So how many things do I have to show off in my eventual portfolio in the future? I look at portfolios and see around 8-20 projects and images. Do I have to show/build that much or do I only need one or two showcase games? Thanks in advance
It doesn’t really matter. When you’re first starting, just one showcase is good enough to get commissions, you just have to make sure it’s pretty well made.
These developers have probably already done a few commissions and show those builds in their portfolios.
No, you don’t have to. Every time you finish a commission or a showcase, post that on your portfolio and you’ll slowly get more builds to show off.
As someone with a fairly extensive portfolio, nothing there is a “portfolio piece” meaning they’re all just things I’ve made in past, mostly for commissions, that I’ve put there to showcase my talent.
The more extensive your portfolio gets, the more jobs you’ll find, and the better you’ll become (better paid too!)
If you’re starting from square one though, just play around and make a couple things you think you’ll do best and share those here. As Tms said, you only need a couple decent builds before people will start hiring you