Who Finds an Art Style?

All of those big name artists have a style. From artists of the eras of old to modern day animators to friends on social media, it looks like everyone has that token style that makes their art theirs. But how do you get your art style? How can you be consistent about it?

Finding an art style for yourself is one of those lofty artist milestones that all beginners seek to achieve someday. But the truth is that you’re not going to suddenly have a style. Your personal art style is not something that you work towards: it is the sum of everything you’ve learned and how you approach your own drawing practice. It’s not something that you will find: in fact, without realizing it you will one day notice that an art style has found you! You’ll look back at some art you’ve made and will start to notice patterns and shapes to your work.

Every art style is unique, and yours will be too. Don’t try to force it: like other aspects of art, trying to do this can actually make things more difficult for you. If there are art styles’ of others that you really like, don’t feel ashamed if you feel like your work looks similar. Yours will absolutely have its own stylistic markers to it, even if they’re hard to see. Remember that your brain gets used to what it sees, so you won’t even notice the common markers of your own art style, even if you see the similarities to others!

Thinking about art styles will naturally lead you to thinking about consistency. You might try to draw certain things specific ways to help develop a consistent style, whether you already have one or not. Now, consistency is something that you can practice. You can study a particular topic that you want to be consistent in and make noticeable improvements. It all comes back to practice though; it’s not something you can do overnight. Your consistency will naturally improve without you trying over weeks and months, so don’t worry if you’re not seeing the results you want quickly. Keep up a consistent practice and you’ll get there.

For me right now, I often feel like I change how I draw legs a lot and I’m pretty inconsistent with the results. Sometimes things look nice, others they look wonky. So I’ve started to focus on studying drawing, well, legs. Some time back I had a similar adventure drawing arms, and I feel like I’m more consistent with those now. There’s an infinite amount of room to improve, but I know that I can put in some focused practice and get to a level I’m more comfortable with for now.

Inconsistency breeds creativity and growth! If you feel like you’re inconsistent, channel that energy into trying something new with what you’re drawing. It’s a perfect time to push the boundaries into an area that you’re not yet confident in. Exaggerate, and lean into it! Maybe you’ll end up developing a consistent style in a totally different way than thought you would. Like everything else though, practice practice practice. You will improve, and a style will sneak up on you. Go find something to be inconsistent about today. Try drawing something that you’re unsure of, and just go wild with it. See you back here soon!