H posted:Their names is Val so I'm not sure if they're male or female. Dammit. Can you not call the company and ask the receptionist? I've done that with different companies I've applied to, and the receptionist has always given me any information I've asked for regarding who looks over the applications.
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Feb 1, 2011 20:49
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Alright, I changed my resume text around, gave it a new design, and removed 90% of the text from my portfolio. Anyone care to give me some feedback? http://www.mcthrill.com/downloads/gerritt_mcgill_resume2.pdf http://www.mcthrill.com/downloads/gerritt_mcgill_portfolio2.pdf
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Feb 3, 2011 01:10
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A5H posted:Can anyone help me get a 40mb PDF down to 3mb?! what program are you making it in?
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Feb 9, 2011 15:20
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A5H posted:I built the pages in PS then exported them as jpegs and then build the pdf in adobe indesign. You could get smaller sizes if you only make the graphics in Photoshop and use InDesign for all your text placement (I am assuming that your PDF has images and text on the pages, if it's just images ignore this part). Under file - export, choose PDF and click save. Once the settings page comes up, click on the compression option and change all the numbers to 150. This forces indesign to downsample the images from whatever resolution they were imported as to 150 DPI, which means a smaller file size. The downside to this is that it won't print very well. If it's still to large, you can try 72 DPI but your viewer won't be able to zoom in without getting pixelated images. Also, I wouldn't export JPGS from photoshop for this - save your pages as a lossless, print-ready format like TIFF or PSD and let InDesign handle all the compression at the end. The big thing is to use indesign for what it was made for - laying out text and graphics together, don't use photoshop for text.
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Feb 9, 2011 15:34
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Operation Juicebox posted:So this being the school advice thread and all, are there any UK goons who could possibly answer some questions? Essentially, I'd like to get better with my illustration. I've been drawing for ten years now and I really feel like I've hit the absolute peak of what I can learn on my own. I am dyspraxic and dyslexic and I do not learn very well from the 'read tutorials online' approach. It's been been mentioned to me before but I am seriously interested in going back to school for an illustration course, but I don't know where to begin. There are so many things I do not know, not just about the technical side of drawing (I just cannot figure out how to digitally paint, my anatomy is out to lunch unless I'm drawing breasts, I avoid lighting because I just don't understand how it works) but about the academic side too. The way I see it, there's two definite advantages to taking classes - one is that you can learn from someone who is (hopefully) more accomplished than you, which will help you unlearn bad habits and avoid forming new ones, and the other is that classes force you to dedicating time and effort to completing projects. If you're not motivated to put in time or willing to listen to what the instructor has you do, then you won't really gain anything from class. I have a question. I recently (about a week and a half ago) completed an art test for a potential employer. I have not heard back from them yet, and while I realize that it may take some time, I would at least like to know if they received my files (NOTE: I have checked my sent folder and the files did indeed make it out of my outbox). Would it be in poor form to send a thank-you note to the art director, who gave me the test? I realize it's customary to send thank-you letters for job interviews, but I don't know if it's appropriate here as we have only talked via e-mail. Should I send a thank-you e-mail or just keep waiting?
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Mar 14, 2011 03:59
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I don't have any hard statistics but I know of at least a couple people who got hired on long-term after doing freelance work for studios. If you really want to work at the studio, I would say take the freelance gig and prove that you can do good work. About a third of the design positions I looked at on Craigslist while I was looking for a job said "Freelance with the opportunity for full-time employment" somewhere in the description. A studio that is contracting out freelance work might be unnofficially looking for new hires without announcing a position until they have a good idea of who they want to offer the position to, or is so swamped with work that they will be looking for new hires soon. Not saying that any of the above is true, maybe they just need a one-time quick fix but it seems to me that you have nothing to lose by taking the freelance gig from the studio.
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May 23, 2011 23:06
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SleeplessInEngland posted:Will I not be looked down upon by future employees/universities if I walk out of an 'apprenticeship' only two months in? I really hate this but it's giving me work for my portfolio and something to put on my CV and I'm worried if I leave then it'll be a 'black mark' on my CV. Go talk to the dean of your department, and let them know what is going on with tihs company ASAP. Specifically, that you:
In the creative world many, many people try to game the system and get something for nothing. As a graphic designer, your skills have a very specific market value, and this company knows this and is taking advantage of your inexperience to get work for pennies. If you don't stick it out, you will not be blacklisted after you graduate. You don't even have to list this on your resume. No one from the college that you decide to use as references will tell anything bad about this either, when potential employers call them. You know why? Because leaving a company that is knowingly taking advantage of you is NOT A BAD THING. It is a smart thing. There are other internships available, and other design jobs available as well that will pay you MORE than minimum wage, even as a student. Have some pride in your work, you're worth more than this and if you don't stand up to this now, people are going to be lowballing you for the rest of your career.
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Dec 13, 2011 09:03
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I thought about adding a car analogy to my post but I'm glad I didn't, it wouldn't have been nearly as good as Mutata's.
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Dec 13, 2011 18:38
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Fortis posted:The thing is, I have no idea where to start. I have been doing art for the past four years but it hasn't been 'professionally'. I'm worried that I've screwed myself over by not getting into any kind of creative field shortly after school. I also have no idea where to begin, or how to start actually networking. I don't know if my portfolio is any good, or how to make new portfolio pieces if I'm not actually getting any work. I'm completely overwhelmed, and I am going to read through the thread but if anyone has advice about my situation specifically I'm sure it would be very, very helpful. Talking about your portfolio site here: make sure that whenever I click on anything, I'm greeted with images. It's super annoying to click on a section, only to be greeted with an empty box saying "click here for images." I already clicked on something for images, don't make me click twice to get to the pictures. Speaking of the thumbnails, I HATE when I'm given a thumbnail image that is so small and cropped that I can't even tell what the full image is. Take a look at this guy's site: http://www.frankstockton.com/ It's not fancy, but when you first load the site you're greeted with the dude's artwork. You should always greet people with your strongest work, and whenever they click anywhere on the site they should be greeted with more of your work. As for the illustration section in particular, the last few illustrations (from food fight on) look more like half-finished roughs than finished illustrations. Make sure that you're only showcasing the best of your work. Provide some context for each one, too - if it was classwork, what was the assignment? What parameters did you have to follow? If it was personal work, say that. Give each image some place. You misspelled San Francisco as "San Franciso" in every image title. As far as networking, I have less specific advice, I'm afraid. Keep putting yourself out there, and if you don't have any paid projects, do one for yourself. Pick an article and do an illustration for it, redesign a character for a game, basically do personal projects where you act like you're getting paid and keep putting yourself out there.
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Feb 7, 2012 20:36
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pipes! posted:You mean like Adobe Muse? Uh, I think he means Flash, the end-all/be-all of interactive design programs 
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Feb 29, 2012 22:28
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Bring a portfolio with you. Preferably in a format they can read (  ) - I had an interview once for a print job where I brought in my portfolio on a thumb drive, and they weren't allowed to use it on work computers for security reasons. My experience with design and illustration jobs is that your portfolio is the most important thing, you personality is a close second, and technical knowledge of programs, etc. is a distant third. People mainly want someone who they feel will deliver stuff on time and work well with the team.
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May 30, 2016 09:06
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It's hard to get experience in your industry of choice if it doesn't exist where you live. Most things TV and movie related (from my understanding), you have to be able to physically show up to a place on short notice as well as network face-to-face and hustle pretty hard-core in order to start getting work. You make it sound like she just came up with this idea to move cross-country out of the blue, how sudden is her desire to be a TV writer?
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Sep 19, 2016 01:17
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Waverhouse posted:I haven't given tech writing much serious thought to be honest. I have an acquaintance that works as a tech writer and when I asked him about he said he liked it well enough, but the work he described seemed not too much more interesting than what I'm doing now. I dunno if maybe there are 'degrees' of tech writing I don't know about, but I'd be interested what someone else might have to say about it. In any creative field, whether it's writing, music, illustration, or whatever, the type of work that pays the bills is almost never the type of work you'd prefer to be doing. Switching to being a freelancer doesn't mean you get to spend your days doing what you want and getting paid for it, it means you get to do varying degrees of what you love for clients who may or may not have an appreciation for the amount of work that goes into what you do. As far as getting published, that's a whole other ballgame in and of itself. I'd recommend reading Query Shark for a little bit of an insight into what it takes to get something published - there's an expected form to follow, and you're also competing against 100's of 1000's of other people who have the same idea as you - that you can just "be a writer" and make a living off it. The number of writers who make a living solely off of novel sales is very tiny. The number of those who made it big on their first novel and first foray into writing is a tiny fraction of that. I'm not making this point to discourage you but you seem to be really, really, really underestimating the amount of work and time it will take to make a career out of writing the way you want.
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Oct 11, 2016 08:33
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Doredrin posted:I haven't really done anything in a while that is worth showing. Right now I am working on making a 3d animation of "loss.jpg" that I will hopefully complete in the next few months. I don't mean to take the air out of your sails or anything but, kedo posted:This probably won't get you a job. Try and do some work that stands on its own and isn't based on a niche internet meme, you'll get more mileage out of it. To put it another way, I don't know that there's any place in a professional portfolio for work that exists solely to make fun of another creative professional's work, no matter how much the work in question deserves to be made fun of.
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Nov 3, 2016 22:06
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A good live example of your web design work is your portfolio, how does that site look and how much work have you put into the design of it?
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Jan 25, 2017 22:03
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mutata posted:If "live" just means "usable on the Internet" then it's time to get some hosting and domains and put your projects up where you can control them. I was coming back to say this. If you still have the source code for all your web design work, give each one a subdomain on your portfolio site and host a couple sample pages (with all legally-required stuff removed). You could also do a skin for something like https://www.csszengarden.com the HTML and CSS files are open source and would be a good place to show off your web design chops without any legal problems hosting it as your own work.
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Jan 26, 2017 13:32
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Like above, I thought the intro and the outro looked like a preset you would find in iMovie. The ice effect and fire effect on the virtus.pro logo was confusing to me - are the two logo variations what you are shocasing in this emo reel, or did you create the fire and ice motion graphics treatment for a client and THAT is what you are showcasing here? if the former, consider changing the ice, as it suffers from the same preset problem as your intro/outro. I can't tell exactly what you're showcasing here. Are you responsible for the logo design, the motion graphics, the t-shirt designs, or what? Why do you have a clip of T-shirts just sliding into place? If you're showcasing the motion graphics you did, that section is really unimpressive. If you're showcasing the t-shirt designs, they're too small to see and also not that interesting to look at. There's also a lot of direct capture footage of a game where there's not much evidence of your involvement, I would stick to the shots where you integrated text or other graphical elements into the footage. Overall the general feeling I walk away with is confusion. I don't know exactly what you're responsible for creating in each project, and aside from Fragadelphia I don't know which clients you worked for or the scope of your involvement on a project.
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Apr 12, 2017 11:16
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veni veni veni posted:To be clear on the Pseudonym thing, I meant I was considering using one for my personal art and using my real name for any freelance work I'd pick up. Not the other way around. It's corny but I have always kind of wanted to use one, but if it's a really bad idea I'm not married to it. Almost all of my freelance work has come from friends, or former coworkers. Talk to everyone you know even tangentially related to your field an let them know you're looking for work. If there are meetups or conferences in your area start heading to those and talking to people in person. Personal networking. Of course you should decline work that's not in your field of expertise. If I said "yes" to every person who wanted me to do web design my portfolio would be full of crappy websites and unhappy customers. Learning to say "no" to work not suited to you, or to a customer you know is going to be a problem, is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a freelancer. In regards to what to charge, that is the eternal question that freelancers always seem to ask themselves. The answer is really pretty complicated, an something that you'll have to figure out on your own as you go. A lot of it depends on where you live, an illustrator/graphic designer in New York, NY will make, on average, a lot more than one located in Boseman, MT. Talk to some other creative types in your area and see what they usually charge. Personally, I have a target hourly rate and try to budget projects around that. Most clients will rather pay a flat fee instead of an hourly rate, so there's a lot of estimation on your end for about how many hours a thing will take, plus time for revisions. No matter what you end up charging, I'd recommend putting in the contract an up-front fee, and incremental payments at different stages rather than one lump sum. If you or the client has to bail, you at least have payment for the work you've on up to that point.
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Apr 19, 2017 09:23
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I was extra stupid and decided to start my freelance illustration career right as I moved to a foreign country with a different language, the only way I was able to successfully do that was because I had some business contacts in the US who were able to give me a solid 20 hours/week of work on some long-term projects. I still don't know if successful is the word to describe my situation, but between my wife and I we're able to pay the bills and we're welcoming a child into our lives later on so I suppose we're OK. The big nerve-wracking things about freelance, though, are A. inconsistent income from month to month, and B. taxes and lack of paid time off (at least if you're stateside, we get some tax breaks and paid parental leave where I am). About a third of my income comes from graphic design, and of the illustration gigs I have about 70% of them are for things I don't have an interest in or have a huge passion for. The big thing to keep in mind before going the freelance route is that projects that excite you, and that are really fun to work on, aren't a given. Most of the time, especially in the beginning, your bills will be paid by the illustration equivalent of being a cubicle worker. You have to be OK with that beforehand, or you'll be hugely disappointed in the long run.
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Apr 22, 2017 16:43
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Neon Noodle posted:C. Motherfucking health insurance. Ahh. Right, that one should have been up at the front of my list. One of the only reasons I'm able to do freelance for a living is that I live in a country that isn't actively trying to kill people below the poverty line.
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Apr 24, 2017 18:10
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I can't remember who it was who noticed the big indie comics community in Canada being made possible by glorious 
single payer. Thank your lucky stars daily if you are not an American!
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ijyt posted:I got banned and forgot to reply, but I've gone part-time at my current job because my bosses are great and understanding, so I'm currently hopping between Schoolism, Scott Robertson and Proko videos, about 4 hours a day + weekends. In terms of what art, Super cool that your employer is being supportive of your goals. I've had employers like that in the past, and I am so incredibly grateful to them for giving me the opportunities to flex my skills. As far as what you want to do, you should try to figure that out sooner rather than later. There's a lot of overlap in skills for visual creative jobs, but each one also requires specialization and the longer you wait to dive into the specifics (the things each job needs besides "knowing how to draw") the harder it will be to stand out. The two jobs you mentioned, animator and creature design, are really different, with totally different skillsets and even working hours/conditions, especially depending if you are talking about 2D animation, 3D animation, movies, TV, or games. It would do you good to learn more about the working conditions and job security present in the fields you're interested in, lots of people think animation sounds cool but don't realize that an animation job usually comes with tons of overtime, burnout is incredibly high among animators.
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May 6, 2017 15:43
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. It's too early for me to know what I want, but I think creature design might be fun, animation too.
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Nessa posted:So, it looks like unpaid internships in my province are only legal if they are part of a school program, otherwise interns must be paid minimum wage. So uh, not to burst your bubble a second time around but: sites like Upwork, Freelancer, etc. are generally pretty lovely for getting work if you live in an industrialized nation and don't have some kind of advantage. They are populated with the type of clients who turn to anonymous websites to get their work done (read: clients who do not know enough about what they want to talk with a real designer, clients who want something done as cheaply as possible with no other consideration etc.). You are also competing to undercut your fellow graphic designers, which ultimately only devalues your own profession. Finally, unless you have some hidden advantage you will be routinely outbid by designers in India or China who will gladly work for 1/10th of what you can afford. These sites can be OK to get $50 to $100 bucks to cover a shortfall every month, but overall they are just populated by a ton of people racing to the bottom of the barrel. My advice for finding work on Upwork, etc.: Search for "identity design," "branding," "brand design," an similar terms instead of "logo design." This will at least put you in touch with clients who understand a bit more about business and marketing than your average client.. Find some advantage that would make people hire you over a cheaper 2nd- or 3rd-world designer. My wife has several regular customers from Upwork, simply because she speaks German and searches out German-language ads. The ease of dealing with a German speaking designer instead of both speaking a second language trumps the other savings for them. My advice for finding work outside of the freelance website hellhole: Network, network, network - over 90% of my freelance work has come from friends, former/current co-workers, or other professionals in my industry. Go to meetups, hang out on forums, join slack channels, whatever you can do to get yourself out there. If you find yourself with downtime and no paid work, do a small project pro bono. Find a non-profit you support and offer a certain amount of your time and skills for a project, you can write a bill for this detailing the monetary value of your donated time, and get a proportional tax benefit. This is not calling up a company and offering to work for free, you are legally recording time you donate with the expectation that you'll get a tax break from the government later on. (Note: I have never personally gone this route, I have only had a couple acquaintances do this in the US. YMMV) For entry or near entry level positions, go ahead and have a couple of your best school projects in there. gmc9987 fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Jun 13, 2017 |
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Jun 13, 2017 23:28
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Nessa posted:I was looking at other jobs as well, but those admin jobs with minor graphic design roles all seem to want degrees in administration and at least 5 years experience in an administrative position (but they still want you to be a MASTER of all Adobe products). Looking at a variety of other entry level positions, they all seem to require highly specialized training and experience that I simply don't have. Many of the more intimidating-sounding job requirements (X years of experience, master in Photoshop, etc.) are more to help keep completely unqualified people from wasting HR's time than actual requirements for the job. For example, many jobs being offered at startups in the SF Bay area say they require 5 years of experience in technology that is less than 2 years old. Granted, there's a lot of bay area tech-startup hubris involved as well, but the point still stands. If you feel you could reasonably do the job advertised but you only have 3 years experience instead of 5, apply anyway. The only hard and fast thing that should keep you are if they require certifications. Also, network network network. Knowing someone who works at a company will do wonders for helping to get an interview. EDIT: Also, welcome to being a graphic designer/creative in the midst of the booming gig/sharing economy. It's a blast.
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Jun 14, 2017 20:21
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Nessa posted:I'm wondering if it's expected to work on site in this kind of role, or if working remotely is more common, with meetings with clients as necessary. These seem like good starting questions, if they weren't addressed in the original job posting. If you are expected to work on-site, I'd also ask about what sort of workstation they provide, or if you'd have to schlep your computer back and forth. Other good question subjects include chain of command (who will you be reporting to and working with), payment rate and frequency, what sort of materials or perks they offer for their workers (even if you're working from home, they may have a corporate Adobe account that gives you access to the most up to date versions of software), and if you will be interacting directly with clients or not. Good luck on the second interview!
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Sep 27, 2017 09:46
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Internet Kraken posted:So I'm having a pretty big dilemma right now and I'm looking for all sorts of advice. Might as well try here. Saying, "I want to get a job in art," is too general for any real practical advice. It's like saying you want to get a job driving vehicles - do you want to be a long-haul trucker? A delivery person for UPS or Fedex? A tank navigator in the army? A NASCAR driver? The types of jobs available may all build on the same base skills but they all specialize heavily, requiring you to pick a discipline and stick with it for a while (both in school and after) until you've achieved a skill level high enough to make a living on it. As such, here is the best advice I can give you based on your general desire to make a living from art:
If there's a specific field you want to enter we can give you some better advice but above is what I would tell anyone looking to enter a career in art.
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Nov 27, 2017 12:41
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I dunno, do you already have an audience or following on YouTube? What are your savings like? How long can you survive before you have to turn a profit or starve? Do you know what would make people excite about your videos, or what your "hook" is? If you want any sort of detailed answer you need to provide a little more info my friend, but my opinion is - whether I would say yes or no depends on how well prepared you are and how much research you've done into both careers, and how prepared you are (in terms of youtube) to take a year or more where you don't generate that much money an build up your audience (this is assuming that you're starting from scratch, and don't already have a popular channel that makes you money).
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Dec 20, 2018 19:30
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