Style is earned.
Today I’m going to share the wisdom of my favorite art teacher, because he is a genius. I met with him today to ask him how I could improve my characters, and we ended up on the topic of style, of the way different artists illustrate things. He then made two points:
- Style is the sum of the art experiences that you have had.
- To develop style, you need to create experiences for yourself.
To emphasize the importance of these points, he told me a metaphor. A lovely Legend of Zelda metaphor.
Imagine an adventure game like Legend of Zelda where you go through quests, overcoming challenges and puzzles in order to gain new items. The more items and weapons you have, the more likely you are ready to take on tougher dungeons, and the more creative and adept you can be in defeating enemies. There are certain temples and areas you just can’t get to without obtaining the right item first.
Experiences are like this when it comes to art. They go in your “quest bag” as resources that can be used for any project. If you have only tried one or two styles, then that’s all you’ll know how to work with. You can’t defeat Ganon with only a slingshot. Give yourself experiences and challenges, and this will give you far greater power, flexibility, and creative liberty.
Challenge: The fast-track to style
My teacher then gave me this challenge, calling it the fast-track to developing your own style:
Make a list of your top 10 favorite artists that have influenced your work. Choose one of their characters and redraw that character in their exact style. Learn the ins and outs of what they do and how they do it. How do they stylize ears? Do they use soft or hard shadows? What about the stances and poses of their characters?
He then explained that the more informed we are, the better decisions we make. This is why we do things like draw from life and take figure drawing classes. Studying style is just as important. This isn’t the same as copying an artist. You aren’t drawing in their style just to imitate them, but to learn what you do and don’t like, and what you want to do in your own work.
I believe that completing this challenge will give me a greater knowledge of what the artists I admire do, and it will help me become aware of and develop more of my own style.
I challenge of all of you to complete this experiment! Who else wants to find more clarity in the direction they want to take their style and art? Let’s do this thing.