Art Style Tips | Discover Your Art Style w/ 5 Easy Tips
Art Style Tips! In this blog post, I go over my top 5 tips & tricks for finding your art style. To discover your art style, you need to go through 3 phases: Explore, Create, and Focus where you create 30 pieces of intentional art during each phase.
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ART STYLE TIPS | Discover Your Art Style + Improve Your Art w/ 5 EASY TIPS!
DISCOVER YOUR ART STYLE + IMPROVE YOUR ART
Finding your art style is more like developing your art style through a cyclical process. It's a gradual process of seeing how you work, identifying artistic, stylistic elements in your artwork and repeating them over and over again so that people can recognize your art style!
1 | EXPLORE YOUR ART STYLE
Discovering your own Art Style can feel like a ton of pressure, which is why I always tell artists to start with an EXPLORE stage. This first stage is all about figuring out what you even like in the first place. It’s okay not to have anything narrowed down yet.
For the first 4-6 weeks, EXPLORE different subject matters, mediums, and techniques you’re interested in. It’s only by exploring something thoroughly that you’ll be able to definitively say, “that type of art isn’t for me,”
OR, “I’m really enjoying myself and am feeling curious about where I can take this.” This is your chance to try something new, feel excited, and follow your inspiration.
During the Explore Stage, create at least 30 new pieces of artwork.
2 | RESEARCH YOUR ART STYLE
Inspiration doesn’t always strike like lightning out of the sky. A lot of times, we have to work for it by doing our RESEARCH! During the Explore Stage, I want you to intentionally research different Art Styles.
Find artists you are drooling over and collect a group of work in a folder or on a Pinterest board.
Allow yourself to go down the rabbit hole and explore different possibilities.
Research different industries you might be able to sell your art in. For example, if you want to see your art on greeting cards… begin research different greeting card artists or find greeting card artworks that make you super excited!
Pay attention to that excited feeling.
3 | CREATE CREATE CREATE
After you’ve thoroughly researched different Art Styles and industries, and given yourself time to Explore different possibilities, now it’s time to CREATE!
Here is the hard truth:
You’ll never develop an original Art Style without creating a TON of work.
Think about everything you created during the EXPLORE stage. Narrow down to 2-3 things you enjoyed most. I encourage artists to start a 90 Days Project for their Art Style Challenge where they create at least 90 pieces of work.
You can commit to a daily practice or give yourself a break on the weekends.
Your first 30 pieces will be created during the EXPLORE stage.
Your second 30 will be during the CREATE stage.
Your second 30 pieces made during the CREATE stage should be a little more intentional than the EXPLORE stage pieces. Make a list of things you really didn’t love during the EXPLORE stage as well as a list of things that you really enjoyed or are at least more curious about.
4 | CRITIQUE YOUR ART STYLE
After you’ve created 60 pieces of artwork in the EXPLORE and CREATE stages, it’s time to CRITIQUE your work. Pull out a journal or sketchbook and jot down some notes about your own work.
If you were an Art History professor how would you describe it?
Does the work feel modern or traditional? Does it embody Realism or is it more Abstract? Do you notice a particular color palette, line quality, or other stylistic elements that are being repeated?
It’s okay to also take note of some stylistic elements that seem random or are otherwise unsuccessful. Maybe you tried something, but you didn’t love the result and it just didn’t feel natural to you.
Remember that discovering the little characteristics that make up your Art Style often come from the path of least resistance. During your Self-Critique, take note of some things you want to improve, but also of what feels the most comfortable and natural for you as an artist.
Group your pieces into little collections. See which artworks “go together” and could be presented together.
5 | FOCUS YOUR ART STYLE
Now, it’s time for the FOCUS stage.
Your next 30 pieces of artwork should be even MORE intentional that your last batch.
What did you learn when you critiqued your own work? How did you describe it? Which stylistic elements are being repeated in your work? Which stylistic elements could be stronger?
Discovering your Art Style is a constant narrowing down process of stripping your creative elements down to the bare minimum.
Ask yourself, “Would a stranger be able to pick out my art from a crowd of random artwork?” If not, you need to strip your art down further and decide which elements you want repeat.
Repetition creates RECOGNITION.
Create your next 30 pieces of artwork with as much extreme Focus as possible.
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SKETCHBOOKING YOUR STYLE
By the way, if you’re wanting to get in the Surface Pattern Design / Illustration game, but you are really struggling to develop your own art style, be sure to check out my free workshop.
It includes how to create a system for creating your own, unique Art Style.
Sign up below!
