Choose your art style
How to develop an art style? Perhaps you just found your art style but you have hit a “glass ceiling” in sales or in communication, so you would like to give your current art style a fresh coat of paint.
1. Describe your art style
My question to you is: How would you describe your art style? Is it photorealistic or abstract? Is it art deco or art nouveau? Is it pop art or manga art? Quickly point out 2 equally dominant characteristics that best describe your style, followed by the medium. For example, colorful abstract painting, a concrete outdoor sculpture, or monochrome surreal photography.
2. Expand it
If you can only find one word to describe your style, perhaps your current style is too ‘thin’, as a single thread. It means there are rooms to develop. I would challenge you to add something new to your art – a new style or a new element.
3. Mix your style with others
Here I found some random art styles on the Internet: cyberpunk art, rockabilly art, magic realism art, socialist realism art. Check out all these strange and wonderful art styles, perhaps some of them could inspire you. Why not mix one of them into your current art style and make some new?
4. Integrate new elements
Besides painting and drawing, what else are you interested in? Perhaps horse-riding? You can integrate the horse theme into your painting. I am not kidding, there is a huge market for horse paintings. When you integrate new elements, you will naturally develop new techniques to go along with them. If you love this topic, you are going to enjoy this process even if it doesn’t work out for you.
Unity in diversity
If you find too many words to describe it but none of them are very dominant, your style is too messy, like tangled threads. Too many elements can be confusing for your collectors. I would challenge you to narrow it down to just two main characteristics.
The Milu effect
Do you know what is a ‘Milu’ or Pere David’s deer? It’s a special animal from Asia. It has the face of a horse, the horns of a deer, the feet of a cow, and the tail of a donkey. NOW, let’s repeat. Although it looks like the four animals combined, we call it ‘the four unlike’ – when you mix too much, people lose the reference. This is something you should avoid as an artist.
5. Mashup
Imagine your style a road. It can be a straight highway, can be a busy junction or a roundabout. Ideally, your art style is like a crossroad, perfectly connecting two elements with fluidity. Let’s just call this the ‘crossroad method’. Check out some mashup art, you will find in most cases only two elements are being mixed together.
6. Experiment!
Do plenty of experiments, perhaps you will find something at the next crossroad. If you are not sure which direction to go, just dedicate 1 day of the week to developing new styles, like Google’s 20% project. This way you can stay innovative while working with existing clients.
