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Portfolio and Reel Suggestions

  • General Portfolio Advice

    • Online format is preferred (Artstation, personal websites, etc.). Downloadable PDFs are acceptable for non-motion roles
    • If you have private work that is under NDA, please include the password in your application. Otherwise, we recommend you do not password protect your portfolio
    • Ensure your portfolio showcases your best work. For motion art (animation, VFX, rigging), keep your showreel around one minute. It's better to focus on a few good pieces than to try and show everything you've made
    • Test that your Portfolio or reel is accessible. Please include access to your portfolio on your resume in addition to the application form in case the link breaks
    • Fan Art? Sure! It shows your versatility as it relates directly to our art style
    • Depending on the role, immersing yourself in the game to get the feel, tone and look can go a long way for your portfolio
    • For internships, Please limit application submission to 1 role. You will automatically be considered for similar roles based on your portfolio
  • Character Animation

    • Include action and combat based animations
    • Locomotion cycles for characters and creatures of diverse shape and size (bipeds, quadrupeds, etc.)
    • Expressive poses that give us insight and a deep understanding of the character
    • Gaming specific animations through professional or personal work is encouraged; interviewing folks from a cinematic background is not unheard of, but gaming animations in a reel shows a dedication to pursuing gaming animation as a career
  • Concept Art

    • Include iterations and sketches in addition to the final rendered pieces
    • Inclusion of references, notes, studies, different angles, how a player interacts with a character or place, and why design choices have been made in portfolio is recommended
    • Ability to showcase thought process and problem solving skills in addition to your final product
  • Illustration

    • We are looking for strong fundamentals in proportions, anatomy, materials, color usage, lighting, areas of detail and areas of rest
    • Show examples that capture a character’s story and portray personality through facial expression and posing
    • Pay attention to dynamic compositions, compelling silhouettes, and creative use of camera angles
    • In addition to your final rendered illustration, we’re also looking for samples from your creation process from start to finish, including reference, thumbnails, color comps, etc.
  • Technical Art

    Rigging

    • Include rigs for characters and creatures of diverse shape and size (bipeds, quadrupeds, etc)
    • Demonstrate a rigs’ ability to pose in expressive, resonant way, with potential to exaggerate 
    • Rigs used in-game or within a cinematic is helpful if you can share this content (make sure to credit your Animator if you did not animate it)

    Tools & Pipeline / Assets & Materials

    • A portfolio here is not required, but welcome
    • We look for experience writing tools to support artists’ needs within a development pipeline. We want to understand both your technical skill and your creative problem solving ability
  • VFX

    • Try to show work that covers all the fundamentals of good visual effects - shape, value, colour and timing
    • When making visual effects for games, be mindful of the gameplay information you're attempting to communicate, and make that the primary read of the effect
    • For Riot's games we generally create visual effects with a hand drawn, painterly art style, which we recommend is shown in your portfolio as well
  • Visual Design

    • Depending on the role, visual design can be focused more on branding and marketing or on in game UI design
    • Portfolio should include case studies that break down the designs, including steps you took, problems solved, style guides created or used, mock ups/iterations and final products
    • We’re looking for some combination of skills within the following: User interface design, typography, iconography, UI illustrations, motion graphics, mobile design, layout, visual hierarchy, web or product design, branding and/or marketing campaigns
  • Visual Development

    World Building Visual Development

    • We are looking for pieces that show exploration of ideas in a big picture view, not the fine details. For example, your work should convey the time period, location, environment, climate, types of creatures in a world, materials available for crafting and how it is used (examples of buildings, clothes, tools, weapons, etc.)

    Cinematic or Marketing Visual Development

    • We look for film, TV, or cinematics projects showcasing the ideation process of the cinematic piece. It’s good to include mood paintings or mood boards, color scripts, paint overs, diagrams or orthographies for direction, illustrations and some character concepts, props, and environments for storytelling
    • Ideal project examples include cinematic storytelling to inform players about games or game content (characters, game modes, updates, events in a game), illustrations, comics, motion graphics animations, traditional 2D animation or CG Animations
  • 3D Character

    General Character Art:

    • Concerned with both high and low poly characters in a digital medium 
    • A keen eye for anatomy, form, color, lighting, materials and shaders are essential to the role
    • A relevant portfolio includes character concepts that leverage various 3D programs/tools (Maya, ZBrush, and Photoshop) and render technology (Marmoset, Unity, Unreal, Arnold or Vray)

    Physical Character Art:

    • Concerned with bringing champions, characters, and creatures to life by creating and texturing high poly models in a stylized way.
    • A great emphasis on sculpting and fundamental knowledge of anatomy, form, and color
    • Experience working in consumer/physical products that are highly stylized and non-realistic
    • Any work highlighting 3D printed prototypes or concepts would be applicable
  • 3D Environment

    • The usage of hand-painted vs. physically-based rendering (PBR) environment art is based on the role and style of the game to match. Be sure to check the job description for this specification
    • The majority of our games feature a more stylized appearance, meaning realistic art work is hard for us to judge/find a fit for. Tailor your portfolio to each game. Exaggerated features, themes and color are good areas to start with
    • While not a major requirement for most roles, dabbling in concept art will help strengthen your skills as an environment artist