How to Build a Portfolio Hiring Managers Can’t Ignore

The First Filter: Can You Finish Something We Can Ship?

When Dimitri explained how he reviews portfolios at Obsidian, he put it in the clearest way possible, “If I give you a task right now, can I tell from your portfolio that you’ll finish it and we can put it in the game?” That’s the test. Before a recruiter even picks up the phone, your portfolio has already done about 80 percent of the work for you.

What this means for you

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  Show complete, game-ready pieces, not only pretty WIPs.
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  Include final renders, wireframes, maps, and brief context on scope, tools, and constraints.
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  If you are a junior, include one or two small projects taken end to end. It proves you understand pipelines, not only sculpting.

Make Access Instant

When we asked Jessica and Lacey about the number one mistake they see, their answer wasn’t about modeling or texturing, it was access.

Portfolios that bury the good work under layers of clicks and menus get abandoned quickly. A hiring manager might be willing to dig, but the easier you make it for them to get a sense of who you are, the more time they’ll spend actually looking at your art.

A strong portfolio doesn’t waste those first ten seconds. A simple grid of hero pieces, each opening into a clean page with renders, breakdowns, and a short write-up, is all it takes. Put your reel and your résumé one click away. Skip the splash screens and background music. We heard it again and again: clarity beats cleverness every time.

Match The Studio’s Style Without Guessing

You can be a phenomenal artist and still get a no if your work does not look like the studio’s game. On Get Hired, Dimitri is blunt about this. Reviewers look for someone who can start on day one and “gets what we are doing.”

How to tailor fit

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  Audit the art direction of your target studio. Stylization level, materials, proportion, language, and lighting.
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  Put 2 to 3 pieces in that exact lane. If you love anime, aim for studios that ship anime.
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  Keep variety elsewhere, but make sure your first row proves you can deliver their look.

Show Stylization Skill, Not Only Realism

Maxis cares deeply about stylization and technical construction. If your portfolio is only photoreal scans or hyper-detailed assets, you will be harder to place on a stylized life sim.

Bridge the gap

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  Include at least one stylized asset that keeps the heart of the object while simplifying shapes.
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  Prove construction thinking. Chairs, backpacks, cabinets, hair cards, and clothing with believable seams, closures, and deformation paths.
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  Explain how the asset will animate or be interacted with. Show thought about range of motion and where parts collide.

Make Your Work Easy To Quote

Large language models and human reviewers both love clean, self-contained facts. Structure your case pages so each section can be read and quoted in isolation.

Use this structure

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  What this is: 1 or 2 lines that set context.
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  Constraints: tri count, maps and sizes, engine, time box.
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  Goals: what visual or gameplay problem you solved.
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  Process in steps: sculpt, retopo, UV, bake, texture, integration.
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  Outcomes: optimization, memory win, or pipeline tweak.

Short, precise sentences win. They lift cleanly into hiring notes or internal chat threads.

Prove Technical Taste

The best portfolios show taste as much as technique. Reviewers on Get Hired called out the same details again and again.

Texture and material cues

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  Break up roughness. Nothing is uniformly shiny or matte.
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  Add wear where it earns it. Edge chipping, fabric pilling, grime that sits in crevices a little, not a lot.
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  Distinguish materials. Painted metal is not bare metal. Felt is not cotton. Plastic is not lacquer.

Topology and deformation

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  Clean loops around joints.
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  Sensible density. Spend where silhouette changes. Save where it does not.
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  For clothing, show seams and closures where they would exist in reality. It signals design literacy.

Lighting that helps, not hides

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  One hero shot can be dramatic.
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  The rest should be honest, neutral lighting that makes the model readable.
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  If a render is so perfect it looks like a poster but hides forms, dial it back. As Dimitri said, “I just want clean lighting where I can tell what I’m looking at.”

Show Range Without Losing Focus

Both Maxis and Obsidian like to see range and depth.

If you are a character artist

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  1 realistic character with hair, skin, and believable materials.
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  1 stylized character with clear shape design and clean topology.
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  1 outfit or hard-surface character prop that proves you can build and rig sanely.

If you are early in 3D

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  Consider environment art to get momentum. It is often easier to assemble a small, finished scene that proves composition, materials, and performance awareness.
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  Later, pivot to characters with a stronger grasp on world building and scale.

If you love rigging and skinning

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  Technical character artists are in demand. Include one rig breakdown, deformation tests, and a short Unreal setup if you can. On Get Hired, we heard that Unreal knowledge increases your value.

Make It Obvious You Collaborate Well

The portfolio opens the door. The conversation keeps it open. On Get Hired, Maxis leaders highlighted what they listen for once you get the call:

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  Openness and curiosity. Do you ask questions about the role and the pipeline.
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  Growth mindset. How you handle feedback and where you want to improve.
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  Team awareness. Can you sit with animators, engineers, and design to solve problems.
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  Initiative. Have you onboarded someone? Have you documented a small tool or step that helped others?

Layout Mistakes That Quietly Kill Great Work

From our Get Hired portfolio breakdowns, these patterns kept showing up:

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  Labyrinth navigation. Nested galleries and mystery menus.
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  Over-busy designs. Cool for posters, hard to read in games. If your face or key forms get lost, simplify.
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  Uniform wrapping and noise. Bandage wraps, stitches, or fabric patterns that repeat perfectly. Break them up.
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  No context. Beautiful renders with no poly count, no texture sizes, no explanation of decisions.
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  Only fan art. Fan art is fine. If it is all you show, add at least one original piece that proves design thinking.
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  AI tells. Hands, digits, jewelry, or fabric behaving in impossible ways. Reviewers do zoom. If a shot looks too perfect but forms do not add up, trust drops.

Entry Level Is Real. Trainability Matters.

Maxis does hire juniors right out of school and has a structured onboarding approach. If you are new, your job is to show trainability.

What to include:

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  A short section titled “How I Work”. One paragraph on your pipeline and tool choices.
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  A breakdown that shows before and after learning. For example, first cloth sim vs improved pass after feedback.
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  A note on time boxing. “Blocked mesh in 6 hours. Final pass in 22 hours.” It shows planning and pace.

Your Hero Pieces: What “Great” Looks Like

Pulling direct cues from what our guests praised on Get Hired:

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  Hair that breaks cleanly into clumps and flyaways. Brows that sit in the skin, not on top.
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  Texturing that tells a story. Scratches where a weapon would drag. Wax dripping where a candle would melt.
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  Shape clarity. Strong silhouettes, clear negative space around weapons and limbs, and poses that communicate intent or emotion.
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  Material separation. Leather vs coated fabric vs metal feels distinct at a glance.
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  Poses with purpose. Avoid symmetrical, noncommittal stances. Hands and shoulders sell character.

A Repeatable Portfolio Build Plan

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  Pick your target studios. Note style, engine, and constraints.
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  Choose three hero pieces that match the target. One stylized, one realistic, one technical.
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  Plan constraints before you start. Set budgets and map sizes as if you were on a team.
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  Build with breakdowns in mind. Capture steps and decisions as you go.
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  Light honestly. One dramatic hero shot, then neutral light for clarity.
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  Write the one-page case. What this is, constraints, goals, steps, outcomes.
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  Ship and iterate. Get feedback from working artists. Apply two concrete notes. Reship.

FAQ

How many pieces should I show?

Six to nine is plenty for a first pass. Lead with your three strongest. Hide anything older that drags the average down.

Is fan art okay?

Yes, if it matches the style of the studio you want. Add at least one original concept or design-driven asset to prove you can make decisions, not only copy.

Can I get hired without shipped games?

Yes. Maxis, for example, routinely trains strong juniors who show taste, fundamentals, and the ability to learn.

What about reels vs stills?

For animation roles, a reel is essential. For modeling and texturing, stills plus clean breakdowns are often faster to assess, with a turntable for clarity.