アニメーター志望者の為のポートフォリオ－採用される為のポイント解説しますHow to make a portfolio,for those who want to be animator

Main ideas / lessons

• Animator candidate portfolios should demonstrate foundational drawing ability and production-relevant skills, not just “pretty” or flashy finished art.
• Evaluators consulted (10 people) broadly emphasize:
  • Strong human/body drawing and perspective.
  • Ability to draw from life/understanding forms (not relying on copying/tracing).
  • Evidence you can produce quick sketches and consistent proportions.
  • Work that includes whole bodies, backgrounds, and everyday actions/movements.
  • Some attention to both analog (pencil) and digital workflows (depending on company expectations).

Methodology / “what to include” (checklist)

A) What skills the portfolio should prove

• Human body drawing (foundation)

  • Show the whole body, not only faces.
  • Include varied poses (ideally quickly) to demonstrate form understanding.
  • Emphasize accurate proportions so character/object sizes don’t shift across images.

• Perspective / environment understanding

  • Include figures depicted standing on the ground (avoid only floating/unnatural compositions).

• Quick sketch / short-time production

  • Demonstrate you can capture shapes rapidly (e.g., “quick sketch” exercises).

• Animation-relevant drawing

  • Show at least basic in-between animation readiness, such as:
    • Walking, running, turning around
    • Ideally also movement variety like runs coming from back to front (noted as a higher hurdle by one respondent).

• Original drawing vs. tracing/copying

  • Tracing/copying may be viewed negatively (or at least makes work harder to rank).
  • Prefer “what you draw casually” from your own practice, including backgrounds you actually draw.

B) What types of artworks to submit (content checklist)

• Include both pencil and digital drawings

  • If applying to companies that use digital heavily, digital competence matters; if not decided yet, start with pencil practice.
  • Some evaluators want both because it shows adaptability to the industry shift to digital.

• Include background work

  • Not just character cutouts—include characters interacting with normal everyday backgrounds.
  • Avoid only “unrealistic layouts” or purely tool-generated backgrounds.

• Include full images and finished work

  • Prefer completed pieces rather than only rough sketches.
  • Some dislike portfolios that contain:
    • Only “cute girls” (moe characters)
    • Only background-less images
    • Only rough/unfinished work

• Show diversity in characters

  • Include men and women and different ages, not only one character type.

• Everyday movements > “flashy” action

  • Flashy action is often not the norm in animation production.
  • Prioritize everyday acting such as:
    • Walking
    • Running
    • Standing up
  • Even strong action artists should first demonstrate everyday movement clearly.

C) Optional / additional recommendations mentioned

• Show your favorite works

  • Include a piece (or pieces) that reflect what you like, especially since animation production requires collaboration.

• Include both character-only and character-with-environment

  • Some emphasize backgrounds + characters as a “high point.”

• Coloring

  • Coloring is not considered essential by one conclusion (“no one mentioned coloring, so you don’t need to paint it”); focus more on drawing fundamentals.

D) Submission format guidance

• Prefer paper drawings if possible.
• If submitting digitally:
  • Print digitally drawn images (for most cases mentioned).
  • If applying to a Japanese company from overseas, data via the internet is acceptable.
• Include images where fundamental drawing power is easy to understand, especially:
  • Full body + background
  • A variety of subjects (examples given):
    • Cars / bicycles / motorcycles
    • Dogs, cats, horses, birds
  • Also noted as a “high point”:
    • Drawing a background scene involving everyday utensils (example: using knife and fork)

E) Evaluation criteria / weighting (one source’s example)

From a respondent associated with an animation vocational school:

• ~30% Key Animation skill
• ~40% Human body drawing
• Remaining ~30%:
  • Rough key animation cleanup
  • In-between animation evaluation

They also consider fit for:

• Key animator track
• In-between animator track (separately)

Main disagreement / nuance between sources

• Tracing/copying

  • Some explicitly dislike it; another suggests there are too many weak trace/copy portfolios to rank, but higher-level ranking becomes harder.

• Pencil vs. digital

  • One director viewpoint emphasizes pencil proficiency (traditional Japanese animation).
  • Another emphasizes digital acceptability (industry shift).
  • Overall guidance: submit both where possible.

• Character focus

  • Some strongly prioritize backgrounds and completed scenes.
  • Some caution against only “cool/flashy” work or narrow character types.

Speakers / sources featured

• Animator A (opinion)
• Production Assistant (opinion)
• Animator B (opinion)
• Director (opinion)
• Animator C (opinion)
• Formerly animator (opinion)
• Animator D (opinion)
• Animator E (opinion)
• Animator F (opinion)
• Animator G (opinion)
• “Animation Vocational School” evaluation perspective (described as a source related to graduation/weighting)
• 10 people overall (as stated by the video’s narrator/research summary)
• Video narrator / “My interpretation” commentator (summarizing and interpreting others’ opinions)