Advice for Creative Professionals on LinkedIn

You've heard the expression, "dress for the job that you want - not for the one you have", right? Apply that logic to your LinkedIn profile (and all of your social profiles online). Your profile tagline should show a title related to what you want to do professionally, not just your current job title. I assume that you don't intend to continue being a clerk at a Vap store, right? I would recommend that you remove that sort of job experience from your profile entirely. Prospective employers in creative industries know you have to make ends meet, but they don't want to slog through a profile that forces them to read all about it.

Only include jobs that show a chain of experience that leads up to a your current career goals. If you don't have something that you can show as "current employment", then create an entry called "Schmuckatelli Productions" (or some-such) and include either the names of some of your freelance clients, or even add some brief project descriptions of the kinds personal projects that you have done for yourself. Mark it as "current". Do NOT mark it as "Self-Employed". That could be mistaken by some prospective clients/employers as "Not-Employed". It's sad, but true, that most employers like to hire people who are already employed. Also, remember to be honest. You're shining a positive light on things that you have actually done, not making up false entrees.

Avatar/Profile Picture: When in doubt, change it. In most industries you want something that looks fairly professional, like a proper head shot meaning a close-up, high-resolution photo. Your eyes should never be covered, and the background should be fairly minimal and neutral (the interesting thing in the picture should be you). In creative industries you can either do a head shot, or you can go wild and put a piece of your art or a cartoon; the caveat being that it needs to be relatable and/or fun (no images of a cool part of gun you modeled in 3D).

Lastly, make sure that you add links to a reel or portfolio site. If someone is interested in finding an artist, they don't want to waste time searching for your work or contacting you for that info. They want to see it now. Make sure that all of your sites have current contact information prominently displayed at the top of the page.

Follow these suggestions and you'll get a lot more traction on LinkedIn, a lot faster.

~Pat

Sketches from Scott Eaton's Bodies in Motion

Day 10 of my current streak at theunbroken30. These figures are from Scott Eaton’s “Bodies in Motion”.See more at theunbroken30

Hand Studies from Handy Art Reference Tool

Day 7 of my current streak, and 3rd day drawing from the Handy Art Reference Tool. Using this app is really convenient, and as such, seductive to use. However, I’m mildly concerned about the fact that even though these are very well done 3D models there are some distortions and elongations that might lead to some bad drawing habits if I continue using it. Maybe I’m overthinking it. This page is a bit more than 35 minutes. I’m really glad to be sketching regularly again. I can feel the old skills coming back.

If you would like to see more I've been posting daily at www.theunbroken30.tumblr.com

Stallion of The Sky: Symbol Designs

You know those little pictures that fly past you on a slot machine reel? For anyone that isn't familiar, those are called "symbols". Each one has a specific purpose in the game, and each one has a value assigned to it. Like I said in the last post, I chose to use Mayan/Incan design language to help create a sense of time and place for the Stallion of the Sky slot game. 

For the bonus symbol (the symbol that might get you to the bonus or free spins screen) I looked at the designs of specific Mayan pottery that some say is proof of ancient aliens. I like the mysterious nature of those pieces, so I wanted to include that look. Do an image search for "Mayan Aliens".

For this mid-pay symbol I wanted a piece of magic pottery that spat a combination of electric arcs and flame, so I combined Mayan pottery with a spark plug. The blue flame in this still version was replaced in the final version with animated electric flame.  

Since I started working in this industry I've really enjoyed creating the letter art for the "Royals" in slot games. Although sometimes I start with a font, these were hand drawn from scratch and then painted digitally in Photoshop. I used some photo texture, but most of it was just painted.

All rights to this art belong to AGS: Cadillac Jack Games, an Apollo Global Management company.

Speed Clouds

I'm doing a sky scene for work and thought it would be a good idea to practice a bit before moving on to the final piece. This was done in just over an hour in Photoshop. I used a variety of brushes. I did look at a photo for this, but I tried not to be a slave to it, ad-libbing shapes and color a little. This was relaxing and fun.

 

Page-o-figures 2

Here's some nudes from photos. Just trying to keep the figure skills frosty.

Page-o-figures

I've got SO much work I do every day that I'm proud of but can't show online for a rather long time, so I'm trying to sketch in my sketchbook a little everyday. Like many a 'comic geek turned professional artist' I was never all that great at drawing attractive women. It's something I have to work at. I'm gearing up for a comic project with an attractive female lead character, so I figured it was something I need to focus on in my sketchbook.

These are btwn 2 and 4 inches tall. My goal is to get the shapes down  and not to get bogged down in details and perfection.