How to find your drawing style

In the photo: Holographic Print Girls are Magic

One of the biggest dilemmas for beginner artists or people who enjoy drawing is the difficulty of finding their own style. While every artist you know already has a well-defined style, you can't create something from scratch or establish a coherent connection between your work—and this often discourages you from continuing to try. If you identify with this, then this post is for you.

Know that you are not the others

The truth is that every seemingly well-rounded artist has gone through one (or several) stages of confusion regarding their own style. Following artists on Instagram or other social media has the same masking effect that happens with digital influencers, for example. We see the finished works, but not the countless hours spent on the same piece, the discarded work, the days of not wanting to touch a single material out of frustration, much less all the time that person spent practicing to get to where they are.

Therefore, the first step is to practice distancing yourself from other artists' journeys. While exposure to the work of others is great for building a wealth of references, this must always be done with the awareness that each artist is on a unique path of development, and it's unfair to compare their results to your own.

You don't have to have a style or share your work

Amidst the pressure and embarrassment we feel when someone asks, "Is the drawing yours, or are you just copying it?", we sometimes forget that just because we like art doesn't mean we have to have our own style or share our work if we don't want to. Art can be used as therapy and a hobby, and there's nothing wrong with drawing from existing things as long as credit is given to the original artist when appropriate.

After all, a singer who only does covers or a dancer who follows a choreographer is still an artist.

Freeing yourself from the idea that you need to find your own style often frees you from the need to fit into some kind of mold and helps you create authentic content.

It is by practicing that you find yourself

It's no joke when people say that to draw well you need to practice a lot and every day. It's not by doing 10 or 20 drawings that you'll magically find your way and master a technique. Even with a good practice pace, it can still take months or years to see any progress—and that's not to discourage you. With consistent practice, there's only one certainty: there will be progress.

And on this path of art and progress, the Sketchbook Creative Passport will be our best friend . Every time an idea or inspiration strikes, regardless of the quality of the result, we can record it somewhere that will not only serve as comparative material to see how much we've evolved, but may also end up inspiring a completely new idea.

There is no single form of art

If you've been drawing for a long time and haven't seen any progress or even enjoyed the process, have you ever considered that you might be using the wrong materials or expressing yourself in the wrong way for you? Although it may not seem like it, simply changing your drawing materials can make all the difference. Maybe you're a watercolor genius but can't draw with pencil. Or maybe you shade like a pro but can't even draw a circle on the computer.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you also don't have to stick to just one method.

Furthermore, there are other ways to express a thought besides drawing. You can write a poem, compose a song, create a choreography, a performance, a video, or a sculpture. The possibilities are endless and all equally valid.

You are not a tree

If you're reading this, chances are you're not a tree—unless trees have secret social lives I'm unaware of (in which case, hello, you're amazing, and thanks for everything!). You're not rooted anywhere unless you choose to be. If you're doing something you don't like, you can change.

If you've always painted with acrylics, there's nothing stopping you from starting to make sculptures. Your style doesn't have to be the same all the time, but if you want, it can also transition from one technique to another. Create a series of themes and change completely. Take risks. Discover parts of yourself you didn't even know existed. Believe me, it will do a world of good, and not just for your artistic side.

If in other parts of our lives we feel trapped, in art we are completely free.

And last but not least,

Be patient with yourself

It's okay if a drawing didn't turn out exactly as you expected. It's okay if you ran your hand over the paint right after finishing. It's okay if you lost your mind in the middle of the night and threw away all your drawings and spent the next week eating chocolate and watching Netflix in your pajamas. It's okay. We need these little reality checks to keep our feet on the ground and learn to enjoy the journey—which, like the final destination, can also be beautiful.

In this video, I talked a little more about this and gave other tips for those looking to find their own style. While we can, we keep creating.

With love,
Re