STOP Taking This Art Style Advice

Folks, it’s time for drama. It’s time to subtweet. It’s time to take some umbrage. Today I’m particularly calling out some advice I’ve seen floating around about how to find and develop your art style. And while it might seem like I’m splitting hairs, I’m going to give you the principles of what to do instead.

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[toadboydude]

"Art style is... Problem solving" EXACTLY. Perfect way to describe it.

[dissonanceparadiddle]

I think so many new artists forgot or don't realize art is a journey. Your"style" is going to change and develop over the years it's the culmination of your experience, skills and knowledge

[veggsbacon]

That "finding your art style" thing annoys the crud out of me. Look, I also want to draw more simple and use some elements from art styles I like, but ultimately in the end of the day, my art style IS the *way I draw currently.* Copying for study, practice, and fun? Yes. Copying amd using it for your work, well it could work, even if you could phase out with the abundance of similar art styles.
Improvements and studies will be the great factors of finally having an art style.

[robertpoole]

One of the few questions I got from one of my followers was "When did you develop your art style?" as if it's a single event that just sort of happens at some point in your life.

[lyria]

I hate the fact that so many young artists are so obsessed with finding an art style to the point that they will watch tutorials of how to find it and all that. The truth is that art styles develope naturally based on own preferences. It's nothing people should worry about...

[TonikoPantoja]

Great discussion dude! Style is so overvalued and overrated, and the truth is we all have one but some styles just have more mileage, experimentation, problem solving and taste - and thats why many of those artists stand out

[minhkieu]

That art style Frankenstein thumbnail scares me

[FrosTehBurr]

This is a lot more helpful than “DrAw PeRfEcT or YOU NO dRaW!” or “Copy artists you like!”

[dreamingahopefuldream]

The whole 'trying to find my art style' thing really did some damage to my learning process when I was younger. I eventually stopped caring and just began to draw what I felt like, and looked at other art to see where I could improve on past mistakes. It feels like every few months I have made so much progress compared to several years ago where my style barely changed even over the course of a couple years. I personally think learning artists should draw something they like, instead of worrying about finding their own individuality.

[fanime]

I never understood why the online art community care so much about art style. It's like focusing only on the sprinkles of a cake.

[ayior]

I spent my teenage years on DeviantArt drawing whatever I want and getting inspiration from all the artists around me. Back then there weren't many good fundamental sources online (unlike today), and I really wanted to get into Art School *to learn the fundamentals*. However, local Art Schools hated the fact "I was already stuck on a style". It was so frustrating to me, because I wanted to go to Art School to break out of that, but instead I felt like I was being punished for trying my best with the limited (stylized) ressources I had. I made it into a school now, but it still makes me angry to think back.

[a.beloucif]

"you don't find artstyle, artstyle finds you"

[JeffreyThrash]

My mind automatically defaulted to Craig McCracken and his recent Netflix cartoon when watching this. I’ve learned to greatly admire the fact that none of his shows over the past 20+ years look even remotely similar to each other, although his earliest, PowerPuff Girls, looks a bit similar to his work on Dexter’s Lab.

A lot of iconic newspaper comics, like Garfield, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes are also good reminders for me that it is perfectly okay and even encouraged to develop different styles and techniques over time. Even CG shows like Jimmy Neutron and Sonic Boom refreshed their character models, animation, and lighting between seasons, which is harder to do than just changing the way you draw 2D characters but usually worth the trouble in the end.

[-lv]

Something else that I noticed about copying other’s art style features, is that (for me at least), doesn’t really feel comfortable. Just because I like someone else’s art style, means that I’ll feel comfortable doing it the same way they do. And so it ends up being counterproductive, because instead of finding MY style that makes me comfortable and happy with what I create, I just end up frustrated.
So besides that, what I’ve also experienced over the years that I’ve drawing, is that most times, you just have to be patient, and keep on drawing, analysing, observing and experimenting. It’ll take years, sure, but I still find it really nice :)

[areoants]

You know? That "art style is problem solving" kinda answers another meme I see tossed about from time to time. You know...

"woah my art style is so inconsistent! it almost never stays the same!" (In spite of the fact that you can still have some tells.)

[dirtbag]

"Mickey with photorealistic hands can't hurt you, he isn't real"
Mickey with photorealistic hands:

[Suricious]

Here's another thing about art style I learned recently:

Improving in your own art style doesn't mean going from stick figures to an absolute beautiful realistic portrait, it's improving the weaker points. Sure some people do go from the change of very simplistic to complex but that isnt always the case. You might notice that the way you draw certain features is a bit awkward, so what do you do? You change it up a bit!

Example: for the longest time when I would draw ears on a person they never fit the head shape or size, this was mainly because for a long time I refused to draw them until I realized that they actually complimented my drawings. But when I would study my own art looking at things I wanted to improve one of the main things was ears. So I made them from small ears that you could barley see to ears that actually fit the head size.

For others it might be other things, it could be the way you draw mouths, the way you draw eyes or hair ect.

[thisismyusernameidk]

I’m going to show this to my best friend. She’s been struggling with her art style for a year now and I’m trying my best to teach her.

[XxXsoapXxX]

3:56 honestly? im glad someones sayin this. because i see so many people going like "uhhh thats not how the human body looks/works uhh its unrealistic" like yeah. its called cartooning.
thats kind of the point

[toadpa]

I've gotten to the point that I dont care about having an art style. I just like to draw to draw