How to Start an Art Portfolio
Whether for showing potential clients what you can do or simply for your own enjoyment, creating an art portfolio is a great way to quickly summarize who you are as an artist. This process is a chance for you to really examine your art, pick out your best pieces and showcase them.
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Things You'll Need
- 3-ring binder
- Protective binder sheets
- Digital camera
- Photographs of your artworks
Instructions
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Starting Your Portfolio
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1
Gather together all your finished pieces. This is best done away from your work area so that you can think of the pieces as individual and complete, as opposed to attaching them to their process. Spend some time thinking about the pieces with an eye towards culling the best.
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2
Take digital photographs of your artworks and judge them again based on how they look when photographed. For instance, a painting with a high gloss might look wonderful in person, but you almost certainly won't be able to capture its qualities in a picture.
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3
Create printouts of the photographs of your best pieces. If you can't get the quality of prints you want with your home printer, many stores offer this service (see Resources below).
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4
Insert printouts of your selected artworks into protective binder sheets. Although you can put two in each sheet, the visual effect of each piece is clearer when only one photo appears in each, separated by matting (for instance, a piece of black paper) or other neutral media.
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5
Slip the stuffed protective sheets into a three-ring binder, and keep your portfolio on hand for your and others' perusal.
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Tips & Warnings
Feel free to treat your binder itself like a canvas-you can paint or collage on it before you insert your materials.
