Style?

[OmenSpirits]

I feel like an idiot asking this.:$

I working on my skills (illustration) which will be shown in my SB, but the one thing I realized, I've no style.

I look at the SB's here, and even those who need mor practice, show a style development. The art they post has the sense of expressive lines, but mine, I can't see it.

illustration was my dream for so long, but I gained my ability to express when I switched to writing when, well, I was disheartened by my inability to gain acceptance into a college back in the mid-90's.

So I switched focus, still doodling while pursuing a author's career.

But it changed, 7 years I cultivated my writing, and could breath depth into my words, but the pencil was calling, and that calling became strong, and I found a book that's strengthening my abilities at a quickening rate, and I'm happy.......

But, there's no expression. No expressive lines, fluidity in curves, energy in form, and I feel like all I'll become is a xerox machine. Not able to put the expressiveness into the line, the feeling, that I can into my words.

So, as the question is posed. How do I gain style? How do I express throught my illustrations?

Any advise is REALLY appreciated. :teeth: :hatsoff:

(I feel really stupid asking.):[

[Ilaekae]

Can you post a few examples of your work here so we can get a feel for what you're doing and where you might be going?

[J Wilson]

Don't worry about "style". Ever. Style is something that just happens, and if you are too concious of trying to inject "style" into your art you will probably end up just being gimmicky. Draw what and how you like, as long as you keep trying to improve.

Style is just really your particular quirks, flaws, strengths, and influences from other sources. Trying to develope a style is a little like trying to develope a personality. You already have one even if you don't know it. If your work doesn't look like what you'd like it to look like you just need to improve, but it has nothing really to do with style.

[OmenSpirits]

Can you post a few examples of your work here so we can get a feel for what you're doing and where you might be going?


http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1936191#post1936191

Sorry I couldn't directly post, *whispers*(I'm at work).

But these were done at the begining of working from said book (Charles Bargue btw). I'm drawing from Bridgman's 100 hands also.

Thanks.

J Wilson:Ah. I see. I always find it strange how so many I've seen have such a development in expressiveness, even if they aren't that good, that I lack.
:( Or seem to lack. *sigh* Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself.
IDK.:/

[Grief]

hmm line quality and weight, using liberties in depicting values with various strokes. shape doesnt look too shabby.


there's a style going on for sure, as its impossible(ish) to replicate reality and expect to do so without having the art filter through some aspects of your own behavior and skill.

dont worry about developing some nifty gimmick, just keep at it and things will evolve naturally to a point youre satisfied with. its not like you can flip a switch and say "oh my art will now look like this, a method of working i mastered just by thinking of it"

its a slow process guided by how much effort and thought you put in.

fill that sketchbook.

[OmenSpirits]

Grief: Thanks. I'll start the SB in the section from the point of now.

I own over 10+ SB's from begining in 1991, not counting the photocopy paper I was using before I learn about artistic material!

Here's a link for work I did BC (before Charle Bargue).

http://www.comicspace.com/omenspirits/comics.php?action=gallery&comic_id=17690

http://www.comicspace.com/omenspirits/comics.php?action=gallery&comic_id=11187

Can you tell I wanted to be a comicbook artist? :teeth:

Those Guyvers are AC (after Charles Bargue). The book's helping tremendously, but, *sigh* I put too much pressure on myself, but dammit, I've wanted this for close to 2 decades. :frustrated: But I'm driven, moreso than in '95, so I'll keep going. I've no choice, it's my calling.

[arttorney]

Then draw every day that you can. Review the tutorials and things you can find on here, and post in various sections so you can get criticism. Many people come to feel nobody is noticing them because they get no comments in their sketchbooks. That fact is, there are about a billion sketchbooks on here so it's easy to get lost in there. You can get some notice by jumping into something that's going on, like daily sketch group or the community activities. There's also Critique Center (and it happens to be a week that the management are calling for people to get off their dead asses and give criticisms in Critique Center).

Put a link to your sketchbook in your signature in case you post something that momentarily intrigues somebody. Make it easy for them to check into your book.

I give you a lot of typing because I was intrigued that you have no choice and feel your calling. That is a good thing and rare. We have tons of people come on here and complain that they can't draw.

:aa: :at: :al: :aa: :as: :at: :a!: one who can't stop drawing. (He he.)

[OmenSpirits]

Hey, obsessive compulsive I be. :D

I've started a SB. I'll add my Charles Bargue work book sketches to it eventually.

[RyerOrdStar]

You have no style because you're borrowing other people's style. Stop drawing anime and try to draw what you see and the style will come naturally to you -- it can't be helped.

[OmenSpirits]

Um, those are about two years old. ;)

My newer stuff is in my SB. Those anime characters were inspired because I was playing the games, not something I did often.

Thanks for the advice. :D

[reme]

Haha its just frustrating when your style isn't as unique as another artist D:

[J Wilson]

Galaxis, that is a great quote you have in your signature.

[OmenSpirits]

Wierd thing.

I'm in the process of organizing my room, and came across my sketchbooks for the late 8 to ten years. So I flipped thru them, seeing the progression I was making from year to year, and it occurred to me.

If I didn't get discouraged by not making it into the college I tried & failed to get in, I'd have been fully developed as an illustrator.

But then,

I thought about all the other things that would not have happened and that I'd found by switching to writing.

All the friends I'd not have made, the person I'd become because of that choice.

Damn....:( :^^;:

[armando]

You've got a style. What I see is that you're emphasizing contour lines. The shapes/areas you're enclosing with those lines tend to be angular, even the circles tend towards being four or five sided. You're using two values: the white of the paper, and a gray hatched in with parallel lines.
If you like the Guyver I take it you like lots of complex little shapes within your designs.

* Look at the types of lines your using. Do you want them straighter, wobblier, jagged?
* Would the hatching look better all in one direction, or in lots of directions? Try going all vertical, all horizontal, or all diagonal. Should it be darker?
* Look at the shapes enclosed by your lines, look at their relative sizes, and how many more little shapes and lines you're putting within them. Should there be more or less, leave it white or fill it with texture?

Your hatching should make shapes too:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=470515&stc=1&d=1222060288
Your hatching is all over the place there, it could be in the form of an "S". Villpu's Drawing Manual does a good job of explaining that, Loomis too.

Check out Molly Bang's "Picture This", good book, recommended a lot.

[Pawkfox]

I get so tired of these style questions.
As an artist you should aspire to know ALL styles.
A real artist doesn't need a style. He can do all of them.
As for personal style. That's to me much like 'Talent' It doesn't exist.

But if you Have to categorize it, When you sit down and draw something without looking at anything else. That's your style. Because that comes from you, in one way or another. So you have no style? Then that IS your style.

Ugh. I hate that word :(

[Farvus]

Style is like personal handwrirting but you can still decide if you want to write with either capital or small letters.

[sodAp]

Style is like personal handwrirting but you can still decide if you want to write with either capital or small letters.


I find that handwriting is no different from drawing in most aspects. First you have to learn the very basics (anatomy and proportion of letters and spaces, ortography, etc) and as you write and write you find it easier and dont need to think about the anatomy of the letters, and also you start developing your own twists to the anatomy and proportion of the letters. As in drawing, at some point or another every once in a while you'll find your handwriting sucks and if you are bothered, start "studying" it again from scratch.

BUT there are aspects of handwriting that make it look good or bad, for example the spacing, consistency of the characters, etc, and things that you can see in other people's handwriting that you like. And you can decide on that and practice it until it becomes second nature. This is working on your style.

Style emerges as you draw and paint, but there's a lot of concious (sp?) decisions you can make (that are based on your personal preference). Style for me is a starting point for learning or relearning, and it wont be worth shit until you assimilate the style and can worry about writing fast and correctly without worrying about writing nicely.

"Good artists borrow, Great artists steal" - Picasso
For me this means that to be a great artist and make great art, when you see something in the art of the other guy you don't go and do it his way once or twice, you look at it, study it, make it your own and use it without even bothering.

[OmenSpirits]

I get so tired of these style questions.
As an artist you should aspire to know ALL styles.
A real artist doesn't need a style. He can do all of them.
As for personal style. That's to me much like 'Talent' It doesn't exist.

But if you Have to categorize it, When you sit down and draw something without looking at anything else. That's your style. Because that comes from you, in one way or another. So you have no style? Then that IS your style.

Ugh. I hate that word :(

As an artist you should aspire to know ALL styles.

As for personal style. That's to me much like 'Talent' It doesn't exist.

:wtf:

Okay, that just imploded on itself. :lounge:

As I've stated, I have the habit of putting a lot of pressure on myself to express what's in my head, as seen in my head, on paper, in the shortest amount of time that I've been able to get close to it.

Wondering about my style comes from the fact that I'm still gaining in ability.

Kind of impatient, but I'm gaining. Thanks to CA and the level of artists here, I learn by osmosis and practicing what I've observed.

:oneye:

[J Wilson]

I get so tired of these style questions.
As an artist you should aspire to know ALL styles.
A real artist doesn't need a style. He can do all of them.

I sort of agree that style questions get old. New artists should worry about skill first, and trust that style evolves (but I guess if no one told you that, how would you know that style is usually not a decision so much as something that happens).

I disagree though that an artist should aspire to know all styles. First, there are a nearly infinite number of styles. Who has that kind of time. Also, what would be the point? Cubism doesn't speak to me at all, so why would I create anything in that style?

Maybe you mean that an artist should be capable of all styles, and that's maybe slightly more accurate, as proper skill training would make it easy to replicate nearly anything you see, although I'd still argue that you wouldn't really understand a style if you were just mimicking it's superficial appearance.

Lastly, no matter what "style" an artist is trying to do, there are still certain things that are just part of how that artist thinks, and his various quirks, flaws, and influences that he can't change or hide. THAT'S the basis of an artist's style.

Artists don't need to worry about style because it takes care of itself. Do what you enjoy and don't worry about it, because it will emerge on it's own. Focus on skill and being able to draw what you imagine.

[Black Spot]

There’s also the influences of other artists that inspire you paint like them. You may not get it exactly but find a new twist on the journey while learning.