How to find your Art Style
First of all, what exactly is an art style?
It's the way that your artwork looks. Including how you draw your lines, what medium you use, the subject matter, colours you use, etc. It can also come through life experiences and inspirations. This gives you a recognisable artistic style that is completely your own.
Try out these exercises below and I hope they help you clarify your art style. Plus I added a helpful resource at the end :)
Practice drawing every day, even if it is for 20 minutes. Every little helps! (As Tesco would say😂 ) The more you draw, the more you start to get a sense for what you like. Maybe it’s the way you like to draw lines, use colour or add certain elements,etc. Over time of drawing a lot, you will start to notice a repeating habit of how you like to apply things to your work. All of these things is what makes up your art style.
Choose a bunch of artists that you like and figure out what it is you like about each of their work. You don’t want to copy just one artist but pick one thing from each and apply it to your own drawings. For example, one artist might include a particular line work you like, another for their soft colour choices and another for the way they do eyelashes? It can really help clarify your personal style.
Explore different mediums, different subject matters and have fun with it. You’ll never know what things you like until you try them. It is good to try different things out, this is the only way you will clarify what you like and don't like. Some things you try, you might realise that it isn't something you enjoyed doing after all. For example, I really loved the sketchy black ink lines over colour but when I tried it, it just didn't last and it didn't feel right for my art! We can enjoy particular things about how others draw but if it isn't sticking for you when you try it, that's ok cos everyone is different.
Bonus advice: You don’t need to have everything figured out and remember, finding your art style can take time and will always be changing. Don’t let yourself get too caught up on this and remember to stay in your lane and stick to what you love. Most the time, our style will show through to others but as the artist, we can struggle more to see it.
Resource: Since I got Lisa Condgon’s book called Find your Artistic Voice, it really helped change the way I see the ‘art style’ topic. It’s definitely a good read if your looking for some more knowledge or motivation on this topic.
Lisa Condgon: "Your artistic voice is your point of view as an artist. It includes your particular style – things like your own colour palette, symbols, lines, and markings – your skill, your subject matter, your medium, and the consistency with which you use all of these things,"