Anyway… another good article! Its something I'm struggling with is developing 'a style' and do find myself skipping around just like Modern Dog. I'm a designer first then illustrator and find my design head rules when it comes to reading the brief and thinking of concepts.

I suppose a lot of illustrators limit themselves by ways of colour palette or go through sabbaticals where for a few months they use paints, next few months they use digital… etc etc… this in the end will help them to maybe not have a defined style of such as in the way they detail a person or a bird, but in that the way they might use the paint on the canvas or draw with vectors….

I'm confusing myself now!

Thanks again Nate!

Peter

Anyway… another good article! Its something I'm struggling with is developing 'a style' and do find myself skipping around just like Modern Dog. I'm a designer first then illustrator and find my design head rules when it comes to reading the brief and thinking of concepts.

I suppose a lot of illustrators limit themselves by ways of colour palette or go through sabbaticals where for a few months they use paints, next few months they use digital… etc etc… this in the end will help them to maybe not have a defined style of such as in the way they detail a person or a bird, but in that the way they might use the paint on the canvas or draw with vectors….

I'm confusing myself now!

Thanks again Nate!

Peter

I've been reading a lot about style and marketability lately. It seems like a topic with a lot of grey areas. There's a fine line between developing a style and forcing yourself into one. But there does seem to some pressure to have a style before one can become successful, so it's easy for those of us still developing to lose patience. I remember feeling that way in art school and was frustrated a lot by not having a signature, just a lot of explorations that lead nowhere.

Personally, I feel like I've just started to come into my own style in the past year or so. It has flt very natural for me partly because I decided not to pursue an art/illustration career straight out of school. That seemed to take the pressure off. Thus, I was able to spend those first years out of school just doing art for myself and making exactly what I wanted to make. That has lead to the style I have now that I am increasingly more satisfied with, which I only now feel comfortable trying to market.

Anyway, that's my story, related or not.

Here's my opinion on how to create a style as an artist:
You can't force a style into your work if you are not fully matured in your technique or style yet. Young artists who attempt to 'embrace' a style tend to become copy-cats of what is already out there and trendy.

To truly craft a style that is all your own, you need to give yourself the time to evolve and explore. After a while you'll find you're doing more and more of the style that speaks to your heart – that will become your signature style and will be truly yours.