Portfolio Reviews

There are various opportunities for portfolio reviews at LightBox Expo so we wanted to share some tips for presenting the best version of your portfolio! These are general tips and we hope you can adapt them to help make your portfolio review experience even better!

• Make sure your portfolio is 100% accessible on the device that you are using! Download everything you want to show onto your device, from phone to tablet to laptop. DO NOT count on internet, WiFi or cell service.
• Make sure your portfolio has a cohesive art style and subject matter to show you have a focused and practiced skill set. You will learn and grow at a studio, but studios do not need to see how many styles you can crank out.
• Less is more. Quality over quantity. Show the people reviewing you that you respect their time. Make sure your portfolio showcases your best content and creative process so reviewers can see how you work and problem solve issues.
• Consistency of quality. It isn’t that you don’t make bad drawings – we all do. It’s that you have the objective eye that allows you to edit what you include and what you leave out of your portfolio that shows an art director that you will be able to work without having to be micromanaged.
• Be self-aware. Have a strong point of view on one’s own strengths but also take feedback with grace. Feedback is a gift.
• Showcase excellent drafting skill using technical acumen - the technical aspects of story, the mechanics of performance, rules for color, etc. Technical acumen is not engineering-specific skills and entertainment qualities.
• Always be storytelling. Put your characters in a scene. Humor and action is always a plus! Portfolio checklist:
  • I can communicate clearly with my drawings
  • I know how to tell a story in film language
  • I have a sense of timing for storytelling
  • I understand character performance and how a character acts
  • I can make a scene memorable, dynamic, and fun
  • I can collaborate, and create multiple versions of a scene
  • My unique, artistic point of view

For more tips, check out this post on our Instagram.