For team work
Who did what?
For each project, write what your part was: concept, character, animation, lighting or editing. For team work, Krea wants to know what you designed, animated or led yourself4.
‹ Back to “Art as a career”
Applying · As of 5 Oct 2026
Applying as a digital artist: portfolio, showreel, cover letter
The most important part of any application is your portfolio: all 5 adverts we counted in detail ask for one1,2,3,4,5. For film and games, add a showreel of 1 to 3 minutes95. The work placement is in the 6th semester, so you should apply in autumn and winter 202661. Below you build the cover letter step by step, as text or PDF.
Portfolio requiredShowreel 1–3 minutesWith generator
Free, no sign-up. Nothing is sent; ticks and list stay only in your browser.
01 · Portfolio
Portfolio: 4 rules from the game studio Blizzard
A Blizzard Entertainment recruiter described what makes a portfolio convincing there93. The rules also work for agencies and studios.
Show a focus
People should see at once what you stand for: characters, environments, graphics or animation93.
Finished work only
Only finished work goes in the portfolio. Sketches and work in progress belong in a blog or on social media93.
Select strictly
Let friends rank your work and take out the weakest pieces93.
Fundamentals
Colour, form, value and balance count for more than any program93.
02 · Showreel
Showreel: 1 to 3 minutes, best first
- What it is: a compilation of your best moving work, for animation, effects, motion design and technical art.
- Length: Pixar asks for roughly 1 to 3 minutes95.
- Documents: Pixar recommends sending CV and cover letter in a single PDF file, with the showreel as a link95.
- For technical roles: Epic Games asks for a showreel or portfolio with shipped game art103.
CV
You build your CV in the CV generator: for studios without a photo, for Austria with a photo, or as an artist CV for grants and exhibitions.
03 · Your part
Showing your part: what you did and with which tools
With new tools
Say openly what helped
The Illustratoren Organisation advises telling clients whether and what you use AI for58. Some adverts explicitly ask about your process and your work in progress2.
Rights
Your own design counts
Images generated with AI are mostly not protected45. What you designed yourself belongs to you, and that is exactly what an employer wants to see.
04 · Cover letter
Cover letter in 3 steps: studio, your work, sender
In a field experiment with 7,287 applications, a cover letter tailored to the company brought 53% more responses than none at all153. The generator sets the frame; you write your reasons, your work and your part yourself.
Subject line
Type, position and number
Pattern: “Application for … – Ref. no. …”, with your first and last name as sender154.
One PDF
Showreel as a link
Cover letter, CV and certificates go into one PDF, at most 3 to 5 MB154. Pixar wants CV and cover letter in one file and the showreel as a link95.
Your own words
What only you can write
68% of recruiters surveyed in Austria find applications created with AI less authentic155. Your own reasons and work make the difference.
Opening
Specific, not “I am writing to”
Harvard advises opening with something specific about the company and bringing 1 or 2 pieces of evidence instead of repeating the CV156.
Length: in an analysis of more than 40 million emails, emails of 50 to 125 words got replies most often157. For cover letters, US hiring managers named 400 words on average as their preferred length158. MIT advises 2 to 3 paragraphs with examples that complement rather than repeat the CV159. “Copy” puts plain text and simple HTML without colours on the clipboard, so that Outlook does not take over the page’s formatting when pasting160,161.
The generator needs JavaScript. Rules, dates and checklist on this page can be read without it.
To
Subject
Attachment
“Open in mail app” takes over subject and text. You attach the PDF there yourself.
05 · Work placement
Work placement in the 6th semester: apply now
In the Digital Arts bachelor’s in Hagenberg, the work placement is in the 6th semester, in Austria or abroad61. For Sophie this means: summer semester 2027, applications in autumn and winter 2026.
October 2026
Review your portfolio, select the strongest finished work, edit your showreel.
November 2026
List 10 preferred employers, bookmark careers pages and set up job alerts.
December 2026
Send applications, use the portfolio review at the Creative Region71.
January 2027
Follow up, hold interviews, agree the offer with the university.
The schedule is our recommendation, not a requirement of the university. Deadlines of individual companies are in their adverts.
For a placement abroad there is Erasmus+ and provincial funding: everything on the page Scholarships and funding.
06 · Where to look
Where to find positions: 4 ways
Austria
karriere.at
Search by occupation, for example “Motion Designer” or “UX Designer”, and save a job alert. New adverts arrive by email73,108.
International
Company careers pages
Studios such as Epic Games, Riot Games and Pixar publish positions on their own pages103,107,95.
All year round
Apply speculatively
teamLab in Tokyo accepts applications all year round, regardless of when you graduate55.
In person
Meeting points
FMX in Stuttgart and the festival in Annecy bring studios and creatives together76,77.
16 studios with careers pages and internship details, from Linz to Tokyo, are on the page Employer list.
07 · Dates
6 dates from autumn 2026 to summer 2027
- Autumn/winter 2026For you
Applications for the work placement in the 6th semester61.
- Early 2027Competition
Prix Ars Electronica: in 2026, submissions ran from 7 January to 9 March, extended92. Please check the 2027 dates on the prize’s website.
- January 2027Funding
Federal start grants: the deadline for 2026 was 31 January 2026; please check the new call88.
- 27–30 Apr 2027Meeting point
FMX in Stuttgart76.
- 13–19 Jun 2027Meeting point
Animation film festival in Annecy77.
- Summer 2027For you
Work placement, then bachelor’s degree61.
08 · My applications
Keep track: your application list
Enter every application and change the status when something happens. The list stays only in this browser on this device. “Save as table” downloads it as a CSV file for Excel or Numbers.
| Studio or programme | Position | Sent | Status | Note | Delete |
|---|
09 · Checklist
Checklist before sending: 10 points
0 of 10 done. The ticks stay only in this browser.
10 · Questions
4 questions about applying as a digital artist
How long can a showreel be?
Roughly 1 to 3 minutes, as Pixar asks95. Put the strongest scene at the beginning.
How many pieces belong in a portfolio?
None of the sources names a fixed number. Blizzard advises showing only finished work and taking out the weakest pieces93. Fewer but stronger pieces work better.