I've updated my site with a new layout. It looks pretty sweet on mobile so if anybody can try it on a mobile device let me know how it looks.
I added some kismet scripting examples on most of the projects and a design doc for the moonbase alpha project.
I'm going to call this little experiment done. I'm happy enough with it to move on to the next. I also uploaded a new video.
Looks like you recreated the concept into UDK very well. I would have liked to see you do the bridge and the other structure that was in the concept. Good stuff. Keep it up.
We did something kind of similar. I wanted to see if I could recreate a concept in the UDK also.
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Thanks guys. Lately I haven't been able to put more time into this. I definitely want to get that water looking better then maybe I could call it done.
Quote from FroyokYou have removed the vidéo ? Why ?
I wanted to upload a new one. 
Thanks Minotauro. I tried warming up the lighting a bit. That right wall is being a real pain to light. It just won't get enough bounce to brighten. I'm working on trying to fake it.
Looks great! Those rocks could use some detail though. Have you played with the vertex pain tool? You could put some moss, barnacles and dirt with that tool.
The first concept piece is from Horia Dociu http://%7boption%7d
Concept
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UDK
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Update 03-30-2011 - I got to talk with Horia and he gave me some suggestions which I applied in this next screenshot. I warmed up the lighting, added some caustics to the right wall, extended out the grass and added more flowers. I'm working on changing those drainage spout square things. He said he didn't like them square and that he was just being lazy in the concept lol.
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Update 03-31-2011 - A few more tweaks. I feel like I can almost say this is done. I need to fix the god awful water and the grass in the water is way over bright. The scene got really busy so I'm going bring in the fog some more. The screenshots end up looking hella dark compared to what's on my screen too. That's annoying.
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Update 04-11-2011 - I actually updated this a while ago but never got around to posting. I'm still not happy with the water but I got distracted with another project. For this update I changed out the fog with the exponential fog and brought it in a lot closer to the camera. I also removed some of the grass that was branching out into the water and cast some shadows onto them so they don't get bright and glow green.
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Final Update 04-19-2011 - I finally got around to fixing the water. Tweaked the AO and the height fog. The fog was hiding a lot of the detail and the AO wasn't nearly strong enough in some of those corners. Over all I'm happy with how this turned out. I also updated the video.
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Hey everybody. 
I decided to challenge myself with a new personal project. I went to http://%7boption%7d and browsed through the site for some interesting environmental concept pieces. I found several I really liked so the next step was to recreate them in the UDK. I'm restricting myself to using on the UDK assets and trying to use them in ways that won't necessarily look like I'm using the UDK assets. If that makes sense. Or at least keep the unique meshes down to a few. The environments are mostly non-functional with my goal to get as close to the concept as possible but I do plan on making it work in the future. I welcome the critiques and a fresh pair of eyes.
You should be able to use a set camera target action. Create a camera and attach it to your player pawn. Then in kismet create a level loaded, link it to the set camera target, link the cam target to the camera you created and the target to a player variable. That should give you a makeshift 2d camera.
So those were some good suggestions, Aaron. I considered what you said and I agree that the home page was boring. I put up a small set of pictures kind of like a preview and added links to the more detailed pages. Unfortunately I can't change those links in the top menu to pics but with the background a lighter color I think they pop out more.
Algor you also had a good point. There was a lot in my resume that was redundant on the site so I uploaded my shorter resume and left all the details on the project pages.
Thank you all for the comments.
Look, I wasn't bragging. I sent them my original resume, which is 1 1/2 pages, then they asked for a more detailed one which is on my website. That's just my most recent experience. I really do appreciate all the feedback.
Evert, they specifically asked for that much detail.
While I agree that the text and thumbnails were too small, the general layout is simple and that's what I wanted. I've fixed those two things but now, after seeing Mike's site, that mine is way too plain. Wordpress doesn't offer up too many options when editing a site or maybe I just don't know how yet.
Blitz, the resume can be as long or as short as you want. There's no consistent format that employers want to see. You can put in as much detail as you want but the key is to keep it clean and easy to read. The resume I currently have on my site is the one I used to get an interview at naughty dog so I must be doing something right.
I've updated my website. It should load much faster and be easier to navigate. I've also added some videos to the projects that I could find. Feedback is welcomed.
Quote from hessii meant that your visual work is not that much exciting that it makes me jump through my apartment. it is ok and solid, but nothing too special.
Exactly! That's why I'm looking for another job. 
Such is the way of "serious games". Not a lot of creativity involved in the projects as compared to mainstream games.
The thumbnails and the main pictures are actually the same. Like I said in the previous post, I took 1920x1080 screenshots and the css scales them down and populates both the thumbnail area and the full image area. I feel like I'm just going to change the website anyway so that'll all be taken care of.
I'm not sure what you mean by it not bouncing off your chair. Please just be straightforward. I'm here for the criticism, no matter how brutal.
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback.
I don't know much about the performance of the site I have but I'll look into it.
I've been wanting to switch over to a more blog format anyway and ditch the presentation format.
When I switch over to the new page all of those images will be full size. The css site automatically scales the images to fit within that space but they're really 1920x1080.
I haven't been a "traditional" level designer since I got this current job. If the professional work isn't good enough then I have no choice but to add to my portfolio with personal work.
Thanks again!
Hey guys. I've been working as a level designer for almost 4 years, the last 3 at my current studio. Recently, I've been reaching out and trying to find a new company to work with. It's not working out well and I'm not quite sure why. I got my first 2 jobs with relative ease but now I'm having a tough time even getting an interview. I'd appreciate some feedback on my resume, my website and the work I have on display.
