constructing a portfolio

[puppetron]

so, i'm finally graduating college (New York University) and i'm looking around New York for puppet building/puppeteering opportunities. In order to do so, I need to put together a portfolio. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or tips on how to put one together. I have a bunch of photos of puppets, props, costumes, and misc. things I've made, but what is the best way to format them? I know most portfolios are done online now, but I don't have internet space at the moment, so I'm looking to make about an 8x10, physical portfolio. any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
MK

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I think just simple, basic professional presentation in a portfolio case is fine. Nothing too fancy that distracts from your work, just let it speak for itself.

The main thing I think is to just have as much killer work as possible. A portfolio filled with amazing work that is horribly presented is better than a perfectly formatted portfolio filled with sub-par work (don't get me wrong though, professional presentation is important).

I think it's a good idea to include pieces that stress traditional art skills like life drawing and sculpture. Most shops seem to look for people who have really strong fundamental art and craft skills because if someone can draw or sculpt anything they can build just about anything too. The theory goes that it's easier to teach someone with solid fundamental art and design skills to build puppets than it is to teach someone with puppet building skills the fundamentals of art and design.

I have heard many places now expect a web site. You can get a web site for as little as $25 a year. It's not that hard, even a Flickr gallery and a blog is better than nothing.

 

[Teenager's]

Also don't forget about testimonials and/or letters of recommendation from ppl you have worked with/for like directors & other clients

 

[ravagefrackle]

I think just simple, basic professional presentation in a portfolio case is fine. Nothing too fancy that distracts from your work, just let it speak for itself.

The main thing I think is to just have as much killer work as possible. A portfolio filled with amazing work that is horribly presented is better than a perfectly formatted portfolio filled with sub-par work (don't get me wrong though, professional presentation is important).

I think it's a good idea to include pieces that stress traditional art skills like life drawing and sculpture. Most shops seem to look for people who have really strong fundamental art and craft skills because if someone can draw or sculpt anything they can build just about anything too. The theory goes that it's easier to teach someone with solid fundamental art and design skills to build puppets than it is to teach someone with puppet building skills the fundamentals of art and design.

I have heard many places now expect a web site. You can get a web site for as little as $25 a year. It's not that hard, even a Flickr gallery and a blog is better than nothing.

WHAT HE SAID!!,

But do not be scared to look at other forms of work,

trust me their are not as many puppet building jobs as you may think their are , they are few and far between for us all(half my colleagues are between gigs right now,)
so do not expect to find a real steady gig right away.(hate to be a buzz kill but its a reality I face all the time)

best of luck in your search

 

[RockerRob]

I'm an Industrial Designer and I have done plenty of portfolios. A big help is coroflot.com This is the site that my fellow students looked at for inspiration. Just look at the portfolios and you will get some ideas. The main idea for a portfolio is to show your best stuff and present yourself in that work. For a first timer, I suggest picking your best projects you did in school and present them from start to finish. Start with conceptual sketches, construction, and then the final puppet in it's full glory (really nice clean photos). Buck right on with the basic format. Your stuff should speak for itself with maybe the most basic of basic text information and use the grid system for layout. Good luck!

-Julie

 

[puppetron]

thanks everyone, this is all very helpful. Ravagefrackle: I know gigs out there are few and far between, which is why i've been told it's better to be a freelancer. I don't have the skill at the moment to freelance, i would like at least a year working under an established professional before i go out and work by myself. But i just have to see what happens. I'll be getting another job in the meantime, not sure what or where, but i've reconciled the fact that i'll probably need to work at Starbucks for a while. RockerRob: i only have a few presentation-worthy sketches, but i'll be including them. I don't have any in-process photos, but i'm currently working on a show of my own where i have to build six puppets and i'll be snapping photos of them along the way. Buck: a blog is a good idea. i have one but haven't really made use of it yet. i got it after i saw a lot of other puppeteers had one, thought it might come in handy.

i guess to narrow it down a bit now, in a physical portfolio, what is a recommended way to format the photos? Should i do one huge picture per page or put a few on each page? Do i put the name of the puppet and what it was for?

thanks everyone,
MK

 

[RockerRob]

It might be fun to make it like a book of headshots for a talent agencey. You could have your puppets pose in a way that showcases their personality. Have these profesionaly done (Photography major friend?), or as high quality as you can. Add their name big in the bottom margin and some short select facts about the technical side of the puppet is smaller print. Then you can put them all in a velvety covered book with your name on the front. Don't forget a resume and coverletter.

Looks like I got carried away with that one. Whatever you do with your portfolio, have fun with it because that will show off your work and your personality too.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I haven't really done any building work-for-hire for several years so my portfolio is not up to date, but I used to have an 8 1/2 x 11 inch book with each page having a 5x7 or larger photo of a puppet. For a few of my best pieces I would have shots taken from various angles and work-in-progress photos showing my process.

I've never uploaded many shots to my Flickr portfolio gallery because there hasn't been a need, but the pictures I have there are a good example of the style of shots I like to use. The simple, plain white background is clean and professional and (for better or worse) lets the work speak for itself. Compare the pictures above to some older shots of puppets I worked on a long time ago and I think you'll see the advantage of a clean and simple approach.

The best way to do professional shots is with a lightbox. These can be bought for $100 or more depending on the size, but it's pretty easy to make your own (try searching MakeZine.com for tutorials). Some good product photography tutorials can be found here.

Like RockerRob I think it's a good idea to have fun with your portfolio and creativity is a plus, but a lot of people fall in to the trap of focusing on presentation over the quality of work. From what I have seen over the years with various companies, everyone expects different things from portfolios, but a lot of places prefer the kind of clean, simple shots I linked to above over gimmicky posed shots.

At the risk of sounding harsh, if someone is looking for professional work they should have stuff in their portfolio that is strong enough to be presented without gimmicks. If work can't be presented "naked" it's probably not up to snuff.

 

[Teenager's]

The main idea for a portfolio is to show your best stuff and present yourself in that work. For a first timer, I suggest picking your best projects you did in school and present them from start to finish. Start with conceptual sketches, construction, and then the final puppet in it's full glory (really nice clean photos). Buck right on with the basic format. Your stuff should speak for itself with maybe the most basic of basic text information and use the grid system for layout. Good luck!

-Julie

Again, I'm tacking onto a thread but I'm re-building my portfolio for college apps I have to send in and I was wondering how many pages should be devoted to one project? Should I not go over 2? Should I combine pictures on a page?

And basic text, that's just like captions correct? Should a resume be included or should that be seperate?

Also what about performing pictures? state the project, role & year sort of caption?

 

[RockerRob]

Teenager's,

A portfolio is a showcase of your very best work. Refering to portfolios I was threatened with the phrase "You are only as good as your worst sketch" all through school. It is true, and it is not. They will be looking at your over all body of work and if you have one crap sketch in there out of the bunch, it won't be your demise, but if you feel that it might, leave it out. Anyway... on to your direct questions.

The number of pages varies on how much material you have on each individual project. If you have just the finished puppet then 1 page, if you have the finished puppet and sketches then 2 pages, if you have all that and your puppet has an interesting construction and you documented that or it has a unique mechanism then 3 pages. Yes, combine pictures on a page. Make them balanced and vary the sizes so that your best are biggest and your least favorite but necessary are smallest, and arrange them dynamicly. If you have some killer preformance photos then add them to the final puppet page for some added dynamic.

Put a simple but creative graphic format on your pages that is consistant trough out your portfolio. Don't let the graphic steal the show because it is just a unifyer to make you look profesional. It can change for each project, but should have a unifying location of the graphic, maybe colors, and maybe basic shapes.

As for Text, each page of each project should say something simple like "Green Monster - Muppet style" or "Stickie Finger - Rod Puppet" in the layout graphic. Don't put your name on each page because it gets annoying for the reviewer. If you feel that you need to explain something like a special mechanism, construction process, or material for a project, write a short and to the point blurb about it and add it to the page in the project that shows what your are highlighting. A short blurb about the puppet, character, and performance details can be added on the final puppet page if you feel it is totally necessary. I like to have my pages explain themselves. When I say "a blurb" I mean a short paragraph and not bullet points of information. Inject a little personality into these blurbs (I know it sounds like an oximoron).

Your resume should be boring and plain (meaning no crazy graphics for the administration office workers to look at) and should be separate from the portfolio. Send it along as a seperate document if you are emailing or hard copy mailing the portfolio along.

I learn by example, so here is an example. This is a little section of my portfolio from my last student project I did a couple years ago. It's an Industrial Design project.
http://www.coroflot.com/public/indi...ue&sort_by=1&set_id=90686&individual_id=99651


Holy cow! This is a lot longer of a response than I anticipated, but I hope this crash course helps you. These are not rules, just guidelines and use your artistic eye to get things the way you think they should be even if you go against everything I said.

-Julie