How to develop an art style

The earliest images I have on the internet are from 2011 but I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember. This image sums up pretty well how far I’ve come in terms of developing an art style.

Art style isn’t something that comes to you spontaneously in a dream one night. It isn’t a sudden “EUREKA” moment nor is it something that you are even consciously aware of. Art style comes from years of observing both yourself and others. It’s an amalgam of art, concepts, media and more that you absorb from common interests.
For example, my earliest inspirations were from cartoons I watched as a kid such as Pokémon, Digimon, One Piece, Power Puff Girls, Samurai Jack, Studio Ghibli Movies, Dragon Ball Z and a whole bunch of animated Disney movies.

As I got older these developed more and more into anime and cartoon fascinations. I got access to the internet and began drawing on an old oeakaki (an online drawing applet that let you post to forum-like websites) that was based in the neopets fandom. Which really got me into a whole other part of the art scene. In internet terms these were the early furry fandoms. I started drawing with a mouse (which resulted in some terrible early artwork that I do not have anymore THANK GOODNESS) but that was where my digital art career began. I had to have been around 11 or 12. I begged my mom for a tablet which after a few months I got a cheap walmart brand one and from there I saved up my own money to buy an early version of clip studio originally called “Manga Studio Debut 2.0” somewhere in 2008-2009. At the time it was $40.
This is where I got into comic creation.

As you can tell I was very much into Hetalia at the time.

More and more I had gotten involved in internet forums. Exploring independent artists and finding things I enjoyed. I saved images and yes. I would copy them from time to time. I think that is how a lot of younger artists start out is tracing over art they enjoy. Being as young as I was I tried to pass it off as my own but you can really tell the difference between what was my natural art style and what was straight up copied. I think after being called out a few times I learned that straight up tracing wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
I was a real stubborn child and for awhile I did use the excuse “It’s just my art style” when something didn’t look quite right. I urge you, please do NOT do this. It stunted my growth at that age and I probably could have gotten leagues better if I had just sat down and studied real subjects in the real world. In my opinion, this was the plague in my early years. Thinking I knew what was best.

Though, one big thing that did push me forward was having artist friends as a young teen. There was definitely unspoken competition. I wanted to be the best out of anyone in my school. While this mentality was sometimes detrimental to my self-esteem, it also pushed me to start searching for other avenues to improve.

I couldn’t just use anime and cartoons anymore.

In late 2013 I began working at a Barnes and Noble Book Store in my hometown. I had access to hundreds of books on art. One that really inspired me to begin veiwing art in a more professional manner was this particular volume of “ImagineFX Magazine” that came out January 1st 2014.

Ron Lemen is legendary in the way he breaks down figures and makes it easy to understand how to “build” people like legos. Surprisingly this book is somewhat rare and expensive nowadays.

I remember aggressively bookmarking this volume and having it in my backpack at all times during school. I remember frequently getting in trouble for not paying attention in class because I had my nose in artbooks and was constantly drawing. This first step though helped flesh out how I drew things. While I was still obsessed with anime and manga at the time (I even went to Japan in mid 2014) I was now taking my skills to the next step with real life observations.

I also bought another book full of small American Comic Book Artists called “Mangaka America” One in particular caught my eye: Corey Lewis. I had all his pages bookmarked. He was a big factor in my art style. I just love how he draws his characters and how funky and wild they are! Bryan Lee ‘O Malley was also another artist that I got super obsessed with in high school. I owned all the Scott Pilgrim books and copied the pages that I loved. Giving me even more of an edge on comic book creation. Ironically the two are friends and I’ve seen crossovers of their work ocassionally.

After High School, I worked several odd jobs but continued to draw. I began my webcomic “perpetual” in 2017. I had gotten a thrill from drawing something that was my own even if it was confusing, all over the place and flawed. I’d been drawing for years but now I could truly apply it to something that could engage people. Later that year I moved to South Dakota. Drawing began to be a respite from the stresses of having no car, living with my parents again and working a minimum wage job while I saved up for the next stage of my life. This is where I got really involved with drawing in the wild. I would ride my bike everywhere and would stop by the creek to draw rocks, birds, grass, flowers. Anything I could see. I had secret hiding spots where I would don headphones and zone into focus. I didn’t know I’d be so fascinated with drawing such mundane things. However, I think that’s where art will really become something more than just copying and imitating. You see things in context. You see them in a 3D world. You observe just to observe. It added a whole other dimension to my artwork.

This is also where I began to get really into drawing dragons. I bought a book called “DrangonArt: Ultimate Gallery” by FlightRising’s own “NeonDragon.”
Thanks to my observations in the wild and my new dragon obsession I had a penchant for drawing these creatures in environments or as their environments like I never had before.

I began experiementing with ink and new mediums.

This is where we really start getting into my freelancing career and my attempts to start putting myself out there. That is a whole other article in and of itself but that did put a whole other twist on my art styles. I had to learn perspective, panel layouts, background design, interior design. I had to put on many hats and keep learning. It never stops. I’m still devloping my art style. I’m still learning.

I think the biggest thing about learning how to develop an art style is to have an open mind. Be willing to learn. Be willing to take criticism and explore things outside of your comfort zone. I thought I knew what I was doing when I was a kid and it severly stunted my growth. I feel like I could have been much farther if I had an open mind in my earlier years. But it’s never too late. If you love drawing and you love making things, that is what really matters.

Keep drawing. Keep improving. One day you’ll start hearing people say, “You’re work is so distinctive! It’s so you!” And that just means you’re on the right path. Intuition, passion and a willingness to learn will always put you on the right path.

Thank you for reading and explore my portfolio for all of my most recent works!

Cammry