:V the greats never had a dead-set style and neither should you

You make a good point.

animation pre-101 :P

you are right. many artists love to use this whole "its my style" thing as an excuse. but that still doesnt fix horrible lighting, shadows and anatomy :P
i mean, when you draw porn for example you should still have at least a basic understanding how boobs work or where genitals are located and what they look like...

Butt-balls instantly come to mind. :B

Don't forget musclefurs making up muscles that don't make much sense.

Just looks like bilaterally symmetrical rocks hanging off of a partially humanoid frame. D:

To be fair, comic books have been doing this for about fifty years too.

this is not an excuse.

Nope, just spreading the blame around.

unfortunately artists who have an actual grip on how anatomy works are rare :T

or belly-dicks... or stomach-vaginas... or anti-gravity-boobs... the list goes on and on! XD

I just shake my head and move right along. :D

HAHAHAHAHA! Oh man.. oh my gawd .. it took me a moment, then it hit me what you're talking about. Oh how that is rampant in the fandom..

>:O i agree to this!

This, I like it.

I don't have a style. I also don't have a cookie. I shall develop them both!

Now shut up and draw more porn

On the other hand, it's okay with me if some people don't care about growing or branching out. But such people should and must stop caring about getting better.

Relaying what the folks say from ConceptArt: You don't pick a style, it starts, grows, and develops as you learn and understand the basics.

I also have to say I appreciate your motivational posts 0r0ch1, thanks.

well - I've seen artists who's styles have improved over time. most do thsi

but I've also seen a few who've gotten worse


I dont think its a matter of simply allowing one's style to evolve - its also a question of how and why it evolves.

if it evolves without guidance via constructive criticism, it can turn into shit

if it changes to please to pander to fans without the artist really liking where its going - then the artist might get fed up with drawing and quit (furry artists who started to churn out MLP:FiM art - but then later 'quit' because they didn't find it fun anymore, despite being popular for it)

Saying "it's my style" is fancy code for saying "I am not a skilled artist". If all you can draw is anime, then that doesn't make you a good anime artist, it just makes you a poor artist.
A skilled artist with a solid grounding in the basics can draw in just about any style. They may have preferences, but that foundation has to be there.
Take Bill Watterson for instance - most Calvin & Hobbes strips are really simple-looking doodles on the face of it, then he'll go and bust out something like this:
http://www.progressiveboink.com/jon.....obbes/jon8.GIF

403 Forbidden

fff, it's one of those anti-hotlink things.
It's one of his pictures of dinosaurs anyway.

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. That water can flow, be still or crash. Be the water my friend." - Bruce Lee.

This was and always will be one of the coolest and greatest things anyone has ever said.

Are we still on this subject? Have we ever gotten off of it?

i agree with this :3

Oh, I thought this was a journal about stealing someone's style.

I never thought of it that way before. That makes me feel more comfortable. Thank you (and to the person who originally said that) for opening me up to that idea.

yayyyy

YES. I'm SICK of people using their style as an excuse for stagnation! DX

I love experimenting with other styles. I'm always working to improve my own style, and the best way to improve can be to experiment with other styles.

Plus, if you're like me and you're trying to go into game design, YOUR art style isn't what matters unless you're the art director and you think it's the best style for the game. Same with animation for all sorts of other things. A lot of artists need to be able to replicate another style.

noted to myself

Word of Faust.

I ALREADY KNEW THAT, BITCH!!!

My trick is to always see my art as terrible in my own eyes, so I try to improve.

...

Though that might not be the healthiest mindset on my part. :|

THIS

ALWAYS WHEN I HAVE DONE SOME WORK IN ANOTHER PERSONS' STYLE, I WOULD ATTEMPT TO COPY EVERY SINGLE DETAIL SO IT WOULD BE ACCURATE TO THE POINT THAT IT WOULD BE HARD TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN ME AND THE ORIGINAL ARTIST

...OR AT LEAST I ATTEMPT TO, SINCE I WORK WITH FLASH
BECAUSE PHOTOSHOOP IS 4 FAGTS

Her and her husband are the greatest.

Well said ^^

Wha-? Style?! Who has a style? I'm just making this up as I go!

>December 27, 2011

I have to say speaking from personal experience and opinion that this simply is not always true.
When I first began drawing at the tender age of 6 years old as time went on and my skills as a a freelance artist became stronger more efficient and in tune with myself and how I preferred to draw I loved all my artwork and all people I did artwork for praised me and loved my work. I admit I still had and still do have flaws that can be improved upon by learning new techniques but my basic story is this... I attended a special art class and program in which I started listening to the art teacher (also a high school art class) teaching me certain drawing techniques to "change up my style" and broaden and expand how I perceived objects whether physical or in my head to draw to improve my artwork.

The problem is I was so used to MY OWN WAY of drawing and sketching that attempting to do it THE TEACHER'S WAY actually ended up screwing up my art skills and personal talent to the point in which I got so frustrated and unsure of my way of doing things that ALL of my artwork became complete CRAP. Everything I drew or attempted to draw felt WRONG. To the point in which for the longest time I stopped drawing completely out of my frustration and it was very painful for me to feel like I couldn't draw ANYTHING right. I had in the end to stop the art classes and to take time from drawing anything and it took several months before I could get back into my own personal groove and actually feel worthy as an artist with talent.

In short the teacher's visions and the classes requirements of "how to draw this way or that way or the correct way" did not actually IMPROVE my art or drawing style but made it absolute rubbish to the point where I gave up on drawing for a long time. Once I finally felt like I got my own personal style or groove back in sketching and drawing I NEVER AGAIN deviated from it in fear that I would lose it again. Some of you may say this was just a small "funk" or "artist's block" that I may have been going through but I can assure you it was not that. It was a feeling of "If I don't draw this like this as so and so tells me to then it won't come out right and I just don't know how to do this and make it work so f*ck it I give up." feeling.

I NEVER want to feel that again so I just stick with my own personal style I have had since I was a child and do not listen to others, no matter how achieved or smart or professional they may be, when they tell me how I should or could draw something. This is just MY experience I know, but it is one I will never forget. To each their own I guess everyone is different so please if it works for you DON'T abandon your style just to adopt another one that might strain or stress you out. It is simply not worth the aggravation.