Creature Character Creation for Screen Media is an exciting hybrid of art, design, imagination, and technology. As you prepare to apply for a degree in this creative field, your portfolio is your gateway to success. It’s not just a collection of your works; it’s a narrative of your skills, creativity, and passion. Here’s a handy guide on what kind of content you might include in your portfolio and how to format it effectively.
What to Include in Your Portfolio
A Variety of Works Include different types of work, ranging from those grounded in realism to fantastical beings. This variety showcases your versatility and adaptability in design. Remember, each piece you choose to include should serve a purpose and add value to your narrative as a budding creature character creator.
Show us your Process Include sketches, initial concepts, and development stages of your projects. This window into your creative process demonstrates your ability to evolve ideas from conception to finalisation and allows you to tell the story of your practice. How you approach your decision-making is, often, as important as the decisions themselves.
Final Pieces
Show us how amazing your work is. Select your best, fully-realised projects. These should be high-quality, polished pieces that reflect your technical proficiency and attention to detail.
Show Off Your Skills!
We accept applicants from a range of backgrounds and experiences. If you don’t have experience of all the elements listed below, don’t panic. Show us what you can do and get creative about showing us your passion and potential to learn those things.
Anatomy Studies Your understanding of both human and animal anatomy is crucial. Display your studies to show your grasp of form and structure, which is essential for believable creature design. Visual Storytelling If you can, include pieces that narrate a story or express emotions. This skill is invaluable in bringing depth to your characters. Software Skills Highlight any proficiency in digital tools and software, an essential aspect of modern creature creation. 3D Modelling Demonstrate experience you have of 3D modeling whether traditional or digital. You can bring a few small pieces with you to show us.
Mechanism Design Showcase your expertise in designing and realising mechanical aspects of creatures, such as animatronics or puppetry, to demonstrate how your creations could function in a real-world setting. Materials Knowledge Display your understanding of various materials used in practical effects like silicone, latex, or foam. Technical Drawings Include detailed schematics or blueprints of your creatures, particularly those with complex mechanisms.
Why You?
Your portfolio is a representation of your journey into creature character creation so far. It’s not only a showcase of your technical skills and artistic talent but also a reflection of your thought process, creativity, and potential to contribute to this vibrant industry.
Drive & Passion
This industry is fast paced and hard work, takes patience, determination and resilience, and gives examples that prove you have what it takes.
Originality Creativity is key. Showcase your original designs, which will be a testament to your imagination and innovative thinking.
Working with others
Highlight any teamwork, especially with film, TV or live event production teams, to demonstrate your professional collaborative skills.
Problem-Solving Examples
Showcase your ability to address and overcome design or functionality challenges.
What do you know or love about our industries? Stay aware of current trends in creature design in film and TV and incorporate this knowledge into your work or discussion.
Formatting Your Portfolio
Tell us who you are
Tell us about the work and your experiences related to it. Begin with an introduction or artist statement, outlining your interests, inspirations, and aspirations
Quality Over Quantity Select your best works. A portfolio of high-quality pieces is far more impactful than a larger collection of average works.
Professional Presentation Your portfolio’s design should be clean, professional, and easy to navigate.
Clear Labelling Each piece should have a title, medium used, dimensions, and a brief concept description. Logical Flow Arrange your work to tell a story or show a progression in your skills or concepts. High-Quality Images Ideally all images would be high resolution and well-lit. For digital portfolios, optimise file sizes for smooth loading.
Digital Format If submitting digitally, make sure your portfolio is compatible with common devices and browsers. A PDF format or digital portfolio site can be ideal for easy viewing and sharing.
Practice makes perfect,
Practice showing your portfolio to friends and family, get them to ask you questions. This will help you prepare and make you appear more confident presenting it at the interview.
Good luck, we look forward to meeting you and seeing your hard work.