Get Your Art Portfolio Noticed!
Posted: Monday, August 15, 2011
by Octavia Hansen
Octavia Hansen
Employment in the art field is harder than ever before. It's not just a resume, they have to see art. You have to show them. As an art director, I look at a lot of portfolios -- there is a lot of bad art, and then there is a lot of great art badly presented. Let me help.
Even with an on-line portfolio, Human Resources, agencies and anyone who even thinks of paying you money, has to see your art -- and a computer screen will never do justice to size and detail of your art.
1. Get a professional portfolio. Art stores carry various sizes and some craft stores, too. This doesn't have to be expensive, I found a great leather one at a thrift store for $5! My portfolio I flash at prospective clients is a brushed aluminum case, 18" x 24", because my largest samples are 11" x 17". If you work strictly with business cards, a briefcase would do. Most printed pieces will be 8.5" x 11". A comfortable portfolio would be 12" x 18". Choose a portfolio larger than your largest piece, keep it under 24" x 30".
Don't use a large envelope. Do not use a paper portfolio. Do not use anything that is scratched, discolored or damaged. This is advertising. Looks are everything. (I know I have said this before but you can't hear it enough. And I'll say it a few more times.)
Do not get a large notebook of any size that has binder rings where you have to punch holes through art or display pages. More on this later.
2. Samples. Whenever you produce art, get samples. Xerox copies, extra proof prints, tear sheets, extra press sheets, buy multiples of the magazine (or newspaper) where your ad runs and carefully take out that page. If it's something in color, you can't have too many copies. Black and white is easy to reproduce any time. Make sure it's not folded, doesn't have ragged edges from a tear out, fingerprints or scratches. From a newspaper, if your art is surrounded by other ads, cut through them leaving only half or less of other artwork. Don't promote what is not yours. And don't ever try to pass off work that is not yours. It's dishonest and can be illegal, a violation of copyright. There will ALWAYS be someone who recognizes it.
A printed sample is always more desirable than a great idea that never sold. It may not be your best work but it was a money maker. That's what advertising is all about.
Rough art like sketches, story boards or thumbnails are not your first line of promotion. Keep these handy -- you will utilize them later. If you have the original and a printed piece, keep these together. There's a great way to show them off later.
3. Displaying your art. This is where most presentations fall down. It's not the art. It's the presentation. No matter what you do -- photography, sketches, cartoons, magazine ads -- this will make you professional.
Get black poster board or black heavy paper. No scratches. No folds. No blemishes. No discoloration. To contrast your art, it has to pop off the page. If your sample is dark put it on beautiful white paper, cutting 1/4" around it and mounting that on a black board. It will keep the pages consistent, that's what the portfolio is all about.
Cut all background boards to the same size, that fit comfortably into your portfolio and can be removed easily without damaging the corners. Don't scratch or fold the pages while cutting.
Choose a clear heavy vinyl, plastic or acetate that will cover your art. Rolls are good. Pre-cut tablets of acetate are great. Do not use anything with a color. It must be heavy enough to protect the art and not wrinkle when it gets hot or cold. This should be cut just under the page size - about 1/8" to 1/4" all around from the edges of the page..
You will also need 1" black photographers tape. 1.5" is better but almost impossible to find -- a professional art store will have it, sometimes a craft store will in the scrap book area. Do not use duct tape or electricians tape. These will shrink, buckle, the adhesive edges collect dirt, leave lines on the next page and sometimes damage the art by bleeding color or sticky. There is no substitute.
You also need a roll of 1/2" or less width double-sticky tape and the same size in matte finish adhesive tape. Don't get the cheap stuff. Your art is depending on good adhesion.
The number of pages doesn't matter. Some people have 10. I have 40+ pages. I don't show all of them. Because of the way I'm having you piece your portfolio together, this allows you to customize your presentation for each interview. Show what they need to see.
4. Before you start assembling pages, find a clean place -- free of animal hair, dust and dirt. A large table covered with a bed sheet will do. Don't use the floor. Dust and dirt will collect on the art, in the pages, on your hands, any animals passing by will leave traces of fur.
Wash your hands. Working with black paper and adhesives, you need to wash your hands after finishing each page. Once the page is sealed, it's almost impossible to get out a hair or reposition art without damage. If you can, vacuum your work area for hair and dirt. Static electricity attracts dirt and dust, very unprofessional.
5. Layout art on top of the pages for a quick idea but attach or seal anything yet. When laying out a page, it's one idea on one page. One ad on one page. One sample on one page. And on the back, use a related single idea. A black and white ad on the front, it should be a black and white similar ad on the back. Newsletter on front, maybe inside page of a newsletter on the back. Graphs or charts on front, same kind of back. You won't have to keep flipping over pages looking for an unrelated sample.
The only break to the single idea is business cards or similar small ads with variety. Balance the art in even numbers, two ads, four ads, ten business cards. You may not consider this artistic but you are showing this book mostly to non-artists. Anything else confuses them.
Sketches and layouts work well here. On the front of the page is the finished ad. On the back are roughs showing the idea's progress. It's okay to include two or three pieces here, especially if they are small and it fits without confusing the viewer.
Keep the pages minimalist. Attention is immediately drawn to the art and held, the black board does not distract from colors or design. Keep it balanced. Keep it centered.
At this point, decide if your portfolio will be displayed vertically or horizontally. All pages must be in the same format. Turning pages different ways distracts from your presentation. Everything in the same direction. And don't do dramatic angles or have the art falling off the edge of the page. This may work in a magazine, but you're not there yet. Keep the focus on the art, not the frame. Non-artists do not understand drama in presentation. That will come after you get the job.
Use a ruler, maybe a soft pencil but don't leave lines, make things level and centered. I use 4 rulers, 24" long, any imbalance can be seen instantly. You can pick them up cheap at a home do-it-yourself store or even a dollar store. You are looking for balance and it's easy to correct here.
6. Now comes the dangerous part. After this step, it's impossible to move it. Adhesion is final. This is where multiple copies come in handy and as a precaution, until you practice some of this technique, start on pages not crucial. Letterheads, charts, something that's not your star piece for a safe beginning.
With the double sticky tape, put a piece about 1/2" length at each corner under the art and carefully press it down. Don't let the tape peek out from under the art. If it is hanging out and you haven't pressed it down yet, clip it carefully with scissors along the edge of the art. Don't even think about using stick glue or any other kind of glue. ANY glue will leave a mark, an indentation, a wrinkle, a lump, sometimes even a discoloration that distracts from the art. Don't do it! Again -- this is advertising. Looks are everything.
Check for hairs and dirt. Lay down the acetate over the art. With regular adhesive tape, 1" strips at intervals of 3" to 4", fix the acetate to the board around the edges. Tape here is not important. Keep it near the edge, you will hide it later with the photographer's tape so this width must be less than the black tape. Don't think you can skip this step and go straight to black tape. Plastic will NEVER stay straight for the next step without an anchor here. Remember that static electricity that attracts hairs? It also attracts the acetate, which will jump up to the tape and never lay down flat. Pulling the tape will make it wrinkle after it has been stretched or distort the acetate. If this happens, pull off the tape and check the acetate that it still lays flat. Pulling up tape from around the edge of the board doesn't matter since it will be covered later by black tape. Try not to tear any farther into the surface of the board. If this happens, you have to start again. Presentation is everything.
Using your ruler the length of the board, lay it down close to the edge as a guide for the black tape. Have two folded pieces of black tape to give you an accurate width. Lay a line of black tape all the way cross the top and bottom of the art, leaving a small overhang at both ends. Do the same down the sides, leaving a small overhang. Now carefully, along a metal edge with an art knife or if you are very good with scissors, trim this extra tape to the edge of the board.
The art will stay in place. It's clean. It's neat. It's safe. Now mount another piece of similar art on the back of this page. Do this with every page. Make as many pages as you have art. Not sure about some art? Do a page for it anyway for practice and it might come in handy later. Also, this is great to preserve art that won't be in the portfolio but you want to keep looking great and safe.
As a footnote: a portfolio without a ring binder means your art will be loose. A binder portfolio means ugly holes in your pages, maybe even your art. Don't do this. It's distracting.
With one idea on each page, you can tailor art to your interview. If the interview is for a magazine, take color pieces. If it's a manual, take only black and white pieces. If it's an agency, take a variety of pieces to show versatility.
With loose pages, and especially since there is protective plastic on each, they can be scattered over a table, held up, handed around. Your presentation will be easy to see, easy to handle, easy to unpack and pack.
And you art is safe. I have made presentations over a breakfast meeting, sometimes after lunch, when there's a lot of greasy and wet fingers handling the art. No one will take as good care of your art as you do. And acetate can be replaced anytime.
This is advertising. Looks are everything.
7. Now you have a killer portfolio and sensational pages ready. CHOOSE TEN for an interview. No more. They don't need to see everything. They need to see pieces that pertain to that job. The most memorable pages will be the first and the last. The other pages will leave a general impression -- clean work, good feel, talented art. My final page is a fantastically colorful circus poster art featuring my name. The last piece seen is the most recent they will remember. Make a big finish.
Just because you take ten pages into the interview, if you can't be sure, take a few more and leave them in the car or have a separator inside the portfolio and only show the first ten pages. It's easier than making a return trip another day. And they will see how prepared you are.
At this point, also have a stack of resumes and business cards ready to leave with everybody . . . secretaries, receptionists, art directors, artists, salesmen, anybody who wants one should get one.
8. NEVER leave your portfolio where it's hot or wet, or both. Store flat, under a bed or couch is best. Don't leave your portfolio in a hot car, acetate can shrink and buckle and adhesives will give way. It will be okay for the time you carry it vertically. Better standing up by your side at a restaurant than in 110° heat, melting away in your car.
9. NEVER leave your portfolio anywhere or with anyone overnight if you are not there. The world is full of copy machines and everyone's telephone can take a picture. Don't leave original art out of your sight. Any reputable company will understand. Keep your ideas safe.
10. You can copyright your portfolio. Be sure you own the rights. If you designed art specifically for someone and were paid for it, it means they own it and hold the copyright. Even though it's your work, it was done on their time, probably their supplies and when you were paid, it became theirs. If you worked on the design outside of a job or office, it is your work to claim and sell as you wish. You can still show art you have sold in your portfolio. There is a government website that will guide you through the copyright process.
You are a Professional. Show it. You are an artist. They are not. You are trying to impress them. Adapt your work to the moment to suit them. You can go back to what you love later, but you only have one chance at a great first impression. And art is a pick-of-the-moment gut-feeling. Like it. Love it. Hate it. Understand it. Lose it. It's that quick.
One more time . . . your mantra should now be: This is advertising. Looks are everything.
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