Accessibility Statement
DOMESTIKA See navigation
  • Courses
    • All courses →
    • Illustration
    • Craft
    • Marketing & Business
    • Photography & Video
    • Design
    • 3D & Animation
    • Architecture & Spaces
    • Writing
    • Fashion
    • Web & App Design
    • Calligraphy & Typography
    • Music & Audio
    • Culinary
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Wellness
    • How to become
    • Guided courses
    • Deep Dive New
    • Specializations
    • Domestika Basics
    • New courses
    • Top rated
    • Popular courses
    • Courses free with Domestika Plus logo
    • Gift cards
    • Certificates Plus
  • Projects
  • Plus
    • Blog
    • Schools
    • Help
    How to turn a design project into an attractive portfolio
    Latest blog post

    How to turn a design project into an attractive portfolio

    Keys to transform your projects into an impressive portfolio. Having good projects is not always enough. In the design world, knowing how to present them can make the difference between going unnoticed or catching the attention of a client or studio. An attractive portfolio is not just about putting together beautiful images, but also about building a visual and strategic story that explains what you do, how you think and what value you bring. In this article you will find practical keys to transform a loose project into a solid, clear and professional case study. What makes a project work within a portfolio. Not all the work you do needs to be part of your portfolio. The selection is the first step in building a good presentation. A "portfolio-worthy" project usually has some elements in common: clarity of purpose, an interesting process behind it, a solid result and, above all, personality. It is also important that it shows your ability to solve problems, not just execute ideas. Even personal or fictitious projects can have a lot of value if they are well thought out. You don't need to have worked with big clients: what's important is the judgment you demonstrate. Start with context, not aesthetics. One of the most common mistakes is to start directly with the final images. Without context, the work loses power. Explaining the starting point, the brief, the problem or the need, helps whoever sees the project understand why you made certain decisions. This context turns a visual piece into a design solution. You don't need to go on too long: include the essential information and avoid cluttering with unnecessary text. The key is to be clear and direct.

  • Courses
    • All courses
    • Illustration
    • Craft
    • Marketing & Business
    • Photography & Video
    • Design
    • 3D & Animation
    • Architecture & Spaces
    • Writing
    • Fashion
    • Web & App Design
    • Calligraphy & Typography
    • Music & Audio
    • Culinary
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Wellness
    • How to become
  • Projects
  • Plus
  • Blog
  • Join for FREE
  • Log in
  • Log in
  • Join for Free
  • Community
  • Contests
  • Projects
  • Creatives
Aya Abdelhamid

Aya Abdelhamid

@aya22

Illustrator

Cairo, Egypt

Follow
Message
  • @aya22
  • Activity
  • Courses
  • Lists
  • Portfolio
  • ...
    • Following
    • Followers
    • Favorites
  • Teacher Plus
    Ruth Wilshaw Ruth Wilshaw @ruthwilshaw Houston, United States
    Follow
    Message
    27,621
    • Traditional illustration
    • Fine Arts
    • My project for course: Fantasy Landscapes with Watercolor & Gouache. Fine Arts, Painting, Watercolor Painting, Naturalistic Illustration, and Gouache Painting project by Ruth Wilshaw - 11.18.2022
    • My project in Painting Atmospheric Landscapes with Gouache course. Traditional illustration, Painting, and Gouache Painting project by Ruth Wilshaw - 11.20.2021
    • Magical Landscapes. Painting, and Traditional illustration project by Ruth Wilshaw - 11.19.2021
    • Gouache Landscapes. Gouache Painting project by Ruth Wilshaw - 01.25.2021
  • Teacher Plus
    Domestika Domestika @domestika Berkeley, United States
    Follow
    Message
    2,252,339
    • Teacher Plus
      Laura Ewing Ferrer Laura Ewing Ferrer @le_lauraewing storyboarder/character design Madrid, Spain
      Follow
      Message
      22,613
      • Traditional illustration
      • Sketching
      • My project in Introduction to Storyboarding course. 2D Animation, Stor, board, Stor, and telling project by Laura Ewing Ferrer - 01.22.2021
      • My project in Character Creation for Animation: Shapes, Color, and Expression course. 2D Animation, and Character Design project by Laura Ewing Ferrer - 09.05.2020
      • Storyboards. Stor, and board project by Laura Ewing Ferrer - 07.13.2020
      • Portfolio. Character Design project by Laura Ewing Ferrer - 07.13.2020
    • Teacher Plus
      Tasia M S Tasia M S @tasiams Character Design Johannesburg, South Africa
      Follow
      Message
      3,125
        • My final project for course: Stylized Character Illustration: From Reference to Drawing. Traditional illustration, Character Design, and Digital Illustration project by Tasia M S - 04.01.2022
        • Entomologist . Traditional illustration project by Tasia M S - 01.05.2021
        • Pride and Prejudice. Traditional illustration project by Tasia M S - 10.22.2020
        • head in the clouds. Traditional illustration project by Tasia M S - 02.18.2021
      • Teacher Plus
        Brookes Eggleston Brookes Eggleston @brookeseggleston Warwick, United States
        Follow
        Message
        6,678
          • Portfolio Pieces. Character Design, and Digital Illustration project by Brookes Eggleston - 01.26.2024
        • Teacher Plus
          Bradley Van Der Straeten Bradley Van Der Straeten @bvdsarchitects London, United Kingdom
          Follow
          Message
          2,538
          • Architecture
          • Digital Architecture
          • My project in Architectural Drawing: The Single-Point Perspective course. Design, Architecture, L, scape Architecture, and Architectural Illustration project by Bradley Van Der Straeten - 09.20.2021
          • Ogee House. Architecture, Interior Architecture & Interior Design project by Bradley Van Der Straeten - 03.04.2019
          • Vault House. Architecture, Interactive Design & Interior Architecture project by Bradley Van Der Straeten - 09.14.2021
          • Two and a Half Storey House. Architecture, Interactive Design & Interior Architecture project by Bradley Van Der Straeten - 07.30.2020
        • Teacher Plus
          Stefanie Sword-Williams @ F*ck Being Humble Stefanie Sword-Williams @ F*ck Being Humble @fbeinghumble London, United Kingdom
          Follow
          Message
          1,919
          • Design
          • Branding & Identity
          • Pitching Yourself Guide. Advertising project by Stefanie Sword-Williams @ F*ck Being Humble - 02.14.2023
          • F*ck Being Humble Book. Cop, and writing project by Stefanie Sword-Williams @ F*ck Being Humble - 03.04.2020
        • Teacher Plus
          Giacomo Bevilacqua Giacomo Bevilacqua @keison Roma, Italy
          Follow
          Message
          4,045
            • LAVENNDER. Traditional illustration, and Comic project by Giacomo Bevilacqua - 02.04.2022
            • ATTICA. Traditional illustration, and Comic project by Giacomo Bevilacqua - 02.04.2022
            • TROPPO FACILE AMARTI IN VACANZA. Traditional illustration, and Comic project by Giacomo Bevilacqua - 02.04.2022
            • A PANDA PIACE. Comic, and Traditional illustration project by Giacomo Bevilacqua - 02.04.2022
          • Teacher Plus
            Maddy Bellwoar Maddy Bellwoar @maddybellwoar Amsterdam, Netherlands
            Follow
            Message
            14,493
            • Traditional illustration
            • Fine Arts
            • Witcher 3 - Gouache "Travel Sketchbook" . Traditional illustration, Gouache Painting, Painting, and Sketchbook project by Maddy Bellwoar - 04.26.2022
            • Gouache-style Digital Environment Paintings. Digital Illustration, Digital Painting, Traditional illustration, Painting, and Naturalistic Illustration project by Maddy Bellwoar - 04.25.2022
            • Nature Sketchbook in Gouache. Traditional illustration, Painting, Gouache Painting, Naturalistic Illustration, and Sketchbook project by Maddy Bellwoar - 04.25.2022
            • QUIET - Gouache Series. Traditional illustration, Painting, Gouache Painting, Naturalistic Illustration, and Fine Arts project by Maddy Bellwoar - 04.25.2022
          • Teacher Plus
            Vicki McGrath Vicki McGrath @vmdesigns Acrylic/Gouache Artist Chicago, United States
            Follow
            Message
            16,852
            • Design
            • Color Theory
            • Personal Portfolio of Paintings/Gouache. Gouache Painting project by Vicki McGrath - 10.26.2022
            • Serena & Lily Commissioned Paintings. Acr, and lic Painting project by Vicki McGrath - 05.21.2022
            • Fig Party. Fine Arts, Painting, Acr, and lic Painting project by Vicki McGrath - 02.07.2022
            • Trader Joes Cards. Graphic Design, Painting, and Gouache Painting project by Vicki McGrath - 07.06.2020
          • Teacher Plus
            Andrea Chapela Andrea Chapela @alcs99 Mexico City, Mexico
            Follow
            Message
            29,083
            • Arts & Crafts
            • Fine Arts
          • Teacher Plus
            Carlo Stanga Carlo Stanga @carlo_stanga Illustrator Berlin, Germany
            Follow
            Message
            29,387
            • Traditional illustration
            • Sketching
            • Moleskine: The Power of Colors. Traditional illustration, Animation, and Advertising project by Carlo Stanga - 06.02.2021
            • Popping Up Milano. Traditional illustration, Film, Video, TV, Motion Graphics, Design, Music, Animation, and Architecture project by Carlo Stanga - 05.27.2021
            • POPPING UP MILANO . 3D Animation, Architectural Illustration, and Traditional illustration project by Carlo Stanga - 04.23.2021
            • POPPING UP MILANO TEASER. 2D Animation, Architectural Illustration, and Traditional illustration project by Carlo Stanga - 04.07.2021
          • Teacher Plus
            ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez @zursoif Dibujante Bogota, Colombia
            Follow
            Message
            239,500
            • Fine Arts
            • Sketching
            • SINESTESIA ft BalthvsMusic. Traditional illustration, and Drawing project by ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez - 09.24.2021
            • Totem. Drawing, Figure Drawing, Traditional illustration & Ink Illustration project by ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez - 11.19.2020
            • Para Colorear. Drawing, Realistic Drawing, and Traditional illustration project by ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez - 02.10.2017
            • Retratos Casatinta. Portrait Drawing project by ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez - 02.05.2019
          • Teacher Plus
            Jean Fraisse Jean Fraisse @jbfraisse Director de Arte para películas de animación Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico
            Follow
            Message
            177,555
            • Photography
            • Video
            • My project in Drawing 101: Introduction to Digital Illustration course. Traditional illustration, Drawing, Digital Illustration, and Digital Drawing project by Jean Fraisse - 06.22.2021
            • My project in Introduction to Digital Painting course. Fine Arts, Painting, Digital Illustration, Digital Drawing, and Digital Painting project by Jean Fraisse - 06.22.2021
            • Final Project - Character Design for Video Games and Animation Course. Character Design project by Jean Fraisse - 02.21.2019
            • Space travelers. Concept Art project by Jean Fraisse - 02.21.2019
          • Teacher Plus
            Caroline Kjellberg Caroline Kjellberg @caroline_kjellberg Freelance Animator & Motion Designer Copenhagen, Denmark
            Follow
            Message
            45,819
            • Photography
            • Film, Video & TV
            • Wanna go for a walk?. Music, Motion Graphics, Film, Video, TV, Animation, 2D Animation, Film, Filmmaking, Video, Video Editing, VFX, Design, and Traditional illustration project by Caroline Kjellberg - 07.16.2021
            • TikTok - Good/Evil. Animation, 2D Animation, Motion Graphics, Film, Video, TV, Film, Filmmaking, Video, and Video Editing project by Caroline Kjellberg - 06.09.2021
            • Animation Reel 2019. Animation, Character Animation, 2D Animation, Advertising, Motion Graphics, Film, Video, TV, Film, Filmmaking, Video, and Video Editing project by Caroline Kjellberg - 06.09.2021
            • Adobe - New Era In Experience 01. Animation, 2D Animation, Character Animation, Advertising, Motion Graphics, Film, Video, TV, Film, Video, and Video Editing project by Caroline Kjellberg - 06.09.2021
          • Teacher Plus
            Gemma Gould Gemma Gould @gemmagould Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
            Follow
            Message
            27,119
            • Design
            • Graphic Design
            • Happy Halloween!. Traditional illustration, Character Design, Digital Illustration, and Children's Illustration project by Gemma Gould - 11.01.2021
            • Biscuits. Children's Illustration, Digital Illustration, Editorial Illustration, and Traditional illustration project by Gemma Gould - 03.09.2021
            • Cosy Winter | Domestika Time-lapse. Children's Illustration, Digital Illustration, and Traditional illustration project by Gemma Gould - 03.09.2021
            • Zodiac | Alex and Alexa. Children's Illustration, Digital Illustration, and Traditional illustration project by Gemma Gould - 03.09.2021
          • Teacher Plus
            Deb JJ Lee Deb JJ Lee @jdebbiel New York, United States
            Follow
            Message
            12,614
            • Traditional illustration
            • Fine Arts
            • Phantom of the Opera demo piece. Traditional illustration project by Deb JJ Lee - 03.19.2023
            • MOB PSYCHO 100. Traditional illustration project by Deb JJ Lee - 03.19.2023
            • Morning Due. Traditional illustration project by Deb JJ Lee - 03.19.2023
            • Japanese Breakfast Poster. Traditional illustration project by Deb JJ Lee - 03.19.2023
          • Teacher Plus
            Tina Touli Tina Touli @tina_touli Graphic Communication Designer and Art Director London, United Kingdom
            Follow
            Message
            27,676
              • Selected work. Graphic Design project by Tina Touli - 02.09.2020
            • Teacher Plus
              Marissa Valdez Marissa Valdez @marissaarts Children's Book Illustrator and Author Birmingham, United Kingdom
              Follow
              Message
              12,785
              • Design
              • Branding & Identity
              • Francis-stein - Portfolio Piece. Traditional illustration, and Children's Illustration project by Marissa Valdez - 01.03.2022
              • Gnomes!. Traditional illustration, and Children's Illustration project by Marissa Valdez - 01.03.2022
              • Hedgehogs in Underwear. Traditional illustration, and Children's Illustration project by Marissa Valdez - 01.03.2022
              • Jeremy the Unicorn Boy - Portfolio Piece. Traditional illustration, and Children's Illustration project by Marissa Valdez - 01.03.2022
            • Teacher Plus
              Natalia Batista Natalia Batista @nataliasmanga Manga artist and storyteller Malmö, Sweden
              Follow
              Message
              21,830
              • Arts & Crafts
              • Fine Arts
              • My project in Manga Comics for Beginners: From Concept to Creation course. Traditional illustration, Comic, Drawing, Digital Illustration, Stor, board, Ink Illustration, Narrative, and Manga project by Natalia Batista - 02.01.2022
              • My project in The Art of Manga: Drawing Unique Characters course. Character Design, Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Ink Illustration, and Manga project by Natalia Batista - 12.02.2021
              • Every Girl Is A Hero. Comic, Stor, and telling project by Natalia Batista - 05.05.2018
              • Sword Princess Amaltea - The Visual Novel. Game Development, Video Games, and Game Design project by Natalia Batista - 11.12.2020
            • Teacher Plus
              Sam Brisley Sam Brisley @bris1985 Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
              Follow
              Message
              5,924
              • Design
              • Branding & Identity
              • My project in Artistic Portrait Drawing: Capture Authentic Expressions course. Traditional illustration, Fine Arts, Sketching, Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Portrait Drawing, Realistic Drawing, Artistic Drawing, and Figure Drawing project by Sam Brisley - 09.20.2021
              • Graphite Portraits. Portrait Drawing, Traditional illustration, Fine Arts, Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Creativit, Sketching, Realistic Drawing, Artistic Drawing, and Figure Drawing project by Sam Brisley - 02.25.2021
              • Figure Drawings. Figure Drawing, Traditional illustration, Sketching, Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Portrait Drawing, Realistic Drawing, and Artistic Drawing project by Sam Brisley - 02.27.2021
              • Eye Studies. Fine Arts, Traditional illustration, Sketching, Creativit, Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Portrait Drawing, Realistic Drawing, and Artistic Drawing project by Sam Brisley - 02.27.2021
            • Teacher Plus
              Tom Fox Tom Fox @tomfoxdraws Anatomy Instructor and Storyboard Artist Bristol, United Kingdom
              Follow
              Message
              56,563
              • Sketching
              • Comic
              • Draw-overs from my course. Traditional illustration, Drawing, and Digital Illustration project by Tom Fox - 07.28.2021
              • My project in Basic Principles of Drawing People from Imagination course. Traditional illustration, Fine Arts, Sketching, Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Artistic Drawing, and Figure Drawing project by Tom Fox - 07.21.2021
              • Figure Drawing Sketches. Traditional illustration, and Drawing project by Tom Fox - 07.11.2021
              • Timelapses. Pencil Drawing, Drawing, Realistic Drawing, and Traditional illustration project by Tom Fox - 07.05.2021
            • Teacher Plus
              Magdalina Dianova Magdalina Dianova @magdalina_dianova Character designer Sofía, Bulgaria
              Follow
              Message
              54,807
              • Traditional illustration
              • Drawing
              • Diminishing Returns . Character Design, Drawing, Digital Drawing, and Animation project by Magdalina Dianova - 09.14.2021
              • Aline - prop sheet. Traditional illustration, Character Design, Drawing, and Digital Drawing project by Magdalina Dianova - 09.14.2021
              • Goodbye Mr. Octopus. Animation, Character Design, Drawing, and Digital Drawing project by Magdalina Dianova - 09.13.2021
              • Mei - Character development . Character Design, Drawing, Traditional illustration, and Animation project by Magdalina Dianova - 09.13.2021
            • Teacher Plus
              Elena Garnu Elena Garnu @elena_garnu Ilustradora y diseñadora Murcia, Spain
              Follow
              Message
              47,901
              • Photography
              • Design
              • Icon. Traditional illustration, Digital Drawing, and Digital Painting project by Elena Garnu - 05.12.2021
              • "THE FIRE". Portrait Drawing, Digital Drawing, and Digital Illustration project by Elena Garnu - 07.20.2020
              • FIX YOUR EYES ON THE BACKGROUND. Digital Illustration, and Watercolor Painting project by Elena Garnu - 06.27.2020
              • My Course Project: Illustrated Portrait with Procreate. Portrait Drawing, Digital Drawing, and Digital Illustration project by Elena Garnu - 02.04.2020
            • Teacher Plus
              Gaby Niko Gaby Niko @gabrielaniko Kraków, Poland
              Follow
              Message
              246,853
                • Playful Color Thinking E-Book & Practice Worksheets. Traditional illustration, Drawing, Color Theor, and Portrait Drawing project by Gaby Niko - 12.15.2025
                • “50 Common Mistakes in Portrait Drawing” – educational e-book. Drawing project by Gaby Niko - 06.16.2025
                • My project for course: Vibrant Portrait Drawing with Colored Pencils. Drawing, Portrait Drawing, Sketchbook, and Colored Pencil Drawing project by Gaby Niko - 10.11.2022
                • My project in Portrait Sketchbooking: Explore the Human Face course. Sketching, Drawing, Portrait Drawing, Artistic Drawing, and Sketchbook project by Gaby Niko - 09.09.2021
              • Teacher Plus
                Ilaria Ranauro Ilaria Ranauro @ilariapops Illustrator Berlin, Germany
                Follow
                Message
                31,807
                  • My Kawaii Planner. Digital Illustration, Drawing, Design, Character Design, and Product Design project by Ilaria Ranauro - 05.27.2025
                  • Kawaii Magnets. Digital Illustration, Drawing, Character Design, Accessor, and Design project by Ilaria Ranauro - 05.27.2025
                  • Puddle & Lettuce - The Treehouse. Digital Illustration, Drawing, Art Direction, Children's Illustration, and Character Design project by Ilaria Ranauro - 05.27.2025
                  • Bao & Mango sticker sheet. Digital Illustration, Drawing, Arts, Crafts, and Character Design project by Ilaria Ranauro - 05.27.2025
                • Teacher Plus
                  Sorie Kim Sorie Kim @soriekim Los Angeles, United States
                  Follow
                  Message
                  203,767
                  • Design
                  • Game Development
                  • 30 Day Challenge . Ink Illustration project by Sorie Kim - 04.29.2021
                  • Demos. Design, and Drawing project by Sorie Kim - 01.20.2021
                  • Sketchbook. Drawing project by Sorie Kim - 01.20.2021
                • Teacher Plus
                  Becky Cas Becky Cas @beckycas Freelance Illustrator Herisau, Switzerland
                  Follow
                  Message
                  30,944
                  • Traditional illustration
                  • Sketching
                  • Totally Kawaii. Traditional illustration project by Becky Cas - 05.30.2022
                  • Cute Foods Around Town. Traditional illustration project by Becky Cas - 05.26.2022
                  • CASETiFy Collab. Traditional illustration project by Becky Cas - 03.18.2022
                  • My First Trip. Traditional illustration project by Becky Cas - 03.18.2022
                • Teacher Plus
                  Ramona Wultschner Ramona Wultschner @ramonnelli Neuss, Germany
                  Follow
                  Message
                  38,382
                  • Digital Painting
                  • Color Theory
                  • Final Project: Atmospheric Scenes in Procreate: Paint with Color and Light. Traditional illustration, and Digital Illustration project by Ramona Wultschner - 01.26.2022
                  • Plain Air. Gouache Painting, and Painting project by Ramona Wultschner - 12.19.2021
                  • Dragons, Mermaids and other fantasy creatures. Traditional illustration, Character Design, Painting, and Digital Illustration project by Ramona Wultschner - 12.19.2021
                  • Childrensbook - Emma. Traditional illustration, and Children's Illustration project by Ramona Wultschner - 12.19.2021
                1. Creatives
                2. Cairo, Egypt
                3. Aya Abdelhamid

                Domestika courses

                Categories

                • Illustration courses
                • Craft courses
                • Marketing & Business courses
                • Photography & Video courses
                • Design courses
                • 3D & Animation courses
                • Architecture & Spaces courses
                • Writing courses
                • Fashion courses
                • Web & App Design courses
                • Calligraphy & Typography courses
                • Music & Audio courses
                • Culinary courses
                • Artificial Intelligence courses
                • Wellness courses
                • How to become courses

                Areas

                • Traditional illustration courses
                • Digital Illustration courses
                • Drawing courses
                • Arts & Crafts courses
                • Graphic Design courses
                • Fine Arts courses
                • Design courses
                • Artificial Intelligence courses
                • SEO courses
                • Programming courses
                • Digital Marketing courses
                • Crochet courses
                • Amigurumi courses

                Software

                • Adobe Photoshop courses
                • Adobe Illustrator courses
                • Procreate courses
                • Cinema 4D courses
                • Adobe Premiere courses
                • Blender courses
                • Figma courses

                Lists

                • New courses
                • Top rated
                • Popular courses
                • Courses on sale

                Download the Domestika app

                • Apple Store
                • Google Play

                Sections

                • Courses
                • Projects
                • Jobs
                • Creatives
                • Schools
                • Domestika Podcasts
                • Domestika Plus

                Info

                • Domestika
                • Contact
                • Blog
                • Support
                • Affiliates
                • Businesses
                • Teachers

                Language

                • Español
                • English
                • Português
                • Deutsch
                • Français
                • Italiano
                • Polski
                • Nederlands
                • Türkçe
                • Română
                • Bahasa Indonesia

                Connect

                • Youtube
                • Follow domestika
                • © Domestika 2026
                • Terms of use
                • Privacy policy
                • Cookies policy
                • Accessibility Statement