How to develop your own art style as an illustrator?

A question I get asked so often, mostly by young or beginner artists. That's why I decided to share my thoughts on style development, and what in my experience is important in that journey.

What is style?

Having a specific aesthetic, that people would recognize even without seeing your name there. Something of that sort.

How do we get there?

I could point a few factors that I believe play a huge role in defining your style:

• Your influences and favourite artists

• Your practice and experience

• Your personal taste, traits and elements you like to see

Let's talk influences. You can create a Pinterest board and make a collection of illustrations you like. Think about your favourite illustrators and artist- what do you like about them? If you've seen tutorials and courses by them - are there any steps in their process that you have included in your own?

Mixing up different elements from your influences, and making them your own is a big part of your style. I am not talking about tracing or copying, don't get me wrong, but taking little things to combine and edit, and then include in your Mix. You could even redraw characters by your favourite artist - just for practice. This would help you learn and experience more about their shapes and design choices.

In your own practice and experience you also shape your style. I am not talking exclusively about art-related topics, but your personal experiences also - what happens to you in your life would definitely have an influence on your art. Many artists draw events from their lifes, or real life places they like to visit, or portraits of people they are close to. Art could also be the opposite, if you are going through something, drawing the exact opposite of this situation can be a coping mechanism. And with time and practice, it would become more and more clear to you how you like to see and shape particular shapes and elements, and would get integrated in your style.

And of course, last but not least your personal taste plays big part not only in how you dress yourself or how you decorate your room, but in your art too. You form your taste with seeing and experiencing, developing it with your style. Taste and style are rarely a constant, as you get better and better with time they would evolve with you. Often artist wouldn't even notice that they have a recognizable style, even when they draw in what they would call "different styles every time". Your own gesture and experience makes it your own, even if sometimes you don't see it.

Style develops with time. Even if you make a conscious decision to work on it, I would advice not to get too hung up on the concept. You can construct it and develop it, trying different visual elements that you like until you get results you like, but don't feel limited to try and experiment with new things that you might not consider fitting with the style are working towards - you might get surprised. I try not to think about style, and draw in different aesthetics in order to try as many as I could. With your experience you would collect traits and elements in your visual library, and your style will become whole.

Exercise idea:

• Create a Pinterest board with illustrations that you like.

• Redraw a character by your favourite artist exactly as it is.

• Redraw it in your own gesture, without thinking about style.

• Re-examine your board, and find specific style traits and elements you like.

• Did you include any of them in your own sketch? If you have the task to draw this again "in your style", would the result be different?

I hope this was helpful guys!

If any of you does the exercise, I'd really love to see it. You can show me via social media, or in the comment section.

Happy drawing!