My Online Portfolio...critiques please

[cybercyst]

Hi everybody...first of all, I'd like to say how great everybody's art looks on this forum. I was first introduced to this website via AWN Forums (http://forums.awn.com) and was like "WOW! Can these guys draw!"...

Anyway, I was wondering if I could get some critiques/constructive criticism on my Online Portfolio (http://megb.freeservers.com). After trying fruitlessly for 3 years to get a job in the animation industry as a character designer/character cleanup artist, I'm shifting my focus towards the video gaming industry and would like to be a 2D character designer in this field. Is anyone here in this area and if so, could you give me pointers on how to break into the video gaming/concept design business?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated...thank you!!!:)

[Bry4n]

Hiya!!!... Nice colorful portfolio... So is it that competitive to get into the animation industry these days... or what were some reasons for changing your focus?... :hello!:

[Redder]

Wow, smoking doesn't kill you but chainsmoking chickens from the farm can kill you.

Nice work.

[helix7]

I like your work... great designs going on there.

Just a couple of thoughts on the site:

If you're going to be sending a link to your site to potential employers (which I'm assuming you are since you've already graduated), you should spend a few bucks and get some site hosting that doesn't have banner ads and pop-ups. If you're just using the site for fun, then this isn't a big deal (and neither are the rest of my comments :) )

Simplfy your links and make them easily understood. Instead of "Photo 1 Page", make it "Portfolio 1" or something. It should be obvious that clicking on that takes you to samples of your work.

Ideally you should have thumbnails of your images that when clicked show the full-size image. Or put the images into a slideshow-style layout where you click an arrow or something to go to the next image.

Ditch the links page. It doesn't seem necessary.

Again, these comments are made under the assumption that you might use this site to find work. If this isn't the case, my comments are probably too picky. But web design is my job and I can't help but be a little picky about it. :)

[cybercyst]

Thanks for the comments...

helix, thank you for the advice. I would love to invest in a banner-free website...It's free for the moment, so I have to make due with the annoying pop-ups. I would love to change the title of the "Photo 1 Page" and so on, but it won't allow me to...the free web server has certain restrictions. When I save up enough money, I would love to invest in a professional-looking website with my own domain name. Until then, unfortunately, I have to settle for a free website.

Yeah, the animation industry (2D, at least) isn't doing too good right now, thanks to the popularity of 3D...the job hotlines have been pretty dead. But it happens; maybe in a few years there will be another surge in the 2D field like there was in the early 90's...:)

[AnarchyAo2]

Wow! I loved the "Sam, The Hacker" picture and the "Quick Sketch" one. I really like the colors on your site. It matches your style really well. Its colorful but not tacky. I like it, :thumbsup: