This year, I applied to Sheridan's Bachelor's of Animation Program for the second time and I am proud to say that this time I finally got in! Putting my portfolio together was definitely a LOT of work, but it was all worth it in the end. The cut off this year was surprisingly high (I believe it was ~ 89% for domestic students), so in hindsight I'm really glad that I pushed myself to put in the full time and effort required to produce the best work I possibly could at the time.
Here's what I scored:
Character Rotation
I scored a 15/15 in the character rotation section of the portfolio which made me super happy because this part of my portfolio was the one I was proudest of. Seeing as this section of the portfolio almost never changes year over year, I started this one early, even before the official requirements were released. For this piece, I spent a ton of time brainstorming and sketching out different ideas until I finally landed on a design that I liked. I think in character design, besides having proper anatomy and perspective of course, being able to exhibit appeal and personality in the design is just as important. So, that initial sketching/thumbnailing exploration phase is crucial when it comes to coming up with a good design. Never rush into fully fleshing out a character in clean lineart unless you're sure your design can speak for itself. Another tip I can give is that while drawing out the rotation itself, it's probably a good idea to use guiding lines to mark out the main landmarks of the body in order to help you maintain consistency in the proportions and perspective of your character throughout the rotation. It may also help to put your four separate drawings together and play through them in a frame by frame animation to help you spot any inconsistencies in your drawings. It's a meticulous process, but doing these things have helped me out big time with fixing the technical errors in my drawings.
Hand Drawings
I scored 9/10 with my hand drawings, which I honestly think is more than fair. The prompt for this section this year was to draw a before and after pose of a hand holding a small object in the first drawing, and then throwing/tossing it onto a surface in the second drawing. All I can say about this section is that it is extremely important to think about and plan the posing and acting of the hand before you begin. Make sure that whatever the action is, it is done so expressively and that it is readable and believable on paper. The action should be clear, nothing haphazard. Ideally, also try to draw the hand from two different angles so as to avoid it looking too similar in both drawings. Lastly, I think it goes without saying but make sure that all this is done without sacrificing proper anatomy and structure.
Perspective Line Drawings
The perspective line drawings were a huge struggle for me, but somehow, I managed to get a 14/15 on these. Coming up with an environment concept and then putting all the smaller elements and details together cohesively to tell a story while maintaining a single style was not easy. With the initial blockout of these pieces, I really tried to focus on framing them compositionally with a distinct foreground, midground and background. Doing this also aided me in building a sense of depth in my drawings early on. As for the smaller details and props that I used to embellish my drawings, these involved a little bit of research and reference gathering. Using references is paramount to building a believable environment, even if it is fictional. Every detail in a drawing should have a reason for being there so I took extra care not to include anything that did not make sense or felt out of place. Based on my references, I only added details which I thought would contribute to the overall atmosphere of the setting I was going for. Once I had an overall idea laid out for both pieces, I went ahead and thoroughly cleaned up my line work. Good line quality with lines getting thicker as they get closer to the camera and thinner as they get farther away will greatly improve your drawings, making them look even more three-dimensional.
Short Animation
The short animation was another part of the portfolio that I had a hard time with as well so I was quite happy that I received a perfect score in this section. We were provided with a model sheet of a cartoon walkie talkie and were required to animate it within 24-48 drawings. One thing I would say about this is that the animation doesn't have to be insanely complicated. As you can see, my animation is relatively simple. You are limited to a maximum of 48 drawings after all. The key is to stay on model and show that you have a handle on the principles of animation. Make the action instantly readable by using squash and stretch, timing and easing in/out of your poses correctly, and maybe even a little bit of exaggeration to really sell the acting.
Storyboard
Ah yes, the storyboard. To this day I still have no idea how this section is graded. I'm not complaining though, 18/20 is a massive improvement from the grade I got in my previous attempt.
Using a character model sheet that the school had provided, we were required to tell a story with a beginning middle and end within four panels to illustrate a particular theme. The theme for this year's storyboard was "beauty is only skin deep".
There are many things to consider when putting together a piece like this. Composition, perspective, camera angles/shots, acting and posing, and staying on model with the provided character. All these things have to be thought about with the aim of telling a compelling story. They must all work in conjunction with each other to paint a specific narrative.
Firstly, I would advise to really try to understand the theme. Don't immediately jump into boarding only to realize later on that you had completely missed the mark because you had misinterpreted the theme. Once you have a grasp on what the theme means you can start to brainstorm ideas. You can even start by visualizing sequences in your head. Just be creative. Once you have a rough concept down, you can begin to sketch out several passes of it. Iteration is important when it comes to storyboarding. There are an infinite number of ways to tell a story so don't just settle on the first pass you come up with. There are both effective and ineffective ways of telling the same story so be sure to use your camera angles and shots wisely.
Figure Drawings
Same as every other year, we were required to submit 2 short pose figure drawings and 2 long pose figure drawings. I only scored an 8/10 in this section which is understandable because I really should have started working on improving my figure drawing skills much earlier on. It just wasn't my favorite thing to do so I just avoided doing it until portfolio season came around. But really, the only thing you can do to score high in this section is to practice practice practice, and start doing it as early as possible. With the short pose drawings which were 1-3 minutes long, the goal was to capture the gesture and movement of the model. Try to do so with confident lines and avoid being too sketchy as it will disrupt the rhythm and flow of the body's contours and curves.
With the long pose drawings on the other hand, which could span from 5-20 minutes long, the objective was to nail down the structure and anatomy of the figure. However, it is still important to not neglect the overall gesture of the pose. Otherwise your drawing will end up looking stiff and lifeless. As well, since you are given more time with these, you should draw a little more attention to the line quality. Thicker and darker lines should be used at points that are important to showing the underlying structure of the figure, whereas lighter lines may be used in areas that do not contribute as much to implying any real structure.
Personal Pieces
Last but not least are my personal pieces which fortunately for me gave me another 15/15 on my scoresheet. Normally, Sheridan would get applicants to submit a maximum of 5 personal pieces, but this year they decided to switch things up on us and allowed 5-7 pieces. To that end, I thought it would be wise to fully meet that 7-piece quota. In your personal pieces you want to show a variety of artwork. They want to see that you are versatile and are competent in multiple mediums. More importantly though, show work that best demonstrates your unique style and voice. This section of the portfolio is for the profs to see who you are as an artist and to get a quick profile of your artistic tastes and tendencies. Don't sell yourself short by neglecting this area. Pick pieces that showcase a good balance of draftsmanship and personality. If you find that you don't have any personal pieces to choose from, make them from scratch! But start early, because above all else this is the section you would least want to be stressing over when D-Day comes rolling in.
Wow, lovely portfolio! Congrats!