5 Key Steps to Finding Your Art Style

It is so important as an artist to have an art style: To stand out and be able to have a body of work that is reminiscent to you, as the creator.

I know there are so many art classes out there that teach you how to create a certain painting, drawing, etc; Yet so little classes that teach you how to find your own art style.

This is why I come to you with this blog post: I want to share with you five steps I’ve come up with based from my own personal experience on how I found my own art style.

Honestly-speaking, I still have a long ways to go in my artist journey, and I’m probably going to keep changing and evolving, but I feel like I’ve found my place in my painting process – And so, I wanted to share these tips with you so that you could reach a place of your own too.

I hope these tips help! And let us begin:

How to Find Your Art Style

1. Find a Genre of Art You Absolutely LOVE

There are so many different types of artists in this world right now. Find them!

As many as you can, and find the ones that you are drawn to…in their vision, style, colors, patterns, etc.

Seek them out as inspiration. And learn from them. And be careful not to fall into the tunnel of copying them.

Instead, find what you love about each one, and put it all together, mix ’em up with your own creative twist.

You want to find inspiration from everywhere, not just one single source. Doing so will help you learn so much more and find a style that is all the more unique to yourself.

Find the genre you want to belong to (Or create your own!)

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED:

I, myself, am an abstract painter, but I draw inspiration from all forms of artwork: Realistic, Surrealist, Abstract, Landscape, Portraits, etc.

I think it’s important to learn from everyone because no matter what type of art they are creating, the techniques can very much be used across all forms of artwork, you just need to get creative on how you incorporate it into your own work.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS ON YOUTUBE WHO I LOVE TO WATCH FOR INSPIRATION:

2. Practice.

Yes. I know you’ve heard this one a thousand times over. And I am sorry to have to drill it into you one more time, but practicing is key.

All of us as artists do it, whether we’re just playing with a paintbrush at 3 years old or whether we’ve been an established artist for the past 50 years of our life. No matter what point in your career, practice is what makes someone an artist (in my opinion).

If you have a passion, you’re going to keep practicing and creating every day, every moment possible. And that, in the end, is what is going to help you find your own unique art style. Practicing.

So – Practice your heart out.

3. Follow Your Instinct

If something you do doesn’t feel right, do something about it. Try to understand why it bothers you. Being able to do this will help you develop your own “artist eye”.

Maybe you’re drawing a hand, and it just doesn’t feel right with you or the colors you use don’t sit right with your expectations. It’s okay to start over. And It’s okay to go in a different direction. Do what feels right.

Most people may teach you to create in an almost replicating fashion, and I’m not totally against that idea…but I don’t believe that all art can be taught in such a way.

Art isn’t a formula. Well, I don’t know what art is…but it’s more like people.

A mix and mash of different things: feelings, thoughts, our pasts, and personalities. It’s not something that develops through mirroring our external, physical life.

It develops in a different manner, much like any of us do.

So when you’re creating at first, just be aware of what you like and what you don’t like. Eventually, as you learn, you’ll be creating art that is unique to you – your very own art style. And that’s the most important thing.

** TIP: KEEP AN ART JOURNAL SO YOU CAN WRITE DOWN THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO CHANGE AS AN ARTIST AND WHAT PART OF YOUR ART PROCESS YOU WANT TO KEEP.

4. Be Quirky

There’s always a moment in the creative process when you think for a moment that you’ve made a mistake, but then you take a second look at it and what you’ve done begins to grow on you.

Creating in an almost perfectionist manner can weigh heavy on you, so I wanted to add this bullet point on here.

I love seeing art that has the artist’s unique personality etched into it. So add a little quirky to your creative process.

And don’t be afraid to show it!: Because art should be something freeing to us all!

5. Be Open to Constructive Criticism

This one’s hard: Because with art, there’s always someone who won’t like your art. Always.

Even the most famous artists in the world have people, who just plain-and-simple don’t like it.

Don’t let negative comments about your art dampen your spirit; Yet, don’t be closed off from everything that is negative.

Be open to improving in your art. Filter with caution, what comments to ignore and which ones you should heed.

To sum it all up,

Remember, finding your art style doesn’t happen in a span of days, weeks, nor months. It takes years!

So be patient with your creative process and enjoy it as you go. Part of finding your art style is forgetting about it too…You can’t expect to sit down in one sitting and go over a dozen different drawings to pick-and-choose which one you want to be your style.

It’s not a realistic expectation for yourself.

Instead, focus on the day-to-day.

Focus on the work of art you are creating in the moment and what directions you want to take with it.

Eventually, with every piece you create and every part of the creative process you go through, you will slowly begin to learn who you are as an artist. And who you want to be.

And until we reach that point, we all just have to focus on doing our own best.

So create without burden. And just have fun with it. You will most certainly find your way soon.

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And thank you as always ♥

Artist Tips