What common misconceptions about character animation should you avoid in your portfolio?

"Demo reel length". 45-60 seconds is generally plenty. Here's what I'm generally looking for when reviewing your reel: Proof of acting skill. Strong action analysis. Technical requirements: arcs, spacing, clear silhouettes, appealing composition, contrast, shape change, strong posing, varied timing. I don't care if it's nicely rendered, a playblast is fine. I don't care if it's a WIP, just label it as so. If you include Layout/Primary/Secondary passes of the same shot, then feel free to go beyond 60 seconds so I can compare them. I will watch it with the sound off. I don't need audio (even with lip sync) to see the level of your animation skills. Give me something fun... ...and I'll watch it all without skipping through it :)

"How to market your commercial animation portfolio". I'll go against Linkedin on one hand, and pander to them on the other. Don't spend time making a website. When I'm reviewing portfolios for hiring, all I want to see is a demo reel. I will ignore your website, your blog, other portfolio platforms, and most social media. Except. I will read your Linkedin profile completely through. I want to see how long you've been in the industry. Where you've worked. If you might know people I know so I can ask them about you. Which projects you've worked on. Where you went to school since I've taught as several and I have opinions about them. And once we've reviewed your demo reel and your Linkedin... we might give you a call.

"Character Animation Demo Reel how-to". Every job I've applied for, I've made a specific demo reel for that context. This is easier than it sounds. At one point I had a folder with around 150 clips in it. Each of these clips was between one and twenty seconds long, and represented some of the best animation I've done over the years. Back in the day, all I needed to do was open my first clip (a 5-second intro showing my name and contact info) in a Quicktime Pro window, and drag and drop the other clips one-by-one that matched a specific job I was applying for. Hit "export". Review for feeling and ensure all my appropriate skills are being represented. Send. It can more complicated, but the main idea is just to keep it simple.

An issue that I understood as a common mistake in a character animation portfolio is to put music in the demo reel in the background of the video to contextualize the professional's personality. I suggest not putting on music and leaving only the original audio of the scene highlighted because this way the audience can watch the video in its entirety without any noise, being able to understand and analyze it completely.