Concept portfolio question

[Lone Wolf]

Hey guys, i have a question. I was wondering what is the overall feel in the gaming industry about pencil concepts? Because everyone wants Digital stuff, does skill with a pencil win over digital mediocre stuff. Will having a lot of pencil stuff in your portfolio weaken it?

Could any pro's throw in there two cents. Would really like to know how they feel.

Thanks guys.

;)

[madster]

An excellent book to get started with is Game Art: Creation, Direction, and Careers (http://www.charlesriver.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=99974) by Riccard Linde.
If you are not "degreed" from an accredited art school, though, you better plan on doing a lot of reading and a lot more drawing.

It seems like everyone with a pencil and some paper dreams of taking their sketches to the professional level. The competition is stiff. REAL stiff. And REAL GOOD. The art these folks produce IS production/presentation quality, not crude sketches with value, depth, and detail problems.

No one wants an artist who can't do anything but one medium. Your portfolio should contain 6-10 of your absolute best pieces, and they should show some variety of medium and subject matter. The more versatile your skills, the better your chances of filling some gap in the industry. Any artist worth his paycheck ought to be able to push a pencil...You won't impress anyone with more than 2 pencil sketches.

~M

[Zaknafain]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=120 is a good link for these questions (and it is writen by "pro's").

I also get very competent 'fine art' portfolios focusing on figure work and landscapes, but have little or no computer experience or have actual concept work. It's a shame to turn some of them away, but our company just doesn't want invest in training them to do the concept or computer work required for them...even if they had the necessary skill base.

This is a quote from this thread. So I think, if you show that you can work digital, but most of the portfolio stuff is traditional (pencils, whatever), there should be no problem. (And if you have really good traditional skills, learning digital is easy).

[Aderyn]

I´ve been drawing in several mediums for 17 years but only took art to GCSE level not to degree. So I´ve not been in a position to do digital, now that I´ve graduated I want to explore that medium and I was wondering where to get hold of appropriate software, how much it costs and which are the better programs. Especially since the ability to do digital pictures is such a big part of the industry. When I get my portfolio up and running I want to feel that the talent in my pencil drawings and paintings is reflected elsewhere.

Thanks,
Aderyn

[Mavrick71]

Well, the best time to get that software is when your a student, why you ask because you can get a humongus discount for 'educational reasons'. I just recently bought Corel Painter IX for $79, I saw Photoshop CS 2 for $249, and a wacom Intuos3 6x8 for $279. If you're not a student still, you can go to www.corel.com, they're having a sale right now, and you can buy Painter IX for the upgrade price, which I believe is about $229.