Week 6
BDP pgs 1 - 40
DDP Chapter 6
BDP 1 - 40
I dislike this new Building a Design Portfolio book, mainly for the reason that it has a freaking magnetic strip running the length of the cover. Magnets scare me, especially because I carry around so many magnetic data storing devices that I don’t want wiped or corrupted. You may say that the magnetism is minimal, but that’s what they say about X-rays, then BAM, one day, you have cancer.
The first thing they go over in the book it seems is that this is not going to be your final portfolio forever. Duh. I’ve gone through 3 different ones already (the first one stank so bad they didn’t even call me back and reject meL) and expect to go through many more before I finally give up graphic design one day in a fit of scientific inspiration (“Darling!” I’ll say “I’ve invented the Whoseywhatsit!” then make a fortune off it.).
Like an earlier chapter in a different book (coughDDPchapter4cough) this chapter details the various methods that one can put together a portfolio in, ranging from DVDs to Websites and physical portfolios. I prefer web based ones, simply because I can put them online (and on my business card) or on a CD, and then distribute ten thousand copies if necessary. That reminds me… I need to cancel my old bad site and buy a new one within a few days…
Also! Never do free work just to get an in. I made damned sure to stipulate in my contract that I would do no work for free on my internship, and that I retain copyrights to all work that I do. I need all the portfolio samples and sources of revenue I can legally get my hands on!
DDP Ch 6
I have a problem with getting some of my more traditional pieces into the digital world. My work is… Large, and does not fit well onto scan beds. I did some work with stitching together stuff with my wonderful scanner (no bed, just the scanner, you can put it anywhere) but it came out badly because of different light conditions. You can see it (two faced artist) here http://ryjak.deviantart.com/gallery/ .
On the topic of copy stands, I once did some photography for my mother’s ebay pursuits, photographing some sixty odd pieces of makeup and makeup paraphernalia. I didn’t have a professional stand, so I used my Wal-Mart tripod, an ironing board, and some crushed velvet pants my mother had lying around to create a more sophisticated illusion for the background of the pieces. It helped to accent the lighting greatly, and since none of the photos ever made it online, I can only tell you how awesome they were, proving that you can do great photography without much skill or professional equipment (mind you I have a high end camera, but that’s another story). The same techniques can be applied to books, pamphlets, and other things with folds or creases in them, to keep them from becoming too distorted in the scanner.
Also, collaborating with other designer is acceptable when designing your portfolio (and even when creating pieces for the portfolio, as this is often what happens in the workplace where various jobs are assigned to various people, yet each has put their own brand of work into the project) If I could have any two types of people to collaborate with, it would be a professional illustrator, and a web programmer. I have difficulty with high quality drawing despite years of practice, and programming has become less and less something I want to deal with as my skills in design progress. Mind you I have tried my hand at both of these and know a fair deal about them, but lack the necessary skills to do them with a great deal or quality, or in a time efficient manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment