Lately I’ve been thumbing through all of my artwork on hand. I have noticed so many changes and more importantly growth over the years. I haven’t always made or posted a new artwork for social media on a set schedule or even every month, but I have kept up with working on my art. But there’s one thing that has really stood out and it really bothered me.
I have not kept up with a certain style art.
I have used so many different mediums and learned so much about them. I always used them in ways that other artists used them. And instead of using those techniques and that knowledge to my own advantage, I would just use it the way others did. And from what I can tell, it held me back.
I can recall saying to myself or close friends and family ‘I want to be a graphic novelist’. I love telling stories and I have a vivid imagination. I can draw out scenes and characters based on words and produce a captivating picture. And while I’ve known this and wanted to accomplish that goal, nothing was ever done about it.
Over time, I noticed I would produce cool sketches, fantasy art or fan art (which is an art I love). I would always take on commission portraits that would stress me out and take too long for the little pay. My previous art never followed anything specific and always appeared scattered.
I noticed that I keep coming back to a particular style. With my characters outlined and the background of a picture in watercolor, Its a style I associate with comics and graphic novels, story teller artists. I draw in this way without thinking and it feels like I’ve been telling myself for years to draw in this way.
So what am I going to do with this newfound knowledge?
Embrace the style that I can natural go with and see where it takes me. I can use it to my advantage by furthering a new aspect in my artwork that isn’t just style, such as, technique, color blending, proportion, perspective etc. I fully expect, and hope, that my art will evolve in this style into something more than I can achieve now.
This will also give me a bigger platform to relate to fans of my work. They can count on me being consistent and will expect to see a style that speaks to them the same way it speaks to me. This is not only good from an artist to viewer perspective but in a business sense also. Showing my style in different subjects greatly opens up doors for opportunities that ‘just being someone who can drawn’ can do. Being artistic in your own sense has a better uplifting power and freedom for your work.
Find your style of creativity and run with it.
Until next time….
Madelyn Janelle 