PORTFOLIO TALK: THE TRUTH ABOUT ARTSTATION 

Sorry the audio is low. I had technical difficulties with the mic on this one all while having covid while I recorded and edited.

I want AI to do my housework, not my creativity.

I've been in the industry for about 10 years now and the amount of younger artists coming into the industry that only do aspirational blue sky pitch cityscapes/splash art is rising. I work with someone who was hired on as a senior and all they do is blender photobashed wide shot landscapes. We work on a top down game. Upper management loves them because they don't understand the pipeline and it looks good on their quarterly presentation slides. They're basically being paid to draw whatever, no problem solving. 3D department cant use 90% of their stuff. Hell WE can't use any of their stuff. Its bleak

From someone who's a fresh graduate and still building my portfolio, most art that I've seen from artstation is pretty overwhelming. Thank you for bringing me back to the basics and behind the scenes. Took a lot of notes here ^^

Art station has really damaged my mental health as an artist. After years of study I realized I had studied well beyond the entry level requirement for the industry. Even after that realization I still feel that imposter syndrome daily, and find it extremely hard to be proud of my work.

That explains why I keep getting spam messages on Artstation from NFT bots.

I've been working in concept art since 2014. The landscape is changing and just in the past 2 years, it has become overwhelming. The amount of incredibly skilled artists keep flooding in year by year and with so many experienced artists not being able to find a job for the past year, I wonder what the future really looks like.

It's not just an art station. Now even music platforms are getting flooded by AI. A bunch of people have even been asking me to recreate "their" AI songs. It's painfully pathetic. They think they are Mozart just because they asked the AI to do something, but they don't even f-ing know what a chord is.

This video highlights precisely why I send my students your way when it comes to getting straight to the goods that matter. Nobody lays it out this flawlessly

As someone revamping their portfolio with props and environment layout drawings, LISTEN TO THIS MAN. Key art and explorative VIS dev is for your art directors and leads. Planning, layout, problem solving and props are for us grunts getting our first job. Thank you tyler!

Its time to get Back to basics and start buying & selling art/concept books tbh

Marketing art does the best on Artstation (splash art, covers, illustrations for ad campaigns, etc). On platforms like IG, very simple eye-catching designs do best, esp portraits & “cute” characters with bright colors. All these platforms have their biases that aren’t based on success in the industry. I know oil painters who make a living paint portraits that barely get 100 likes on social media, & same with 3D artists unless they’re sculpting simple characters

Amazing video, thank you for the discussion and reminding us to think critically about the 'why' of a portfolio. It's too easy to get lost in all the flashy illustrations and images

As someone who has just started seriously working on my portfolio this is the EXACT video I needed! Thank you!

excellent discussion and explanation of Art Station and the like art. I am retired and just beginning my art journey. when I would watch a sketching/drawing/painting tutorial and the person doing it went so quickly and totally clean render I felt deflated that after several weeks I was not anywhere near that level. I had to get it into my head these people, you included, have YEARS and YEARS of experience behind them so I had to down shift and just start with learning the basics of composition/perspective/lighting etc. I keep my expectations to a lower level and I am less stressed about it. Now I am having fun with it

I was not expecting a video like this. It is as you say. Working as a concept artist my job has been all about how to build art that can solve problems visually. an your 3D artist take your concepts and make them? What's important in aspects of narrative alongside technical know how. You've kinda covered a lot in this video, I am grateful for this.

I stopped using ArtStation, and I'm still a bit sad about how unusable it is under Epics management. The front page design has really suffered over the years with distractions everywhere. Even with their search and filters, I can't seem to find the specific types of projects I'm looking for. All the wonderful reference packs have been replaced by AI. As an aspiring illustrator, I used AS mostly to learn and keep up with trends. Hats off to any poor AD who actually relies on AS for work. I honestly don't know how you are doing it. Hoping that no one will hold it against me if I host my portfolio on Cara and my own website, because I can't support AS in its current sad state.

I'm a Tech Artist and it's so rare to find other tech art related posts on ArtStation... Sure, you can filter with the tech art tag but even then I check it everyday and there's rarely new posts. I know tech art is more uncommon than other forms of art like concept art and character art but man, I'd like to see more of my craft on the platform.

100% agree that fancy looking obscure piece will not get you a job, but it gets you to the starting line. In hiring process, manager or sometimes concept artist like myself have to go though so many portfolios. And in order to stand out among those portfolios so it gets picked up for "closer inspection", as sad as it is, you need to have some eye catcher that demonstrates some level of artistic skills. But.. yah do a fancy piece that is not Megolithic structure, generic military, random ruins, post apocalyptic or dark fantasy. Because they generally don't really stand out (...or even, becomes a joke such as "oops another radar dish. People really love radar dishes. don't they?")

this has genuinely been one of the most encouraging and helpful channels for art ive found, thank u

Wow, thanks Tyler! I really appreciate the shoutout. I'm a huge admirer of your work and your channel.

Thank you for these, as a current student online this really reinforces what my goals are, as it's sometimes hard doing online schooling versus being in a physical school/studio. Thanks Mr. Edlin

I should definitely say this that, I recently found your channel. It's really relaxing and inspiring to watch your video. No bullshit on these amazing content. Just exactly what we need to know as new artists from an experienced industry professional. Thank you so much Tyler. These stuff are really good.

I was JUST speaking with another industry professional about this. Great video!

Cara time

After FengZhu's videos I've seen a bunch of young artists doing these kinds of production work now. Which is awesome, no doubt your video is going to reach more artists

I think the most valuable trait in a portfolio. Is being able to convey a precise and accurate ability to replicate familiar subjects/styles in art. Along with knowledge of the industry pipe line and being easy to work with

Awesome video Tyler. More people need to talk about this! As far as my career goes, rarely studios approach me because of my finished images! Most of the time, they were interested in my sketches and workflow that I always show in my ArtStation uploads. That's what the Art Directors are interested in seeing.

Thanks a lot, Tyler, for all the videos you make. I consider you an exceptional instructor, content creator and individual. You're so real with the audience, and you explain a lot of stuff that no one else talks about. This video in particular really opened my eyes. I was making all the mistakes you listed, so seriously, thanks so much for showing me the right way.

Good stuff. As a person of years, who will never get hired by a studio, I still found this very useful in the pursuit of my personal work. Storytelling is an underappreciated part of the process. Simply asking 'why' and following where the answer leads is a great lesson. Thank you.

Hardy Fowler is a real OG, i Iearned so much from him!

Man ArtStation has really screwed my perception of what I think I should aim for as someone who wants to become an environment concept artist. All I see are those crazy detailed and amazing environment pieces and it makes me feel like I’ll never catch up or reach that level of art. This video really slapped some sense into me. Thank you for this.

Awh, I love that you gave such a big shoutout to Hardy/DPS. So nice to see that the art/art teaching community is so supportive to each other. In this day and age we have to have each other’s backs, whether artist, graphic designer, otherwise creative. You made my day, Tyler. 😊

When you showed some art examples, wow, just inspiring! Thank you for changing my perspective

I actually learned this very early and it is one of the reasons I did not become a professional artist in the game industry, which is what I wanted to be when I was younger. This might sound cynical, but with all that AI stuff going on, I might have dodged a bullet when deciding to stay a hobbyist.

Thank you Tyler for the insight!! I know that I have fallen for the trap of the flashy art when I was first looking into doing art for work. There is always something to learn. Videos like this help lots with finding or refining direction. Thank you for everything you do!!!

The idea of bringing out the human experience in concept art is awesome. Even the old masters like Syd Mead and Ron Cobb. Did that. Look at their books or art books showing their designs you see how practical they look and how human figure or story character can interact with the futuristic building, the juiced up Delorian in Back to the Future, Nostromo landing ship etc. yeah they are very technical but no different to examples of good concept art highlighted in this video. I joined art station to be inspired and learn but man it is crawling with AI generated images for figure reference art and concept art. Useless filters that don’t work. It also throws big soulless polished work in my face and I sit and think “welp! This is the standard!” I wish it had sections for peer to peer art. That way beginners could interact and grow. Also, spam and fake art curators are on the rise. Work gets stolen and used in films made in a certain part of the world that churns out their movies by the thousands. It’s a mess.

I absolutely thank you for that information tyler, i'ts truly life changing for me at least! Sometimes we need to hear something like this (and even more valuable if this info was given by one of the greatest professionals out there) for now on i'm gonna start planning out even more my concepts for my portfolio. So again thank you!!

Reminds me of how young editors only know how to do tiktok style flashy fast edits and not invisible editing.

Tyler, huge thumbs up to you for this sir. You really cleared the fog for me. Thanks

That's why I got to Cara, im someone who treads the line between concept and fine art. I dont think it makes me better but i am more in touch with a broad culture of art that isnt solely meant for production. Theres great lessons to be leanred in differnet work flows and approaches. Realize you have value and your work has value outside of rugged productivity. And the world opens itself to you just that bit more

Thank you for this video, it has been very hard to explain this to my students when they do concept art. They focus more on the pretty pictures, but less on being specific on the design or construct elements. We are not a concept art school, but we do pre-production in a lot of the assessments.

Thank you for this video this clear my thought so much. I always feel that I kind of know all these points mentioned in the video but there's just too much noise to understand what I actually need to progress on the path of concept artist and been circling and stumbling for years. Thanks you so much for this video and thank RU-vid algorithm help me found your channel.

That so on point Tyler, thanks for standing out and being honest on these, being an artist in the game industry I can agree with all said here, most of my daily work is closer to a product designer than a painter, studios need more problem solving skills nowadays than technical flashy images.

This makes me so sad to hear but thank you for making this video man. I haven't been in the discord for a while cause life has been pretty rough lately and I haven't been drawing much but what I have been doing is searching through Artstation for inspiration. The fact that they cater to AI is bad enough, but they had me under the belief that they were the bastion of protecting upcoming artists and a place to post their work safely. Thank you for the info tyler!

I’m glad you made this because I’ve been very confused comparing my portfolio to others. I mostly make interior layout designs, but all I see from other artists are large panoramic environments. I’ve heard some industry artists recommend doing large keyframes, and pair those with more detailed concepts pulled from those keyframes. Do you recommend that or are the concept designs fine/likely to get your hired on their own?

Thank you so much for this video. It was very helpful and a thorough explanation. I hope I can go to Brush Sauce Academy soon 😊

This video is invaluable. Thank you so much for sharing.

incredible video, I always thought something was missing browsing art station

Artstation is like for concept things, usually illustration and usable stuff for design are usually on pinterest or any other individual mass effort

Thank you so much Tyler!

This is extremely helpful! do you have recommendations, tips, or examples for Visual Development portfolios specifically for feature film animation?

I deleted all my artworks and the stuff I sell on the marketplace when they started accepting AI work, This only tells me that down the line they will use my work for their degenartive ai.

All those art blasts cost thousands of dollars to host. So obviously, only the big dogs willing to fork over 5-6k are going to be getting those nice art blasts.

Thank you so much for the information

As someone who is dabbling into concept art for videogames, this video is freeing! It also kind of attests that what I'm doing in the past is more accurate of what a concept art is(solving problems and communicating ideas/concepts) Thank you for clarifying!

Move to Cara. It’s not perfect but the creator genuinely cares and it has a more healthy atmosphere. I encourage everyone to move from art station to Cara. And make Cara the new arts ration.

1:18 Yup, I'm really tired of people thinking that a truly great piece of art is just a hyperrealistic concept. Bored, I started filtering the search tool with the word 'Cartoon'. Then it made me shift from semi-realistic to cartoon in my work. After almost 20 years in the industry, I decided to go stylized. AI was just the excuse that I needed to do it.

I dropped out of AIstation as soon as they started allowing AI generated crap.

First :) Also good video bro

Thanks for the insight!

last part about NDA hell is so truthful it hurts :D

0:25 - 0:33 so basically they are like youtube and every other big platform.

not everyone at Artstation is a concept artist (or want to be) and many people just want to draw pretty things and upvote pretty things. It is the fault of the wanna-be CAs who did not research more about the job they want to do rather than the fault of Artstation

1:10 - AI Sh*t Now that made me burst out laughing. You're right Tyler. I stopped using ArtStation a good while ago.

I always enjoy topics you bring mr. Tyler, but could you please bring your microphone volume by at least 7-12 decibels? I can barely hear what you say even with YT volume and browser maxed, and I'm sure its not my sound system, thank you!

min14 mill from inside is just INSANE. Any tips to start getting familiar with that kind of view? Is that all perspective work? Thanks for the video :) Always nice to hear professional's takes.

thank you for this!

Great video! intersting points, i was wondering if my pro subscription does anything - must try without i guess :)

Does this also reference character design? Because I tried to do this but I got rejected so many times 😅 and no body wants to tell me what I'm doing wrong so I'm lost. If not then I'll do environment art because I'm starting to have fun doing it

what an irony. talking about AI and an ads about AI was one of ads shown.

Love this. ❤✌️

As a recent graduate in 3d modelling trying to get into the industry, im trying to expand my portfolio, do you think modelling these types of scenes/concepts you have shown is a good way to improve my portfolio? Scenes that include interior/exterior, storytelling and human interaction

Insightful video. Thanks. I want to call out fine art America while we are here on the subject. When they v included AI as early as 2022 and denied using Ai art to be sold side by side with human made art and equally priced

I wish I heard this 5 years ago

Good video

Great video, thanks! PS: Audio is little bit low or is it just me?

NDA hell.. can relate!

I think Instagram and people on youtube like Rossdraws give kids a worse look at what creating concept art and art is like more than artstation

Thank you for it that showing us the truth.

Essentially, show the why and how, break it down, and make it human both in usability and personal artist character. Which seems like only a human can really do. I’ve noticed that the loudest and most visible things are often the most thinly veiled. Yeah looks good at a glance or sounds like its the majority, but once you start researching a little and broadening your view a bit, you see where the actual goodness is.

You also forgot to mention the insta likes boosting cheating system by uploading pretty girls with racks and soft porn biased artwork

People are using Cara. Which is artist-friendly and doesn't allow even AI art. A bonus is that they won't let AI scrape their website

I dont feel comfortable participating in anything owned by Epic.

Thank you Ty!!!!

So what you are saying is to be a concept artist you need to be an engineer?

Would be nice to share some portfolio works maybe on IG, I follow a lot of artists, bit only few ever showcase such works, or isn't it allowed, maybe after the movie is released? To share your works ?

TBH I never was a big fan of this generic concepts, I always preffer this more speciffic kind of concept art, I always find them intriguing like blueprints of the certain fictional world when this generic stuff was more like preaty but afterall quite borring.

I left art station like 3 years ago

I remember setting up Artstation before it was filled with AI garbage.

Nice 🎉 thx man

I wanna see those nda folders 😂

Do you have any videos or courses on how to be successful in illustration?

Whoever though Artstation = Concept Art real work is very dumb in the first place. I am sorry but that like saying instagram = real life.

So has like dark fantasy and cyberpunk and megastructures just been too saturated so they won’t help you? I was curious why the ones you signposted to avoid are to be avoided. Cool video though and shame to see Artstation so wrecked.

I don't know your actual age but you don't look old at all.

So there is no safe site out there for AI. Cool..

How would you ban AI generated content on Artstation? Look at someone art and accuse them of using AI tools? How's that gonna go?

What portfolio sites do people here recommend?👀

Artstation was initially set up for industry project folios. I wouldn’t use it for anything else. Don’t try to sell your work on it.