2 minutes ago, Tom Sloper said:

No, it isn't. What it definitely is is art.

good catch Tom; my bad! I meant graphics design (answering jpetrie's question whether I'm interested in "Programming, graphics design or UI work") - never meant to imply game design  

16 hours ago, FotisK said:

ideally I'd love to be doing 2D concept art, followed by 2d environment and 2d character art - that is definitely graphics design, not UI/UX or programming - but I am not sure of how competitive I am. I've heard that UI/UX is my strongest (that's where I have most experience too, but would rather focus doing art).

Here's my suggestion (although I am a programmer and rarely get to hire artists):

• focus on a concept art portfolio. Make it totally game-focused, and show some concepts for environments, characters, and ideally vehicles, weapons, objects, etc. Consider things like:
  • different themes for the same character or object (this is the kind of work that is common during the pitching/preproduction stage when the team is trying to agree on an art direction)
  • consistent theme across several different pieces (e.g. a character and environment from the same setting - this is the kind of work that you'll do as a project progresses)
• add in a smaller amount of other 2D work to show some versatility, maybe some of the following:
  • UI mockups (don't get too focused on UX - chances are, you're limited by the tech anyway)
  • splash screens
  • icons
  • logos

I'm not going to comment on 2D environments and 2D characters, because the market for that is pretty small and mostly limited to the indie market, which generally is not hiring many people, and is rarely "financially stable" or has "3+ people doing art on the project".

thank you @Kylotan, for the suggestions! I appreciate it a lot! There is lots to chew on here!

-Fotis