I would recommend a minimum of 6 good pieces, no more than 12. Do samples until you have 6, then start replacing the worst ones with better ones until you have 6 you are really proud of, then top out at 12. Emphasize quality over quantity, and try to target your dream job as much as possible. Don't put anything in your portfolio that is a job you wouldn't want to do. When pitching, briefly introduce your self hand them your portfolio "reader ready" (oriented so all they have to do is open it) if on a tablet have it already qued and active with sleep mode turned off. Then keep your mouth shut unless specifically asked a question, answer the question and only the question, then be quiet. The more you talk the more likely you are to say something wrong, you are nervous after all.

That's a tricky question to answer. Not least of all because while I did participate in hiring, and have even directed job interviews, our need for illustrators and concept artists were pretty low, given what a small studio it was. But more than that, I think studios themselves are not a monolith - they all have their own needs and requirements, dependent on what kinds of projects they work on. There's probably more consistency when you look at larger studios, but small indie studios are like the wild west. Before I continue, I do want to be very clear - on this topic, I may well not know what I'm talking about. I worked at the same studio for 6 years, and while I was hired as a concept artist and illustrator, and did fulfil those duties as part of my employment, I also basically did whatever else my boss required of me (programming, 3d modeling, web development, graphic design, animation, etc). My case is very unique, and therefore so are my experiences. So if anyone working as an art director contradicts me, trust them over me. There are some things that are really required in any studio, and of any junior employee - your portfolio should, above all else, demonstrate the ability to produce work in response to concise instructions, and the ability to iterate on your results based on feedback. A beautiful end result is a great way to catch a potential employer's eye, but even at my studio where we didn't hire any other 2D artists during my tenure, we got a pretty hefty number of people sending over their portfolio. An illustrator being able to produce good work is important, but our ability to work with them, and for them to enact the vision of their art director with as little friction as possible is extremely valuable. Instruction, guidance, and revisions are inevitable, so being able to see signs that a candidate will be able to work from a brief, accept criticism and apply revisions as directed, is very valuable. How do we achieve that in a portfolio? That's where my advice gets kind of uncertain - art directors may need to look through a ton of portfolios all at once, and they don't necessarily have the time to see a dozen iterations on a single piece. What may be beneficial, however, is to provide a very quick brief that they can *choose* to read, alongside the resulting piece - and if the portfolio is digital, a way to look at the iterations separately should they so choose. Another point that is particularly valuable to smaller studios is versatility. Knowing that an artist is more than just a one-trick-pony, and that their skillset can be replicated in a variety of areas, that they're up to date on modern techniques (using 3D to rapidly iterate is a big one, even in my small studio), and so on are all big selling points. Just remember that what you're demonstrating here is your ability to use tools - not that the tools themselves are making the choices for you, pigeonholing you into a result over which you have little control. Anyway, I apologize for the somewhat discordant response - this, as I mentioned, isn't an area I should necessarily be offering advice, so make sure you take it with a hefty serving of salt.

Art Station is a big one many use and that's the one I recommend. I've also found artist on Deviant Art and Instagram as well.

I do forget to draw tendons. You also remind me that I need to make the shape more dynamic. Thank u for your advice.