Finding your Art Style: A lifelong journey
Finding your art style is something that all artist’s desperately want to find. For the majority of my art practice, I had that same feeling too. Finding your art style is so important for artists because it is kinda like discovery your identity as an artist but also as a person. It is safe to say, we all want to find something that speaks to us and shows ‘yes’ that’s me!
However, I have noticed within the art community over the years that finding your art style has been something to achieve straight away. There is this perception you must achieve an art style as soon as possible or else you won’t be successful?
Discovering your art style takes time. I don’t think it is possible to find it within 30 days or even a year. It is something that you develop over your lifetime. Even if you do find an art style, your style can change multiple times.
I have found it useful putting it in a journey perspective. Be comfortable with the idea that you are in the long haul to discovering your art style. I think for artist it allows us to put less pressure on ourselves. The journey of finding your art style involves making good and bad art, going out of your comfort zone and learning new things.
My Personal Struggle with Finding my Art Style
I felt that for my own art style it was revolved around this idea, that you needed a set art style to be a successful artist. Every piece you produced had to be in the same ‘style’, or to look consistent in your Instagram feed. I also felt that my artwork had to be polished, it had to look perfect in order to be liked or gained popularity.
I felt so pressured, especially when I was younger to find this perfect art style that represented my artistry but also good enough that others could take me seriously. So, I endeavoured on finding this art style, it kinda turned into an obsession at one point. I needed to fit myself in this ‘perfect’ box.
I became so disconnected that I forgot why I fell in love with art in the first place. It was the freedom to experiment, to try new mediums and play around with ideas. I realised that I could not fit myself in one box. One single box with certain rules and expectations that I had to achieve in order for my art to be successful. I forgot the one rule I forgot to follow: to play!
Helpful Tips to Find your Art Style
Here are some tips and tricks I have learnt along my art journey to finding your art style
1. Discover what you love to do and what you dislike doing in your art practice
The next time you are doing a piece, really reflect what parts of the process you enjoy the most. I discovered that I love the sketching and the colouring stage. I now make that more of a focus when I do art because it is something I really enjoy doing. Maybe for you, it is drawing a particularly subject or doing the line art stage. Find what you like and run with it, see what you can come up with.
2. Look at your old artwork and sketchbooks
This is an exercise I love to do often, especially when I am feeling a little demotivated with my art. Find an old piece you have done or flick through an old sketchbook. I find when you do this, you get to remind yourself about some of the art choices you made back then, “oh! that’s looks so good why I don’t incorporate that into my next piece!”. It can give guidance and inspiration on what to create next. Even the bad art you made is still good art. It makes you reflect about how far you have come in your skills as an artist.
3. Have an ugly sketchbook!
This is a popular advice I have taken from other artists within the community. Having an ugly sketchbook is the best place to experiment and play around with ideas without anyone judging. This can be the sketchbook where you do your messy doodles without feeling pressured that it has to look perfect. I love having an ugly sketchbook because I find this where I come with my best ideas that I can implement into a full piece later down the track.
4. Look at the artists that inspire you
This can be a great way to discover what you like and dislike about elements in a piece especially when looking at other creator’s works. However, I am careful about not copying exactly but more about grabbing certain elements e.g a certain colour palette, subject matter or the way that particular artist does line art
5. Try something different in each piece you create
Now I know sometimes we don’t want to learn new things or add things we haven’t done before. I get it, sometimes we just need to draw our guilty pieces and not think about it too much. This doesn’t mean you have to learn something completely new in order to do this. Sometimes, I like to push myself a little in every piece I create, to try something different each time. This can be as tiny as picking a colour you don’t usually use or using a digital brush to create a different effect. Just doing tiny experiments or changes can help you along your journey to finding your style.
6. Have a dedicated routine for your art practice
Discovering your style does take time but it is also important to put in that time to discover what you love and dislike doing. The more art you make, the more chances you can discover things you love to create. Find a routine, this can be 15 min a day or 1 hour a week, make it a goal that you can achieve and stick to!
My ‘ugly’ sketchbook!
Some Final Advice
There is a lot of advice and tutorials out there surrounding the topic of finding your art style. Take the time to learn from other artist’s journey and their insights about finding their art styles.
One takeaway from this blog that I would love for you to remember , is this:
“Discovering your art style is a life long journey, be curious, be open to change and most importantly have fun making your art!”
I would love to hear about our own journey finding your art style, share and comment below!
Thank you for reading—until next time!