@Qi yes it’s a bit intimidating! I’m to the point where I think i’m ready to start asking for critiques but I like to do my research and make sure that I’ve done as much as I can to eliminate any obvious issues with my body of work before asking someone else to spend time looking at it and giving me advice. I took the SVS class on what should be in a children’s book portfolio and I feel like there was some overlap there (as far as the list of things to include) but Lee’s point about the business plan was a great one. I was like – well duh – that makes complete sense and is something I hadn’t even considered.
I was a little nervous when they said that you should pretty much have a brand new portfolio every 6 months. I have a full-time job and try to devout a few hours each night to my illustration, it takes me about 12 months to cycle all the older work out of my portfolio. I though that was a pretty good pace but maybe not
@abewitz1 I’m also a designer trying to make the jump into illustration. I think you’d benefit from taking your first 6 galleries and separating them from the last 5. Personally, I found it best to have two completely different portfolios for design and illustration. My design is very corporate and my illustration is geared toward children. I found that the presence of one, on the same site as the other- even in sub-categories- detracted from my overall appeal. I was applying for a new full-time design position last May and I put up a portfolio completely devoted to design on a separate URL from my illustration. If you look at my site now (www.studiolooong.com) you wouldn’t even know that I’m a designer except for the line in my bio where I say that’s what I do. Another great example is Blake Stevenson. He’s a full-time designer at Shopify, I’m sure his design work is fantastic but you won’t find it on his website (http://www.jetpacksandrollerskates.com).
You have to put yourself in the perspective of a potential client landing on your work for the first time. If they are looking for the right person to wireframe their new app, they don’t care how well you can draw a baby or a robot. It might even turn them off to see that stuff because they think you have too much going on and they are looking for someone who lives and breaths graphic design. If you don’t want to maintain two domains and URLs, I would pick which focus is less important to you at the present moment and move that body of work to some sort of free platform like a Behance or Art Station account or a free wix page.