Games, Film and Animation Portfolio Guidance

BA Game Technical Art (From 2026)

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

Format

Submit a digital portfolio in a A4 (landscape or portrait) PDF file that is no longer than 20 pages in length. A suggested number of images per page is 1 - 4.

Max size is 10MB. Tip - reduce the resolution of your images to match the page size and it is always good to use compressed jpegs (this keeps the file size down).

You can add links to the PDF file, such as videos, animations or any moving image work, but please make sure the source files are not password protected as we will not be able to view. We cannot view work that is password protected.

Content

Start your portfolio with a short statement introducing yourself and your interests, feel free to create a contents page, but this is not essential.

We are looking for evidence that you are passionate about your work.

Ideally, include some examples of the following.

1. Traditional art skills, such as life drawing, anatomy and gesture drawing, perspective, still life, observational studies in a sketchbook.
2. Examples of animation or film work.
3. Storyboards, that demonstrate shot choice and progression.
4. Digital art skills - such as illustrations, concept art, character design (Procreate, Critter, Sketchbook, Photoshop, etc.).
5. Digital 3D skills - models and assets (Blender, Maya, Cinema 3ds Max, etc.).

It is not essential to supply examples of all of the above. The course team are always delighted to see traditional art within sketchbooks and particularly life drawing and studies from life. If your portfolio just shows this, we will be delighted. Everything else is a bonus.

Important - if you are including work on a collaborative project, be sure to declare which work and elements you produced.

BA Digital Animation

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

Format

Submit a digital portfolio in a A4 (landscape or portrait) PDF file that is no longer than 20 pages in length. A suggested number of images per page is 1 - 4.

Max size is 10MB. Tip - reduce the resolution of your images to match the page size and it is always good to use compressed jpegs (this keeps the file size down).

You can add links to the PDF file, such as videos, animations or any moving image work, but please make sure the source files are not password protected as we will not be able to view. We cannot view work that is password protected.

Content

Start your portfolio with a short statement introducing yourself and your interests, feel free to create a contents page, but this is not essential.

We are looking for evidence that you are passionate about your work.

Ideally, include some examples of the following.

1. Traditional art skills, such as life drawing, anatomy and gesture drawing, perspective, still life, observational studies in a sketchbook.
2. Examples of animation or film work.
3. Storyboards, that demonstrate shot choice and progression.
4. Digital art skills - such as illustrations, concept art, character design (Procreate, Critter, Sketchbook, Photoshop, etc.).
5. Digital 3D skills - models and assets (Blender, Maya, Cinema 3ds Max, etc.).

It is not essential to supply examples of all of the above. The course team are always delighted to see traditional art within sketchbooks and particularly life drawing and studies from life. If your portfolio just shows this, we will be delighted. Everything else is a bonus.

Important - if you are including work on a collaborative project, be sure to declare which work and elements you produced.

BA (Hons) Photography

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

Content

1. Work suitable for inclusion includes: photographs (portraiture, landscape, still-life, fashion or documentary etc.), any lens-based images (for example stills from videos), experimental imagery, photographic installations.
2. It is essential to include scanned versions or photographs of pages from your sketchbooks that support the work presented in your portfolio. This is because they show us the research behind the work, your thought process and how your ideas develop.
3. You may also include audio compositions and moving image work. Please include a link to where the file is hosted online within your PDF.
4. 3D work can be represented by including a photograph of the work showing a sense of scale.
5. We’re looking for quality rather than quantity so we request that your portfolio contains no more than 20 images of finished pieces. Try to show a variety of work and select the best work you have produced.
6. There is no set structure for how your portfolio should be presented. You just need to ensure it is ordered in a way that best expresses your ideas. Remember the order you present it in is the order it will be viewed in.
7. Work that you have created outside of school or college is always welcome.
8. To help your reviewer get a better understanding of you and your portfolio please include a small paragraph detailing the reasoning behind each of your pieces of work.

Skills we would like to see

1. Creativity
2. Your critical thinking process
3. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, materials and technologies
4. Use of a visible design process for idea development.

Format

1. Submit your digital portfolio as one PDF file.
2. Your digital portfolio should be no more than around 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
3. Ensure your work has a good screen resolution.
4. Add any links to video, animations, and moving image work in your PDF. Please check that these links work before you submit your portfolio and that they can be easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

BA (Hons) Visual Effects

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

Format

Submit a digital portfolio in a A4 (landscape or portrait) PDF file.

Max size is 20MB. Tip - reduce the resolution of your images to match the page size and it is always good to use compressed jpegs (this keeps the file size down).

You can add links to the PDF file, such as videos, animations or any moving image work, but please make sure the source files are not password protected as we will not be able to view your work.

Content

Start your portfolio with a short statement introducing yourself and your interests.

We are looking for evidence that you are passionate about your work.

Ideally, include some examples of the following:

1. Traditional art skills, such as life drawing, perspective, and observational studies.
2. Examples of photography, animation, games or film work.
3. Digital art skills - such as illustrations, concept art and character design.
4. Digital 3D skills - models and assets (Blender, Maya, Cinema 3ds Max, etc.).

It is not essential to supply examples of all of the above. The course team are always delighted to see other examples of how you see the world around you.

Important - if you are including work on a collaborative project, be sure to declare which work and elements you produced.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds. If you are not enrolled in a creative course, think about what visually stimulates you. How do you see the world around you? You can showcase work and examples of your own that might include photography and illustration as an example. We are looking for applicants with a genuine passion for computer visual imagery, so showcase your work to us in a visual form of your choice as your portfolio.