[]Aratex[]

Hey, I'm getting my portfolio ready for applying to art schools and I thought I'd do something creative (at least I hope it's creative) and do my portfolio on CD-ROM with an interactive menu and stuff... Anyway, I've got some rough designing done and I'd lke some crits on what I've got done so far. Please, rip this stuff apart because I want it to look nice when it's done..
http://aratex.freeservers.com/port.htm

(Sorry I can't post the pics in the thread, Freeservers is dumb about that stuff...)

[WICKED]

Not trying to be rude but since this is for applaying to art school I want it to look the best =). Well the thing is that the background layout you using is very boring, and not eye catching. You are gonna want to get their attention and thats not gonna do it. Try more colors and a more interesting layout. If you play any games think of how they do it.
hope that helps good luck getting in.
WICKED

[edible snowman]

yeah i have to agree with wicked. It sounds like a good idea and you look like you have some really good artwork, but I think the interface is ugly. I've got some free time on my hands if your stupid enough to trust me I could be probably draw up an idea or two in photoshop. No telling how crappy it will be though ;-)

[]Aratex[]

Actually, with that layout, I was going for something sort of Fallout-esque.. (Probably because I just played through Fallout 2 again.) I like the post-nuclear type mood in that sort of thing.. Although, I'll admit that it didn't come across real well, but that's what I'm asking you guys for. I need a way to add more details and take some boredom out of it without killing the theme, if at all possible...

But if you're really bored enough to try to come up with another design for me, I'd be more than happy to look at it. ;-)

[WICKED]

Well to me it looks like what a newbie trying to make a webpage would do. Firts pick a theme you want to go with then go from there. Tell people what you want your theme to be and you might hear some more ideas.

WICKED

[WICKED]

Heres a thought. Looking at your art you seem to be really good at creating enviroments. Maybe creat an enviroment and have that as your background then make the buttons and things from that theme.
just a thought.
WICKED

[]Aratex[]

OK then.

My theme for this project is to make it look like something out of a trashed old factory, hence all the rusted metal, etc. If any of you have played Fallout or Fallout 2, then you'd know exactly what I'm going for.

Should I get some screenshots of that stuff for reference to the type of ideas I'm looking for?

[]Aratex[]

Actually, I had thought that if I couldn't get this Fallout-like thing to work like I want it to, I could make sort of the inside of a house or a room with different doors that you could go in and rooms that would contain stuff... but I'd really like to see the style I've got now work out.

[WICKED]

yeah post some pics. Here is a page I enjoy its background, and I know the guy too. I know your doing a factory now, but even this could give you a bit of idea including background animations. http://www.wolfdenstudios.com/hasflash.htm
hope that helps,
WICKED

[]Aratex[]

OK, here are some pictures of various Fallout 2 interface things so you can sorta see what I'm going for here...
Shot 1
Shot 2
Shot 3
Shot 4
Shot 5
Shot 6
Shot 7
Shot 8


I hope these help you get a feel for what I'm looking for..

[Edit: Messed up URLs..]

[This message has been edited by ]Aratex[ (edited December 17, 2000).]

[Edit again: Added another shot.]

[This message has been edited by ]Aratex[ (edited December 17, 2000).]

[]Aratex[]

Anyone? Please?

[]Aratex[]

How come no one ever replies to me? If you all hate me, just tell me and I won't come back... If I suck, tell me.. Actually, that's why I'm here. It's because I suck and you don't and I thought maybe you could help me...

[WICKED]

Well the best shot I saw was shot six. The other shots just didnt make me wanna look at it very long. I would suggest either trying something similar to shot six, or just going with something else. Personally from the shot I just saw I dont like the Fallout design that much, but thats just me. Well atleast i replyed .
WICKED

[marc_taro]

Well, as someone who looks at a lot of portfolios every week, I would reccomend no interface at all. It just gets in the way of the images and distracts from your artwork. I personaly prefer a very plain page with a simple set of thumbnails, or nothing at all. Just a cd with a couple of folders I can open in a thumbnail browser.

That's my advice. Less is more.

[]Aratex[]

Wicked: Maybe I just find the Fallout interface so attractive because I love the games so much and seeing that type of thing reminds me of those endless hours of quality role-playing....

marc_taro: Do you see a lot of people try stuff like this? The only reason I really wanted to do it was because it was (at least I thought) a fairly original idea... but if it's already been beat into the ground, I'll ditch it and maybe use what work I do have done as a start for a website or something...

I also feel that, if something like this was done well enough, it could almost be considered a part of the portfolio as well as being a way to present it.. but maybe not everyone would think of it that way..

[Icannon]

not only has this kind of thing been done before (i've seen it talked about) but you've chosen probably the most popular and over-used theme. if you want to attempt something like this then you'll have to really make it shine.. and the actual art content will have to be good enough for the job\school before anything else.

[]Aratex[]

Ugh.... That figures.. Does it at least count that I didn't steal the idea, but came up with it myself?

I'm not sure if the art content is good enough, but I wasn't counting on the manner in which I distribute it making a difference really.. I just wanted to do something cool. *Sigh* Maybe I'll think of something truly cool to do with it.. or maybe I'll go traditional, who knows?

[bloodsugar]

In the art school I come from, creativity is often valued for its originality in conceptual development... you know what I mean... not games rip-off or such.

However if you still wish to polish up on that interface design, try downloading better fonts and perhaps word your phrases better? Also play around with colour combination. Check out hue/saturation - brightness/contrast tool in Photoshop...

Is the rusted surface you created painted digitally? Taking photographs/ Scannings of real textures might help create a more realistic feel.

(Okay that might be cheating but there are times to work smart..heheh)

Otherwise you might consider opting for a simpler layout with minimal colours?

Urh... just some suggestions. Take it or leave it ;)


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On carpeted lace of emerald jags; skin to skin a tangle of blacks.


[This message has been edited by bloodsugar (edited December 18, 2000).]

[]Aratex[]

Well, it's not really a rip off of the game... It's just that the game was inspiration for it... but yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think I'm just gonna ditch this whole idea and maybe make it into a website or something instead... It was a fun weekend project, though... ;-)

[Ben Barker]

I would print out your best stuff, combine it with copies of your best traditional stuff, put it in a nice Itoya Profolio, and send it off.
Straightforward, professional looking, no computer or extra effort needed on their part

[Maruman]

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH FALLOUT !!!!! MAN I LOVE THAT GAME!!!!!it is the best game !!! how fun is it ... hey where you playing fallout 1 or fallout 2 ??

i cant wait till fallout tactics comes out !!

hey here is my icq ..we'll talk fallout
67261046

oh and i couldent see any of your pics ... so i cant comment :-)


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[url=]----PORN PHOTOSHOP AND 3DMAX----All you need for life-Digital CatGirl[/url]

[]Aratex[]

Barker: The problem with that is that it's pretty expensive to get high quality printouts of digital work... That's why I thought of CD distribution.. It'd be way cheaper... and since I am a college student, I need all the cheapness I can get....

Maruman: I added you, check your ICQ. ;-) We'll talk Fallout sometime.. Oh, and for the record, I played Fallout2 about a week ago and I started Fallout last night.. (I would've played it first, but I had some problems getting it to run in Windows 2000 with DirectX 8 since it was made for Windows 95 and DirectX 3... but it's all cleared up now...)

[Ben Barker]

I find it's about 3 bucks per printout. If color matching isn't that important (i.e. it's not design work) you can go do it a Kinko's.
CD distribution is bad. You have to worry about so many variables. Will they have a PC or a Mac, will their CDROM read it, will they even have a computer handy, will they go through the trouble to make it work if there are minor snags (no), how is their monitor calibrated, etc.
Remember to think of these people as the stupidest, laziest, most jaded people you've ever had to deal with. Make it so easy even they can't screw up.
Printed out computer images, on glossy paper, look far more professional than they do on a monitor, even moreso in the Profolio. You won't have to worry about any of the computer stuff. It will be easy to look at your work, no effort required on their part. That's the way to go. It costs more, but it isn't completely outrageous. And you'll come off looking a lot better.
If you want, put more work on CD and include it in the back of your Profolio. It will be the icing on the cake. If they want to know more they will look at it. But they won't be able to deny how solid your presentation is. Much moreso than a CD-R with magic marker on it

[]Aratex[]

Tons of good ideas, Ben.. Thanks. :-)

The whole reason this started is because I know a guy who goes to Kinko's to get stuff printed out and he does 18x24 glossy prints and they cost him $40 each... and since I have to have an absolute minimum of 10 pieces, that's $400 for each copy of my portfolio I send out... I'd rather spend $1 on a CD-R. ;-) But if there's some way I can get cheap prints, I'd be glad to go with that...

[Ben Barker]

Big prints cost $40. Anything under 8x11 is only about 3.00, plus an hourly rate to use their computers.
Probably you can find something on campus that would be cheaper. You might have access to computer labs that charge less than Kinko's.

[]Aratex[]

Actually, where I am right now has a color laser printer that's free as long as you don't abuse it.. :-) I think you're limited to like 80 pages/semester... but the semester's almost over and so far I've printed less than 20 pages... *Evil grin*

Looks like I might be busy tonight after all.

Hmm... They probably don't have glossy paper, though... and I'm broke right now. Yuck.