I’ve seen a lot of folks stressing out about “finding their style.” And I think it can be pretty detrimental if you’re focusing on the wrong thing at the wrong time.
This concept is important, but it really just depends where you’re at as an artist.
If you’re on the junior side of things where you’re figuring art/yourself out – then style is the LAST thing you should be worrying about. You don’t know yourself, what’s out there, what ya wanna say, or art – enough to make this call and pledge yourself to a “style.” If you pledge too soon, you may find yourself in that position where it’s very difficult to branch out, or grow beyond it.
At the same time – one’s “style” is one of the BIGGEST weapons we have as artists. It’s what makes us unique and different. Our vision and our execution is something that lets us stand a chance in the gigantic art world of crazy experienced people. By all means, you’ll want to figure something out eventually, but you have to be at the point where you not only understand art and its fundamentals, but have drawn many different things/ways, and have seen a myriad of different visual aesthetics. In general, the further you are in your art journey, the more things you’re gonna experience. And the more you’re going to learn about yourself. The more you’re gonna find out what’s important to you.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where I’d like to redefine the term “style.”
I’m sure when I say the word “style” – we might think of things like “anime, realism, Dragon Ball, The Lion King, Disney, Warner Bros” etc etc. I think, in a lot of cases, people tend to really just focus on the drawing aspect – like the most rudimentary forms/designs. Like, one might be able to “spot a style” on sketch alone.
I actually disagree with this kind of definition. I would more-so call that a design. A lion king lion looks VERY specific. It’s quite obvious to see when something is inspired from the movie. However, you can totally compare a ton of TLK art out there, and it’ll be absolutely obvious that there are thousands of different artists drawing it – Because of their style.
This is not a quality thing, it’s just artists tend to stress different things that they find important.
Thus, why I believe that style is actually: “The characteristics an artist finds important and stresses in each piece – regardless of content.”
A lot of you would probably say it’s pretty easy to tell when a piece is mine, be it whatever animal, porn or not, pixel or sketch or painting or animation. It’s a lot easier now since the brushes I use – but there are a few elements that I tend to stress.
• Contrast/Dynamics – In SO MANY different ways. Content-wise, via size play, or pred/prey, or any of the crazy rough stuff I do juxtaposed with adorable designs. Visually – via dynamic hues and planned lighting, contrasting colors, etc. • Presence/Bold – I go for demanding images, something that makes you LOOK at it. Typically with having intimate camera angles, or characters challenging the viewer, or content that is just bizarre and striking (most porn, but specifically obtuse porn). • Realism/Truth – I don’t sugar coat much, and I love keeping things “real” BUT IMPRESSIVE. Obviously there’s a bit of exaggeration with some big things going into small holes – but the human body can do some magical things with enough practice ;b. This is also noteable in the physics of my images, say in the lighting. • Adorable – Self explanatory! I love cute shit! I also believe “cute shit” isn’t specifically for kids – and that life will happen to anything, regardless of its design. (that’s a bit of a tangent, but character designers might pick up on the salt) • Story/Content – Y’know the fact that the furry fandom even exists is a fuckin’ wonderfully weird marvel of the human species. We’re infatuated in these non-real things, it’s as opposite to nature as it gets. A rejection of reality, and a leap into idealism. It’s fascinating! I like my works to have a purpose, be it IN the content, or the content itself. There’s a lot being said that any of this exists at all.
I think that’s it. For the most part, these elements are present in literally everything I touch. And HAVE been since I started drawing. I didn’t always know I thought these were important though. As time continued, I heard things from people, picked some up, or formed my own ideas along the way. I recall my first ever art teacher said this – “If people just walk by your art, you’ve failed.” And I thought that was hard core! But the idea being your image should DEMAND attention. You should have SOMETHING (content aside) pulling them in, and a proper use of your visual tools can do that.
You’ll hear all kinds of shit everywhere – but in the end, you get to decide what you think is important!
Try to take a step back and consider what sort of things you like to stress in your art. Or what sorta things you like to see in other’s art. Get introspective and try to figure out why those elements are so neat. It doesn’t matter where you’re at regarding your art journey, this is pretty fun/good to do at any time.
Just make sure you keep an open-mind! Don’t pledge yourself to anything, always keep trying new things and you’ll soon find out what’s important to you, and what you’d love to show the world. Your style will FIND you. Until then, keep studying and experiencing!
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This article and the future ones to come is apart of an on-going project called Bursting the Artistic Bubble! Where I go around trying to debunk/clarify pre-established notions, and give some different perspectives on em. Things aren't always black and white, and I find a lot of these concepts can't be summarized in a single sentence. Paraphrasing can cause more harm than good, so I'm doing what I can to illuminate these concepts.
Yeah. It's extremely important that one learns artistic fundamentals, not styles. It's also vital that one experiments with as many media and techniques as possible, so that one can find the best things that work for them.
Good sources of art instruction teach the why behind different methods, not the how.
Yeah. It's extremely important that one learns artistic fundamentals, not styles. It's also vital th
As a self-taught artist now for two years, I've come across these "myths" over and over again. I'm so glad someone has the courage to say "NO! Using reference is not cheating, and it's not the mark of an untalented artist." and "No artist draws everything from their head, it's impossible to do so."
Thank you for writing these, they give inspiration to everyone who's trying to learn how to develop their artistic side.
I love these, I've read every single one so far. As a self-taught artist now for two years, I've co
Good opinion on the subject. For my self, I try to cultivate a few different "media styles" (e.g., cel-art, realism paintings, and a sort of Norman Rockwell style I've used here and there). I'm not always sure that this is constructive but it's challenging and it gives patrons a few price options as well. Bottom line, though, is that my stuff still has a certain similarity, no matter the media style. I find it really difficult to change my underlying style (e.g., how I tend to compose pieces and subtle nuances about how it comes together). Some say that you really don't have control over this-- it's a factor of how your nervous system translates the picture in your mind to the page. You can get faster, better but ultimately how you see something in your head is unique to you. Even if you copy someone else's work, it will still have your "style" imprinted on it. I'm not sure I buy this completely but it certainly seems difficult to overcome.
Good opinion on the subject. For my self, I try to cultivate a few different "media styles" (e.g., c
I just mess around a bit trying my best to make it kyut as can be. It's never how I envision it, so I keep fiddling with it till it get something drawn in such a way that I like to call "my style".
I just mess around a bit trying my best to make it kyut as can be. It's never how I envision it, so
Oh, I dunno Carrot, you have a particularly identifiable design when it comes to how you draw eyes in particular. Also snouts and smiles, line thickness, etc.
I can spot my own art style as well, out of a pile of thumbnails, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what exactly it is with words. Maybe that's because I also go for as close to the source material as I can manage, and often get compliments to that effect as well.
Oh, I dunno Carrot, you have a particularly identifiable design when it comes to how you draw eyes i
I have my own issues with style. Not so much because I want to make mine unique but more that I don't really have one. I don't have a lot of time to draw, but when I do every piece is different from the last for a multitude of reasons.
To me, an artist's style is whatakes their work immediately identifiable as their work. For example, you, Carrot, have an u mistakeable style. At least with the artwork I've seen you post.how you draw eyes and mouths, the proportions of your critters (which tend to be deliciously thick... :P), the brushes you use, how you shade things, your works set off a flag the moment I see them. Like, when BD released Alice and Austin, I was thrilled to see the artwork that went with it because I KNEW it was yours. (Unabashed fan ^\\^).
But my own work is not only kind of indistinct, but also kind of bleh. Part of this is a need to improve quality wise, but another ka that there's just nothing unique about my work. Indeed, I fins that i fluid enough to actually challenge myself from time to time to draw in someone else's style. Its a fun exercise, even if my success rate is middleing...
Your definition of style is an angle I've not tried before. Specifically the bit about the details an artist stresses. Its an interesting conclusion. I don't think it is all encompassing for the idea of style but I've never thought about "what parts does a particular artist focus on" before.
I feel like I'm rambling xP
I have my own issues with style. Not so much because I want to make mine unique but more that I don'
