GETTING YOUR OWN STYLE

Ways to Create Your Own Style With Artists You Love!

We all reach a time in our artistic careers where we just aren't happy with our art style. Whether that's because it's too much of your old techniques, you're somewhat-copying a fellow artist, or you're just plain bored of it, doesn't matter! You're looking for a change. Here is a technique I use whenever I hit this wall:

Artistic Frankenstein Monster!

Before I dive deeper in to this process, I need to strongly stress a few things, and I'll just simply list them below, they're self explanatory

1. Do NOT ever copy someone's artistic style- it's THEIRS, not yours. Referencing is a-okay. 
2. Keep in mind that style is a perception of realism- just keep that in mind!
3. Anatomy is pretty key in stylistic drawing- you need to know your realism before you can stylize it.

Alright, with that out of the way, we can begin. As you can see from the subtitle, we're going to kind of reproduce Frankenstein's Monster (not really, sorry monster nerds!).  So here's some step by step instructions.

1. Find some artists you like and pick your favorite aspect of their art (at least three examples) and put it all together so look at! I put something like this together below for you to understand what I mean. All together I love how Lily Williams draws eyes, how Phillip Light draws hair, Brittany Myers' figures, and Sanne's coloring. 
   
2. Now start putting your favorite aspects together! Below is what I have for line art. What I love about Lily William's eyes are the use of thick lines and a single colored iris. Phillip Light's hair had a lot of simplicity and curvy dynamics to it, and you can't see it in the cropped photo below, but my character has curves and angles just like Brittany Myers' figures. I've also kept my own style to dominate the other styles: the nose, lips, and face shape have always been my favorite things to draw, no matter how difficult. I try to exaggerate those specific features to shape my own individual style. Do you see how using other's styles to reference off can shape the way your style develops? Next I'll be laying down some colors. 
   
3. Keep going! As you can see I've colored the line art and blocked in my colors. I've also started the shading on the shirt. Sanne seems to use lots of layers, as her colors are lifeless and basically blocks of colors. I don't want this tutorial to progress into a how I create my digital paintings, so I'm going to continue pointing out aspects that I've carried on from other artists, and techniques I've kept myself.
   
4. From this point on I'll just show you the pictures of the progress i go though to create the final picture. Thanks for viewing and I hope it was of some help!

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TIPS ON SKETCH BOOKS

Tips on How to Manage Your Sketchbook

Here's a simple list of how to manage your sketchbook for art!

1. Keep multiple sketchbooks, but only one for each "category" (don't use your travel sketchbook at home, don't use your watercolor sketchbook for graphite sketches, etc.)
2. Take at least one sketchbook with your wherever you go (out to dinner, a walk in the park, to a friends house, etc)
3. Remember that inspiration is everywhere. 
4. Sketch your ideas for projects in your sketchbook (every artist should get used to thumbnail sketches!! I usually fit 6-8 thumbnail sketches to a page in my sketchbook, but I keep the proportions the same! Ex: 2''x4'' thumbnail, 6''x8'' final product)
5. Use every inch of your sketchbook- color the cover, write on the cardboard in white color pencil, etc.
6. Be open minded. Don't just draw figures. Draw what you see. Practice different techniques. Different basics.
7. WRITE NOTES!!!! I cannot stress this enough! Don't just DRAW or PAINT in your sketchbook. Jot down notes if ideas are coming all at once. Character names, places, people to meet, etc. 
8. Every artist needs at least one sketchbook. AND KEEP YOUR SKETCHBOOKS! It's amazing to be able to look back 10 years to see your progress.

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ART BLOCK

How to Overcome Art Block

All artists have had that moment of frustration we call art block. It's probably more annoying than ruined paint brushes (learn how to take care of your paint brushes here!), and we've all come across it at least a few-hundred times in out life, right? Here are some tips to push through art block!

1. Find inspiration. Whether you decided to take a trip to your local museum, or simply look some art up online, inspiration is every where! You'll never know what you'll find.
2. Change up your mediums. If you're a pencil and paper, go to pen and ink. If you prefer watercolor, try oil pastels! You're not entitled to stick with the same boring medium every day, and seeing the same materials can actually aid to your art block. So change it up!
3. Sign up for classes. Signing up for classes with an instructor may sound boring and constricting, but if you're being taught what to draw, it can open knew ideas you can write down or sketch out. 
4. Scribble, make shapes, get frustrated! Anger and frustration are emotions, and can inspire you in the strangest ways. Show your frustration on the canvas, splash paint onto the canvas, smear colors everywhere. You can't go wrong with a little bit of abstract. You may just find inspiration within it.
5. Listen to Music. Music helps simulate the brain, and creative flow may come easier to you. Illustrate a song or even part of the lyrics. 
6. Don't think about whether it'll sell. This leads to stress, and that's not something you want! Draw from your inspirations. 
7. Find a photo album. Maybe one on your phone, or a family collection, find pictures and draw the picture. Recreate it. Make the subjects wear funny hats, change the colors, etc. 

Also remember that an art block isn't that you stop progressing. You get better with every drawing or painting you create. When you have an art block, you feel as if you are no longer progressing or that everything you create isn't good enough. It's not your style that has been changed, or that you're not a good artist anymore, but your perception of art has changed quickly in a short amount of time. This shows that you are more critical of yourself, and that you're becoming a better artist. You're identifying your mistakes, you're growing as an artist. The most important thing to do is find a source of inspiration and use it for a reference.

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TAKING CARE OF YOUR BRUSHES

How to Take Care of Your Paint Brushes

One of my greatest pet peeves as an artist is seeing ruined paint brushes. I work with water colors and acrylics for my main medium, and a broken/ruined brush is one of the most devastating experiences.  Below are the dos and don'ts of proper brush care! 

Brush Anatomy

Photo from Learning To Paint

Don'ts 

• Never set the brush bristle-down in a water glass... or any glass. Not even for a few minutes. This will ruin your bristles by bending them, and this isn't something you can fix. If you have a stiff brush where the bristles don't bend, it's not an exception!! The water will spread the brushes and the brush will dry frayed. 
• If you're on a small budget, simply lay your brush on your table with the bristles hanging over the edge of the table. If you're able to though, I strongly suggest getting a brush rack. You can find these cheap almost anywhere. 
• Don't let acrylic dry on your brush. I cannot stress this enough. The acrylic will NOT come off, no matter how hard you try or how long you soak it. 
• If you're painting with acrylics and you need to use more than one paint brush at a time, set your brush CAREFULLY on a paper towel and spray the brush with a water bottle, which you should do to your acrylic paints anyway. This will keep it from drying out as you use a different brush.
• Try your best to not get paint on the ferrule. This isn't the most important "don't" but it can lead the bristle to fray where they connect to the ferrule. 
• Note that even if you wash the brush, the paint can get stuck under the ferrule. Simply try your best to keep your ferrule clean!
• Don't clean your brush with warm/hot water! It causes the glue under the ferrule to become weak, allowing the bristles to fall out- not something you want!
• Cold water is the way to go!

Dos

• Squeeze off paint with a towel 
• Make sure to be careful, Don't do this too fast, you could bend the bristles. The main thing is to get rid of the excess paint.
• When rinsing the brush use your fingers to gently squeeze out the paint
• You can use brush soap, or regular hand soap. You can buy cheap brush soap here.
• Store your brushes where the bristles to no touch, and where the bristles can either stand up straight or lay down flat. 
• Easiest way to do this is to either but brushes in a roomy jar (bristles up!) or to buy a brush box/holder.

Happy Painting!

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