Guides: Studio Art: Portfolios

Suggestions for Creating a Portfolio

Photographing Your Artwork
The hardest part of creating a portfolio can be to take good pictures of your work. This site has some tips about shooting your work and then goes over some Photoshop methods of cleaning up the images.
How to Create a Professional Portfolio (Agora Gallery: advice from the NYC art experts)
A powerful portfolio can get your work noticed and give you the exposure you need to move your career forward
National Portfolio Day
Sometimes the biggest favor you can do for yourself is get a professional to look over your portfolio and tell you what they think. National Portfolio Day exists for this exact purpose--you can meet with representatives from colleges (there are days for undergraduate and graduate students in art and architecture).
A Word to the Wise
The format, size, and style of your portfolio will probably depend greatly on where you're planning to submit it. Don't send the same CD-ROM to every place you apply whether it's an art school or a gallery. Even art schools all have different requirements for portfolios, so do your homework beforehand.

Writing Artists' Statements

How to Write and Use an Artist's Statement
by Molly Gordon
Examples of Artist's Statements and Bios
from the Writing Center at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design
National Association of Independent Artists -- Elements of an Artist's Statement
includes a sample statement

Books on Portfolios

The graphic designer's guide to portfolio design by Debbie Rose Myers
Call Number: Payson Oversize NC1001 .M94 2005
ISBN: 0471569259
This guide outlines a step-by-step strategy for creating print-based and digital portfolios. Along with successful sample resumes and cover letters, as well as a companion Web site featuring examples of completed portfolios, it demonstrates how to highlight a designer's unique creativity, including tips on redesigning and organizing past pieces and portfolios to impress potential employers.
Designing a digital portfolio by Cynthia Baron
Call Number: Payson Oversize NC1001 .B355 2004
ISBN: 0735713944
Covers all the facets that artists need to know, from choosing the best work for a particular audience to using various file formats to organizing, designing, and presenting the portfolio. Beautiful full-color illustrations demonstrate her instructions, and case studies throughout portray examples of attractive and effective portfolio design. This book gives artists at any level a creative edge, ensuring that their portfolios get noticed and help them stand out from the crowd.
Portfolio design by Harold Linton; Steven Rost
Call Number: Payson Oversize NA1996 .L56 2003
ISBN: 0393730956
3rd ed. The architecture student's bible, revised, with expanded coverage of digital portfolios, continues to cover every aspect of portfolio planning and production, with increased emphasis on digital strategies, and it includes reviews of actual student portfolios by three industry professionals.