Demo Reel Inquiry

[cj3d]

Well since their are so many awesome industry pro people here I thought I would toss this little question out. I'm currently working on a new reel; My student reel (cj3d.net) obviously didn't impress as I have yet to get a job, so as I gather assets for my new reel my question follow thus: What do industry guys like to see on reels? Or "what will get me a job" :D

I had planned on adding the snake woman shown in this forum, a dragon that I am working on (pics on my website, but I can post some here if you want), a head/bust as detailed as I can get it (what kind of head is best?), and an anatomy study of some sort. Probably a posed male figure with muscles.

When I was going to school at Full Sail they said you guys (industry people) don't like to see fantasy characters/creatures. You want real people and real animals. So please help me head in the right direction. This next reel has got to impress SOMEBODY enough to hire me :) I won't give up, and thank you guys so much for any help.

CJ

[oglu]

are you interested to get into the game industy or featur film.?
only modelling and texturing or also td stuff and animation..?
are you familiar with mel or python..?

[cj3d]

lol I suppose I should have mentioned some of those items previously, thank you for bringing them up oglu.

Preferably I want to get into the film industry. Particularly modeling, although sometimes I hear advertising oneself as a texture artist as well helps get a boost into the modeling department (for smaller companies anyway). I eventually plan to get into being a hair/fur TD but I feel those skills are not adequate enough yet to advertise. In the meantime I want to use modeling as an "in" because that is what I am currently good at. Honestly once I get into the industry I'd love to try doing all kinds of different things.

I can rig decently enough as well but I don't feel those skills are strong enough to advertise yet, and I barely understand MEL but I am familiar with it and have done some coding before. I can animate, but once again, not my current strong point.

I also understand getting into a game studio is a good "in" to eventually advance into film. It also seems like game companies like to hire more junior type modelers with little experience, and jobs with them seem to be a little more plentiful so would you suggest possibly focusing on games as a possible "in" to the industry and work my way up to film?

Thanks for posting.

CJ

PS. I'm also curious on your stances on lighting work for models, and camera work also. Full Sail says not to just do a T-pose and spin the camera around anymore.

[cj3d]

The images on the toprow. Do you guys like to see finished images like those on a reel or just the models?

CJ

[PascalR]

Well if you apply as a modeler you need to show wireframes, gray renders, turntables,etc.., but you can also add still pics, textured/shaded turntables (if you are able to paint textures), anatomy sketches, designs as well. Imho you need to show your best works first and keep your reel under 3 min. My latest one was 2min30 long I think.
It's also nice to show that you can do different kind of modeling, organic, hard surface, facial shapes...

Cheers

P.

[cj3d]

Hey Pascal thanks a mill for the reply post. If I were to include anatomy sketches and concept work should they be put at the end of the reel or as kind of an introduction into the character model? I've seen that sometimes where they will show their concept work and then show the model.

Cool though, some good info that I appreciate very much! :thumbsup:

CJ