Hi I am Robert Wesseling and wonder how to get throught as a freelancer or small business;
( my apology for my english which is not my first language ).
I really wonder; I have a website which shows some renders and videos made with blender. And this website is connected to all kinds of social media websites. ( twitter, linkedin, facebook, pinterest, flickr, youtube, google+ ).
Now, the people ( small business, starters, companies ) who actually need a (3D designer) maybe don’t think of it to look for such. Examples: Office make-over, presentations, product visualization, banners, logo’s, video-clips, etc.
We blenderheads, could do that, but I am afraid the only one who will read my google+ ever are other blenderheads.
I am stuggling a bit, and I am really not a businessman or a hero in marketing. And I hope some of you could give me suggestions.
What do you think… I made the website on www.newmediasupply.co.uk … what do you think of that approach to get through?
I thought I found something interesting and I hope it works: I will dedicate a videoclip ( made with blender ) to a foundation. And in this video clip I will ask to share it or like it to help this foundation (and me as designer) to get more awareness. Nice idea to me, but still I am afraid not getting through as I check all my social media sites; allmost no response. So I am looking for focussed critique in my whole approach to get through.
Not trying to be mean, but there’s really nothing on your website that says “professional level” work. It’s all too basic and simple, not only on the technical side, but also on the artistic side. It’s the type of stuff done by people who are still learning Blender and just doing some test shots, not someone who has mastered the program and wants to be seen as a professional for hire. For example, your physics simulation demo is just a cube falling and breaking. I can find dozens, if not hundreds, of similar videos on Youtube by people who are just starting to learn Blender. It’s the same with the camera tracking videos.
Go to the Forum Gallery page and look at some of the incredible work being done. Most of these people are just amateurs doing this for fun. If you want to be seen as a pro, you’ll need to be able to do even better than them.
Also, it’s probably not a good idea to announce that your computer isn’t capable of handling animation and you’ll have to send everything out to be rendered. That’s not going to instill much confidence in people about your ability to deliver on time.
Portfolio works need to contain your best and nothing else.
If someone is looking for hiring people for a project, they could have dozens or even hundreds of portfolio pages to go through. Simple webpage for portfolio pieces is better than a page that needs a lot of navigation or reading. It doesn’t all have to be on one page but if you give a direct link to a portfolio, it would be nice to immediately see the necessary information, which are: Your name, what you do, your work, and contact information.
So basically: Robert Wesseling, 3D artist, here is my best work, and you can contact me here.
If you say you’re a 3D artist, it has to show your 3D work. If you also do something else, it can be a plus but has to be categorized differently. If the work contains something relatively complex, you could give a navigation option to few process results that show how you handled the pipeline. If you didn’t handle the pipeline by yourself, including extra information would be a good place to put the appropriate credits and tell which parts was done by you. Again, less is more, and can’t take the first focus away from the finished result.
No stories, long introductions or what software you used. People you want to be interested don’t have time to care any of it and they will ask if it’s relevant, at which point you’ve already established a discussion.
Here’s an example page of a young Blender artist who shows he specializes in product visualization but also does other things http://sebastianzapata.com/portfolio/
Thank you for you honest reply, which I need. I never had such feedback before, and so I know where I stand a bit. I hope to start with local business starters here or local business in the area. Again thanks !
Thanks, yes now you say so, I realize in my social media ( and comments on the pictures etc ) , I am not focused on selling a product or service, but its more like I talk to other blenderheads. I checked sebastians portfolio, and I get the point. Great.