The “Style Trap” Beginner Artists Need to Avoid

[@Draftsmen]

Hey! If you enjoyed this talk and would like to watch the full episode you can get it by joining the basics course - proko.com/drawing

[@colin2715]

I've always felt compelled to think "I have to develop my own style". But eventually, after spending most of my career as a generalist graphic designer needing to match each clients' branding, I just learned to think instead that I don't need to limit it to "my style". I can let it look however is best for the piece and what is appropriate. The things I like to explore at the time will naturally come to the surface and create something that is wholly mine. Even if it looks different one piece to the next. It's what the piece is supposed to be

[@yohenson]

you wanna be a jack of all trades at the start, a master of none, and then you can focus on mastering what you like. but there are artists who completely did all the way mastering a single style, and that went pretty good for them.

[@alejandromolinac]

Ha! I work as a graphic artist in apparel for corporate brands…. I have my “hobbies” and my actual work…. The whole “it’s my vision” mindset seems like a just out of school attitude.

[@Stettafire]

I think too many beginners focus on "style" and not enough on growing.

[@RichardHannay]

The best advice I learned is “Learn the rules before you break them”

[@Draftsmen]

Exactly!

[@naniidoodles]

So that you actually know what rules to break and what to keep

[@liv0003]

Not necessarily. There are very great artists who have completely ignored the rules because they already had an extremely clear vision of what their direction was. It is true that it's rather rare to already have such a precise direction in mind and the majority of artists ( but not all) first need to learn the rules and then eventually break them

[@ryolastangel]

I feel like this phenomenon can be applied to many things that take time and skill to develop. Personally, I've been training and teaching martial arts for more than 20 years. One of the most common things we get when a young new student joins, is that they want to learn our fanciest moves, spinning kicks, forms, etc. right off the bat. Of course, we could spend the first week teaching them those moves... But without proper basics and years of repetition to build habits and strength, there is no way they would be able to execute the cool/fancy movements effectively. Honestly, I believe that the biggest factor in how good someone becomes comes down to how seriously they take the basics in daily practice. Similar to what you both are saying, students who joined our martial arts school who already had good previous training from somewhere else were able to pick up moves and execute them after a very short adjustment period, even if they were doing a totally different style before.

[@KrunoslavStifter]

"Don't try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out. I have simply wished to assert the reasoned and independent feeling of my own individuality within a total knowledge of tradition." ― Henri Matisse (1869-1954), French artist Only those with no memory insist on their originality. (Coco Chanel) I invent nothing, I rediscover. (Auguste Rodin) Study your craft and know who you are and what's special about you. (Paul Newman) A great man does not confine himself to one school; but combines many schools, as well as reads and listens to the arguments of his predecessors, thereby slowly forming a style of his own. (Kuo His) The subject, the light, the time of day and my mood tell me how something should be executed. I am not a Photoshop filter that wishes to impose my style on all that inspires me. (Brenda Behr) The greatest enemy of art is the absence of limitations. (Orson Welles) The More Opinions You Have, the Less You See. (Wim Wenders) Many a fine style has evolved from a decent handicap. (Robert Genn) "Progress in art does not consist in reducing limitations, but in knowing them better. It is the limitation of means that determines style, gives rise to new forms and makes creativity possible." ― Georges Braque (1882-1963), major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor Our personal style depends on packaging. (Linda Doll) It is important to express oneself ...provided the feelings are real and are taken from you own experience. (Berthe Morisot) Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. (Dr Suess) The style is the man himself. (George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon) If done with genuine honesty, the work of a man is the explanation of the man. (Paul Gauguin) Your style is the way you talk in paint. (Robert Henri) What is style but the repeated rendering of a particular artistic emotion? (Ian Semple) Style is simply the adoption of an arbitrary set of creative rules that one chooses from to express oneself. One develops style as selected preferences for each creative choice. (Scott Menaul) Personal style, be it that of Michelangelo, or that of Tintoretto... has always been that peculiar personal rapport which has developed between an artist and his medium. (Ben Shahn) “Clearly the hardest thing for the working artist is to create his own conception and follow it, unafraid of the strictures it imposes, however rigid these may be... I see it as the clearest evidence of genius when an artist follows his conception, his idea, his principle, so unswervingly that he has this truth of his constantly in his control, never letting go of it even for the sake of his own enjoyment of his work.” ― Andrei Tarkovsky Authentic individually often involves having the ability to escape designated categorization.

[@briansydnor4331]

Thanks so much for the discussion. I see a pattern when successful (full-time) artists discuss style: They often neglect to explore how much of an earnest drawing style comes from life's obstacles. In my experience, honest artists are only trying to bring their visions to reality like everyone else, but their lives have their usual considerations (day jobs, marriage, children, school, friends, injury, age, disability, economy, poverty, geography, etc.). True "style" is the artist creatively navigating/compromising with their obatacles, wisely gravitating towards tools and techniques they find most practical, and somehow producing something worth the effort. Style is the obstructions in their path eventually BECOMING their path. My takeaway: Focus mainly on simply honing the skills you need to be the artist you want to be. While doing so, Be mindful of art that you enjoy, or solves similar problems to your own, while being consistently open to dscovery. Be mindful of your own life's obstacles, as well as the measures you MUST take to satisfy both them and your artistic quotas. These are mostly notes for ME btw. Just thinking out loud.

[@phoenixodwyer3810]

Marshall has chewed up that chair worse than a dog!

[@armyofcats]

Style is a little like handwriting. When you're a kid and still learning to write, you might add in little flourishes, circles or hearts for dots above the 'i's., etc. - it's expression and you're trying things out but it can seem forced. An affectation. Your natural handwriting develops over time through the process of actually writing. Similarly, artistic style develops naturally through the process building the fundamentals and doing the work.

[@Elvira_Axen]

I may get a course or two as a treat for myself for Christmas 🙏 I don't have much time to practice since I, ironically, work full time in the animation industry. It's a little scary how quickly you lose the fundamentals that you don't actively practice often. I used to be able to name and draw most externally visible muscles on the human body, and yesterday I tried drawing the back of the neck and couldn't even remember the overall shape of the whole thing, let alone name the muscles 😫 BOO!!

[@allluckyseven]

Yeah, I think the problem is in thinking that, because you love a style so much, everything you put out should be in that style. You lose sight of what should be underneath. But focusing so much on fundamentals can make drawing boring, so varying it is the way to go. And indeed style is like dessert. You can't have all dessert, you can't even have most of it.

[@Draftsmen]

Agreed! Inject it where it fits but don't make the pieces be about the style. Know when to pull back from it.

[@Boimli12]

Its a pity that i dont have the money right now for the course when its on sale...I would love to work on my foundations, even though I don't see myself as a beginner, the part where you guys talked about the portfolio's with styles but no foundation skills felt very real to me.

[@Draftsmen]

It's a common problem that people run into. I hope that you're able to join the course in the future!

[@inkstickart]

this is the perfect podcast to listen to while finishing up the daunting task of getting my artwork onto my dang website store

[@BDFRHT]

Absolutely stunning ! Thanks for sharing

[@pibyte]

New Episode! Yay!

[@TocharaehD]

I went to a convention with some friends of mine to go look at the art that was being produced, and see any ideas that could be drawn from them (pun slightly intended). Most of the art didn't really interest me as it was the usual anime-style that is extremely "same-y" to me. There were some beautiful pieces that I did enjoy though. What ultimately turned me off to the majority of the booths were the clear lack of the fundamentals as well is lack of knowledge in basic anatomy. I would follow the lines of various gestures, and suddenly be put off by bumps that should not exist in places. Talking to people on various live streams who suffer from this, I commonly find the excuse of "Oh that's just my style!", which ultimately becomes a stumbling block for most of these talented artists, as their art growth is being stunted by this "style shield" that they (either knowingly, or unknowingly) hide behind. "Choosing one's Art Parents" was one of the most consequential lessons on my journey of finally learning how to draw over the last 3 years through self-teaching. Truly, the entire Draftsmen podcast has been one of the MOST VITAL sources of guidance and wisdom I have ever come across. I recommend it to people often.

[@alejandromolinac]

I see the same in IG illustration pages…. Most of the more popular ones have that Anime/Disney 1950’s/Frozen proportions…. Kinda repetitive

[@rzeka]

Personally I would rather see the same unoriginal but appealing thing a million times than a million different original but ugly things. I'm not knocking you if you value originality, but I don't value it at all.

[@eltomy108]

Lmao why Bob Ross is on the skeleton's pelvis 😭😭😭

[@anthonytorres393]

Whoooooo thanks!

[@SylvesterLazarus]

I think a really big obsticle for me at the start was to try too hard to look for the best techniques, the best tools, the best everything, instead of properly getting to know any of them. Yes, I was the kid who used to ask what brushes people used instead of thinking about what I wanted my brushes to do.

[@Jang09]

Who is the artist that did that watercolor painting of hands behind Stan. The one next to the (Stephen Bauman?) portrait study.

[@kevinhlaing2353]

I think thats Nick Runge. Really good watercolor artist.

[@PokuriMio]

here i thought it was a full 1 hour video and hunkered down to draw/listen, then was still in denial when you said you're ending cause I thought it was joke! LOL great point though, so many people need to hear this when they ask "how do I find my 'style?' "

[@z1522]

Thinking about "style" -Van Gogh arguably strove to paint and draw as accurately as he could - and yet his 'style' could be said to have come out of falling short, in his search and struggles. Trying to apply a 'style' always comes through as artificial, applied, and while might be okay for an illustrator's intention, an aspiring fine artist needs to attend to quality in every effort, and not settle for something less, especially when others begin to praise your "style," if you know it falls short of your capabilities. Not to say, that if you simply cannot achieve a fluid, silky line stroke, remember that many have become successful, even renowned, when their marks are uneven, choppy, less than perfectly rendered. The completed work is always all that matters, not whether every mark exemplifies perfection.

[@v-buckschan111]

When I decided to make my own art curriculum I found that I'd spend around 5 months for fundamentals and environments and anatomy, before even THINK8NG about style

[@jonnysimons8530]

I agree but what about the drawings you do for fun? I like to break up my practice sessions with drawings I do for fun. I usually look at artists I like for reference on how to render and structure a drawing

[@yohenson]

can't we buy one of proko anatomy and still get the podcast of draftsmen??? it's the same price, or even higher!

[@brainfornothing]

Curious : I was watching the first 8 minutes of the movie "A Christmas Story", 1983 and I needed to look for the name of the narrator, because sounds like Marshall... Cheers !

[@davz905]

❤❤❤

[@mauravelte6127]

I'm interessted in the course and would like to know if the classes are going to be live or just online to fitt a persona schedule? I'm in Germany and the time difference might be a problem if the classes are live, that's why I`m asking.

[@poratl]

How many lessons are in this course?

[@ap_po]

whats skelly doing with bob ross? he looks happy but still.... :3

[@sauronunyuzukparmagi]

It would be great if you add Turkish to the automatic translation

[@PokettoMusic]

paywall paywall

[@mikeg4691]

Is Skelly giving birth to Bob Ross?

[@sakerberg4512]

:D