10 Tips For a Creating a Strong Print Portfolio
Choosing the Right Work
Choosing the right work for your portfolio is often the first step and hardest part of creating a solid print portfolio. Your work should be recent and every piece should be as strong as possible. Having a variety of work is essential because it shows you are versatile, but you will still want to tailor your print portfolio based on the job you are applying too.
If the job is for a position at a magazine, then having a majority of site designs instead of magazine spreads in your portfolio might not work out for you so much, so keep in mind what job you are applying for when choosing pieces.
Organizing and Displaying
The presentation of your pieces is very important. All your pieces should be trimmed and printed out as large as possible, especially for work such as posters you want to display it as large as possible. You should also use some type of removable tape or sticky material to keep your work secure on the pages. You don’t want your work shifting around and all lopsided when you open up your book in an interview!
Starting Strong
First impressions are everything; so make sure you put one of your best pieces at the start of your portfolio. This will help wow the viewer and entice them into wanting to see more, but the catch is to make sure the rest of your portfolio is just as good! Don’t put your resume in the first sleeve, place it in the back or keep them out of the portfolio.
Portfolio Flow
There should be a good flow to your portfolio, try to find a balance between types of work, color and the strength of the designs. If you have 6 great designs and 6 good designs alternate between good and great and make sure you start with a great and end with a great design!
Portfolio Spreads
Don’t just focus on individual pages and how they look. Take a step back and see if the pages look good side by side. Try mixing and matching pieces to see which look best side-by-side. Your poster design may look like crap next to one of your site designs, but it may look great next to one of your magazine spreads. Try to keep projects together as well, avoid showing the business card for a company at the start and then the letterhead for that company a few pages later.
Ending Strong
Ending strong is just as important as starting strong, because this is the last thing that will be imprinted in the viewers mind, so you want it to be a good last impression.
Labeling Your Work
Labeling projects will help you while you talk about your work, but if you leave your portfolio behind and they look at it again, it will help them understand what each project is about. Keep the labeling short and sweet. Give it a title, describe who it was for and possibly a short sentence about the project in general.
The Amount of Work
Everyone has a different opinion about how many pieces you should have in a portfolio, but the key is finding a balance so your portfolio does not seem to short or too long. I would recommend at least 10-12 pieces, but no more then 18-20.
Practice Your Presentation
Make sure you are able to speak about each piece going over topics such as the concept, style, who it was for, what the company was about and the goal of the project. Practice talking about each project out loud and even in front of friends or family, until you are very comfortable speaking about each piece!
Other Essential Items
When you go to an interview you should bring other items besides your portfolio. Make sure to have several copies of an up-to-date resume, cover letter, business cards and if you portfolio case is expensive make sure to have a disposable portfolio to give your potential employer. You might also consider brining a CD with a PDF portfolio file on it, that is as small in file size as possible.
You portfolio is a reflection of yourself and it will be an essential part of your life as a designer. Work hard at creating it, take care of it and keep it up-to-date!
Best Ways to Find an Art Gig Post Graduation
As well as artistic talent, getting the perfect art gig requires the ability to promote your work. Following simple tips like building a portfolio or joining a professional organization can help you land the perfect job.
Simple Steps to Scoring a Great Art Gig
You know you have talent, so why does it seem like potential employers are oblivious to your skills? In addition to creativity, uniqueness, and artistic ability, making it as a successful artist requires marketing skills and the ability to persuade others that your work is the bomb. Even if you didn’t get the salesperson gene, by promoting your work and making contacts, you can score the perfect art gig. Here are a few suggestions to help you land a great job:
• Create a portfolio. A portfolio that demonstrates creativity, versatility, and competency for the type of jobs you want is a must. If you are applying for a specific job, you can customize your portfolio by adding pieces that are similar to the work the gig requires.
• Use the Web. Lots of artists have been “found” through their impressive Web sites. Creating an awesome Web site is especially important for graphic and Web designers. And don’t neglect the many sites that post available art jobs online.
• Use contacts from previous projects and professional organizations. You don’t usually find artists in polo shirts and popped collars networking at traditional mixer-type functions. Networking probably seems pretty repulsive to most artists. But the truth is that many good jobs are found through personal connections. So stay in touch with people you’ve worked with and think about joining a professional organization or social network. It probably won’t be that bad.
Another option is getting a degree or professional certification. Art school will help build your portfolio and will introduce you to other artists and teachers with professional connections. Plus the degree will add another attraction to your resume.
Source:
Artist Resource
Artist Profile: Chris Bolden
As I do with most artists profiled here, I ask the simple question. Did this artist attend art school to help refine his instrinsic talent? The question so far is unanimously, yes!
Chris Bolden has been painting since 1990. Graduating from Pasadena Art Center College of Design in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration, he immediately began working and is currently an artist on the long-running animated television series The Simpsons. He first worked on the show as a background illustrator and designer, and more currently as a color-key artist. Sources of artistic inspiration for Chris come from painters such as: N.C.Wyeth, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.
With the right training and portfolio, your opportunities in the art and design world are limitless.
Photo featured: Throwin’ Poses done in ink and watercolor on paper towel. For more great pieces by Chris, visit his site Surf Forever.com. Here’s a quick link to his Watercolor series.
Keep up the great work Chris, let’s surf soon.
For a complete list of Art Schools, visit our homepage.
Disclosure: Chris is a long time friend of mine. We spent our years in high school surfing and listening to punk rock.
Become a Snowboard Designer
Many artists dream of designing snowboards. Snowboard design is a competitive, but entering design contests or joining a snowboard design team are great ways to start.
Design for the Slopes: How to Become a Snowboard Designer
Imaging seeing your design on a snowboard that’s pulling crazy flips in the half pipe or rocking the moguls in the terrain park. Designing snowboards is one of the most specific, competitive fields of art, but it’s also one of the coolest. So how can you “clip in” to the world of snowboard designers? Here are a few ideas:
Snowboard Design Contests
Some snowboard companies have design contests– these contests are a good way to get practice designing boards, and to get free gear and lift tickets if you win. Companies offering contests include:
Prior Snowboards
Salomon Snowboards
Monson Snowboards, and many more.
Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop has a new snowboard design program that allows you to create graphics on a snowboard-size template. You can even see where the bindings will cover the design.
School
Some art schools and other colleges have snowboard design teams or clubs. For example, at the University of Toronto the snowboard design team does everything from designing and fabricating the boards to marketing and selling them. Cool.
Sources:
Adobe Photoshop
Monson Snowboards
Prior Snowboards
Salomon Snowboards
University of Toronto- Snowboard Design Team
15 Top Art Museums in Los Angeles
• J. Paul Getty Museum
With two locations in California–the Getty Villa in Malibu and the Getty Center in Los Angeles–the J. Paul Getty Museum provides public access to European sculpture, painting, drawings, and manuscripts, as well as American and European photography and over 44,000 artifacts of ancient Greek, Roman, and Etruscan culture. The center also sponsors research, publications, and educational programs.
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Founded in 1910, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art features a collection of over 100,000 pieces gathered from the ancient world as well as contemporary art studios. You can explore art from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and the largest collection of Korean art outside of the Korean peninsula. There’s also an extensive research library and Japanese garden open to the public.
• Armand Hammer Museum of Art at UCLA
Operated by the University of California Los Angeles, the Armand Hammer Museum–aka “the Hammer”–began from the personal collection of former OPEC Chairman Armand Hammer. Currently, the Hammer exhibits contemporary and historical art–from drawings, paintings, and sculpture to photographs and films. In an effort to promote the work of underrepresented contemporary and historical artists, the Hammer offers lectures, symposiums, film series, readings, and musical performances open to the public.
• Autry Museum of Western Heritage
Co-founded by film legend Gene Autry in 1988, The Autry National Center–formerly The Autry Museum of Western Heritage–now incorporates the efforts of three institutions: The Museum of the American West, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, and the Institute for the Study of the American West. Together, all three explore the art and history of the American west through a collection of art and artifacts, special exhibitions, and programs.
• California African-American Museum
Located in Los Angeles, California, the Corita Kent Art Center showcases the seriograph and silk screen artwork of Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986), a practicing Catholic nun and artist/activist. As part of the ecumenical Immaculate Heart Community, the Corita Art Center offers public exhibitions of Sister Corita’s art, educational outreach programs, and a calendar of weekly lectures and symposiums.
• Corita (Kent) Art Center
Begun in 1965 as The Egg and the Eye, an Arts- and Crafts-themed café, the Craft and Folk Art Museum exists today as a “living museum.” Although there’s no permanent collection, the CAFAM offers rotating exhibitions of folk art from around the world while inspiring contemporary craft artists of all ages through workshops, summer camps, and classes.
• Craft and Folk Art Museum
Begun in 1965 as The Egg and the Eye, an Arts- and Crafts-themed café, the Craft and Folk Art Museum exists today as a “living museum.” Although there’s no permanent collection, the CAFAM offers rotating exhibitions of folk art from around the world while inspiring contemporary craft artists of all ages through workshops, summer camps, and classes.
• Fisher Gallery at the University of Southern California
Founded in 1939, the Fisher Gallery is the accredited gallery of the university of Southern California. Dedicated exclusively to fine art, the Fisher Gallery presents exhibitions ranging from antiquities and old masters to contemporary local, national, and international artists–in addition to the permanent collection. Educational outreach programs–including lectures and symposiums–are free and open to the public.
• Korean American Museum
Established in 1994, in the West Hollywood home of Viennese architect Rudolph M. Schindler, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture offers a year-round events calendar of exhibitions, symposiums, lectures, and concerts, as well as a bi-annual residency program for eight artists and architects from outside the U.S.
• MAK Center for Art and Architecture
Established in 1994, in the West Hollywood home of Viennese architect Rudolph M. Schindler, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture offers a year-round events calendar of exhibitions, symposiums, lectures, and concerts, as well as a bi-annual residency program for eight artists and architects from outside the U.S.
• Museum of Contemporary Art
One of the largest facilities dedicated to present-day creativity, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art offers visitors a permanent collection of 2,345 pieces created since 1945. Although the permanent collection focuses on surrealism, minimalism, and conceptual photography, the MCA also offers rotating exhibitions, as well as lectures, classes, and workshops for art fans of all ages. Situated on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the MCA facility includes a 300-seat theater, terraced sculpture garden, gift shop, and restaurant.
• Museum of Neon Art
Founded in Los Angeles in 1981, the Museum of Neon Art is dedicated the promotion and preservation of fine art in the medium of electric light–specifically, the neon sign. MONA offers exhibitions of neon light and art, Neon Cruises (bus tours), and eight-week neon art workshops for prospective illumination artists.
• Skirball Cultural Center
Applauded as one of the world’s most dynamic cultural institutions, the Skirball Center of Los Angeles explores four thousand years of Jewish tradition through revolving exhibitions of rare artifacts, photographs, and interactive multimedia stations. The facility, designed by New York architect Moshe Safdie, includes a museum, revolving exhibitions of music, comedy, theatre, film, and literature, a Café, museum store, even an interactive model of Noah’s Ark!
• Southwest Museum
One of three institutions administered by the Autry National Center, the collection of the Southwest Museum is currently closed to the public while new facilities are constructed to house the museum’s over 250,000 artifacts. In the meantime, you can still visit the museum store on Saturdays and Sundays, enjoy weekend family activities–including arts and crafts and a hands-on archaeology program–or visit the Braun Reserch Library by appointment.
• UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History
Located at the University of California Los Angeles, the Fowler Museum of Cultural History consolidates the varied collections of non-western art and artifacts on the UCLA campus. The Fowler’s permanent collection includes 150,000 pieces of art and over 600,000 archaeological artifacts from the ancient, prehistoric, and present-day cultures of Africa, Latin America, and North America. In addition, the Fowler museum sponsors rotating exhibitions and interdisciplinary events, including lectures, hands-on workshops, and film-screenings.
