Are Some Art Styles Better Than Others?

[@tellwill7523]

I’ve seen a few comments who aren’t happy with the way this video is. I personally prefer this more exploratory method. It allows me to pay attention to questions other people have dealt with, and try to imagine what I should look out for. Not just in my own art, but as to why someone might’ve chosen one design over another. I’ve noticed Marc Brunet has been releasing videos that touch on subjects he’s already taught before. I find it useful, as it means I can see some of the improvements he has made along the way, and also gives me a “study guide” in a way. I tend to need to know why I’m doing something. The procrastination episode from your other channel for example, was really useful to me. You explored not just what you could do to try and overcome it, but also common pitfalls behind them, and the mindset you should have while using said tools. (The 30 min one has been most useful) So I appreciate the time you take to fully explore the topic. It really helps me keep it in mind.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Thanks so much for letting me know this was helpful and that you don't mind the format! :)

[@kylekarpet7593]

The internet sucks, just wanna say i love your videos, they're amazing. These more exploratory type videos are great cause of how subjective and personal the art journey is. Thank you :)

[@caiusactinunwise1412]

Contrary to some other comments, I personally enjoy long explanations and subjective insights. I don't need concrete and decisive conclusion, but more of a brainstorming session, because if I'm here it means I already have an opinion on it, and can theorise about it myself, and so I appreciate someone else's opinions as guidelines for me to reach a conclusion. I don't understand everyone's need to be spoonfed the answers.

[@wzrdpwrs4426]

As always good stuff. I think you are spot on! Having come up liking alot of the same artist and storytellers/comic artists as you, I think early on i was always possessed with the notion of needing to meet a certain clean super rendered style. After finding artists with more simple stylized looks, that kind of spoke to me more, did I realize "Wow these guys are telling their stories and being successful at it!" Artists like you and Andrew Mclean "Headlopper" or Derek Laufman or who could forget Mike Mignola. I think Ive always loved serious dark stories drawn in this more "cartoon" or "stylized" fashion. Something about that clean line style is just gold to me. I also think it comes with age, I feel like the more understanding of art the more you realize what truly is necessary to tell a story or make an image. Anyways as usual your video really get the creative mind rolling. Thanks and of course **CoughMentorshipCough**

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Thanks for your thoughts on this one! I need to send you an email! Yeah it's possible age plays a major factor here. I'll have to think on that. People do seem to be really focused on some things early on. And also I think the need to fit in plays a major role... the popularity game of working on big projects with big studios etc.

[@kupotenshi]

I think there's universal rules for creating an appealing image. A sunset and sunrise will look beautiful to everyone on Earth, why is that? That's the hardest part about creating an appealing style of your own, figuring out appeal without copying successful styles that already exist.

[@rindenauge3426]

Artists copy a lot. They are just good at mixing stuff together and finding unique things which haven't been done in their medium yet. For example, if you draw comics/manga, then it would be good if you are not just reading other comics, but also read books for example. Because from books you can steal much better, without directly copying other people, because you copy it into another medium.

[@luciluziel2946]

Thank you for this talk, Tim! 😊 It definitely helped me a lot. Every time I watch your videos I feel the path ahead of me getting more and more and more clear! I really really appreciate what you are doing for this community.

[@bonjovi1354]

What i like about your art is your color choices your story telling through your art the ehole environment.. Just too good that it makes your drawing also look good..

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Thanks!

[@tornillo009]

40 minutes art talk let's goooo Tim!!

[@alipacc]

i always find your videos so insightful since the way you talk and explore these topics is so candid, thank you!! your channel and newsletter are the few resources that have actually helped me learn and improve and make more conscious decisions in my work!

[@Justin-mv9vb]

Really enjoyed this insider perspective on developing your own style. If you want to get in the industry, there are certain things that are going to be required of you, but you, the artist, have to decide if that's a satisfying pursuit. Not everyone wants to "file off the edges" to fit into a universal mold. Interesting food for thought. I always learn things from your videos. Thanks for sharing!

[@3dchick]

These dives into the practical considerations in relation to style are so eye-opening to me! Thank you!!

[@PatrickCharpenet]

I really enjoy your perspective on art and the fact you are sharing so much of your experience. This is all very inspiring. Keep up the great job!

[@NothingHereForYou]

At 15:34 I think it’s interesting that the intense blue calms down as it goes down to where the characters are too, also because it’s fading out showing depth

[@rindenauge3426]

This reminds me of Tsutomu Nihei. When he started out drawing manga, he had a very interesting and mature style, with deep blacks and very stylish lineworks, however, he told in an interview that he partly couldn't even pay his rent from it. Now he draws in a more "commercial" style, with romance and clear lines, which is still good, but still kinda sad. Most artists have to compromise nowadays I guess.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

You mean when he was doing Blame! ? I haven't checked out his work lately. I remember being really inspired by his stuff. Did he change because of the workload the style required? Or because a more mainstream style brought in more readers? I think requiring assistants might alter the style as well. That's a great point. I can imagine it being a challenge to scale up a more unique style like he had. I am surprised how well Samura does with his sketchy style and assistants.

[@rindenauge3426]

@@TheDrawingCodex Yea, he did Blame and 2 other shorter stories in that style and then switched. He mentioned something also you were talking about, ie that many people can't even tell what's going on in his earlier works, because it's just too dark and sketchy/stylized. That's why he uses less black now and has more simple and clear lines. He didn't say anything about the work load, just that he has to get his money somehow and he likes drawing for money. Hiroaki Samura also spoke about such things. Blade of the Immortal for example wasn't even really coming from his heart. He just did an action story because it's popular with young people. In the end, art is also just a handcraftship like carpentry.

[@rindenauge3426]

@@TheDrawingCodex I think with manga artists, anime is also a great factor when it comes to styles. They did some short Blame! animations, but you can't really make this type of stuff into anime anymore. Maybe in the 80s it would have worked. That's why many mangaka have to plan ahead and see if they can make an anime out of their stories. That's how you really get the money in this industry I think.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Yeah that's a great point about needing to design stuff that works for the Anime version. I think artists really liked Blame! due to the style. I remember thinking really early on in my career that styles like Blame or Blade of The Immortal were what I wanted to emulate... But I didn't take into consideration the challenges getting that sort of thing published. Or the problems it would bring with audience size.

[@chuzzbot]

Ughh that Sweet stuff is ooof! He actually made colours hate each other. Burns my soul.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Haha :)

[@georgek5737]

Great video! Thank you!

[@weescamp]

Great video. I like the more subjective take, makes you think about what you are doing and what might be right or wrong for you. Personal style is a very different beast to learning a style for a particular job.

[@TheBrendonwars87]

Really good videos about style!

[@benparker2522]

nice well rounded take

[@shaznaveedart]

love your vids. im making a comic at the moment and I'm caught between a realistic painterly style, with more attention to rendering, and a more stylised graphic novel/French BD style. As I work on it I see more and more sense in the latter

[@dominics.9613]

Hey Tim, quick question can you make a few videos or an explicit video for aspiring comic/manga artists, how do I design the pages interesting? What do I have to pay special attention to? Another insanely important question, how do I present things, a fight scene, a simple conversation? I’m interested in that I don’t understand how I efficiently and above all create images so that you understand what’s happening, in an animated series you understand directly what’s happening and what’s happening right now the movement comes from the moving images but in a comic this dynamic is missing because the pictures are static how do I manage to convey to the readers understanding of what happens that you imagine the movements or the like already, how do I get a dynamic and how do I manage to get away from these boring static images and the reader the movement Which is meant to put in the head as if he were watching an animated series? I hope you understand what I mean. 😅

[@TheKrodhX]

I really like to listen your point of view it’s interesting! Keep going ❤👌🏽✨ waiting for your next video 🎥 have an amazing day!

[@chris17227]

Very information and nice video.

[@mattdb523]

I think there is a lot to be said about the focus of the artist. For my take, style seems to work on a sliding scale, a skill centric see-saw. On one side is the emotional, raw impact, styles that that are mainly shape based. On this side skills and knowledge tend to go unnoticed and accuracy is over-looked. The mastery on this side is on colour, shapes and composition everything tends to be exaggerated and upped and there is a lot of room for imagination and interpretation. I think these things can enjoyed based more on feeling and instinct. On the other side of the scale tends be toward accuracy and is very skill forward, the artists draftsmanship and knowledge is what people will focus on, there is less room for exaggeration and interpretation, on this side of the scale an artists weaknesses can become very visible. This sort of artwork tends to be enjoyed based on a "how did they do that" mindset. Obviously there is more nuance to this but I think the way you perceive an image and where it sits on the scale and its intention to the viewer plays a big part on how successful it can be. I feel like the artist needs to know where on this scale their mind operates and how far along it their skill focus will allow them to slide before the image becomes muddled. An advanced painter who has trained in a realistic classic style will struggle to create an authentic simple style, where as someone who has focused on shape, colour impact and abstraction will struggle to create a realistic hyper rendered image. My thoughts on sketches are that people, especially other artists, have a fascination with how things are made. in a Sketch you can see an artists raw thought process, it has an energy that usually isn't quite in the final image when imagination and emotion are superseded by the skills and draftmenship needed to "complete" it. Also as this stage of a drawing focuses on construction, planning and exploring, there is a strong focus on shape and composition and as I said above I believe these things trigger an emotional response.

[@nailbomb420]

Yeah, as an artist I struggle with finding my style, too. I can't decide whether to separate my keywords with dashes or commas, or like the old masters use no punctuation at all! /s hehe xD (that was in jest in case it wasn't clear) HollowKnight was one of the most immersive and beautiful games I have ever played. period.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

lol

[@mindandbody7971]

When it comes to sequential storytelling I think that certain art styles are preferable dependent on the story itself. Art is still in the eye of the beholder. Commercial art on the other hand there's art that sells and art that doesn't.

[@allanredhill8682]

There are def guidelines and rules on how to create an appealing image that works. But beyond that own taste and preference are still a huge factor. Style is a tool just like design theory or composition but its way more malleable and subjective - at least to a point. I always look at it this way - at a certain point when youre beyond being an amateur and clearly somewhat competent in the craft its not strictly about right or wrong anymore. Some pictures simply work better then others but that doesnt make the lesser ones inherently bad. There are artists with styles I dont personally enjoy but you can still tell they are very skilled draftsmen in their own right - its just not to my taste and thats fine

[@beetlejuss]

Yes, there are some art styles better than others for certain projects, it depends on the tone, the media, the budget a lot of other things...

[@SsSs-kq3wj]

How to contact you...? I want to have your course...but it is all in photoshop....I don't know the A B C of photoshop.....what to do? Do I need to learn the photoshop first in order to learn from your course?😂😢 You are a great artist....thanks for the video.....but please do come to the point instead of beating about the bush.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

You can send me an email. tim at the drawing codex dot com. Or use the one you can find on my personal website. I have some how to use Photoshop material as part of the course. But it depends how new you are to digital art and computers in general? Are you comfortable in any other digital art software? I don't cover the really basic stuff. It's something I will add at some point, but not right now

[@柯禮安G]

I'm not sure that captain America is from Bob liefeld

[@TheDrawingCodex]

The chesty one?

[@柯禮安G]

@@TheDrawingCodex yes. Perhaps macfarlane. Not that it is important for the argument of the video. 😅

[@3XL_Cason]

Rob Liefeld did super chesty Captain America. MacFarlane became known for wiry, spaghetti web Spider-Man.

[@柯禮安G]

@@3XL_Cason OK, thanks

[@mickko9875]

It's just that some artists are popular and some aren't. And there's nothing you can do about it.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Do you really think that's the case? That popularity is just a natural talent?

Dude, You are a great artist, but somehow you tend to ramble a lot and never reach any significant conclusion in these art style divagations.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

So you're saying you don't like my style of KZbin video??? :) Maybe I should conform to the styles that do work...

[@clumsyninja925]

Yeah he tends to say the same thing in slightly different words.

[@ludotoyhunter8492]

He’s an advanced artist who is talking about art theory more than combining basic shapes to make forms. If you’re on his level or around it, you understand what he’s talking about. Most people are not so it’s not as easy to understand what he’s trying to convey. Color theory, style for story matching, flow, dynamics, composition for eye catching stuff, etc.

@@TheDrawingCodex Technically theres nothing wrong about it, very well produced. you talk about styles in many videos and I tend to put them on while I work because is an art topic I put a lot of thought into. You tend to enumerate a lot of different things that "might or might not work". Maybe I would prefer some more straightforward conclusions. Why some combinations of shapes work and why other combinations doesnt work for example. You could reduce it to that question. Just my two cents.

[@fabienmater]

Well, if you can reach any significant conclusion about art style just let us know cause I guess we're all trying to figure it out, and the more time you invest in your art journey the more you realize how many different approaches can work so it's really hard to come up with easy answers on this topic.

[@loIipz]

bah humbug, you're asleep at the wheel

[@alst1777]

Not very informative, I respect you as an artist, but your style of conveying useful information leaves a lot to be desired. No concrete conclusions, repeating the obvious - “creating an art style is difficult” - really? Nice attempt to show your work along the way but horrible way to teach.

[@mathilda6763]

Sometimes solutions aren't easy or concrete. This doesn't make it bad information or teaching. Furthermore sometimes a video or a way of teaching isn't for you. People don't learn all the same. Or it's not for you at this time in your artistic development. There's tons of videos online about finding your art style or developing as an artist. If you need a tldr version, there's people that do that. If this is not the one that you need go to a different source.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Thanks for your feedback! So you really want some kind of concrete conclusion on the topic of developing your art style? I think it should be obvious my opinion is that it's complicated :) That's the conclusion... You have to figure it out yourself. I am providing as much of my thoughts/experience and nuance as I can to help you make an informed decision. And mostly to avoid being bullied by conventional advice linked to industry needs. Industry needs that will format you into the type of artists that they need to make their products. I'm not sure where you are on your art journey, but from my experience developing a style is easy if you aim to get into a particular industry... you get pushed into making your art look a particular way by the teachers involved in that industry, by the job/folio development process. Developing or finding a style that is more personal that balances some type of commercial viability and still allows you to have a strong point of view is more of a challenge. Hence the discussion here. But for sure, if you are just looking for simple tips on KZbin this is not the right style of video...

[@20ferst]

Go learn math instead there's conclusion to everything there 1+1=2 there

[@alst1777]

@@TheDrawingCodex Thanks for your answer, I didn't mean to offend you, I think you're a great person but your teaching style could use a bit of improvement and could benefit from better structuring what you're trying to convey. Even if something is ambiguous and there is no concrete answer there is no need to restate the obvious and introducing a structure of what you're trying to convey and how, it is done won't hurt, separating critical, important and non-important would be also a great way to learn on your own pace, someone could rewatch your video and first try to grasp most critical details, then note something important and then refine the finer grained details - it can even improve your own understanding of the subject. Please, don't take it as a personal attack, like I said I respect you as an artist, after all teacher's talent is oftentimes completely separate from professional's talent. And if you improve your teaching skills that may help you to improve and learn a lot along the way.