Finding Your Artistic Style & Voice: A Key Aspect That's Rarely Discussed

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What does it really take to develop one's own artistic style and voice?  How do professional artists get to a point at which their artwork is unique and seems to be an extension of themselves? Is there anything that artists just getting started can do to get there sooner?


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In today's blog post/YouTube video I'll be sharing a fundamental aspect behind finding one's own artistic style and voice that's rarely, if ever, discussed. I'll also be sharing some key tips that have helped me make a ton of progress with this in my own journey.

So, let's just cut to the chase.

The fact is that becoming an artist that creates unique, quality artwork is just as much about doing the internal work as it is about continuing to develop our cold drawing/painting skills. 

Why?

Because it's through the introspection, self-analysis and even self-discovery that takes place as you continue honing your art skills that you'll be able to start peeling back the layers and learn who you are as a human being, as well as how this relates to your very own creative process. 

You must find out who you are, the message you want to share with the world and how you want to share it.

Without comparing yourself to anybody else. 

If we don't practice listening to ourselves throughout the creative process and we constantly depend on external inspiration in the form of other artists' work to get started, we risk never finding out enough.

We risk not connecting the necessary dots so that we're able to create something from scratch that's truly ours. 


Think about it.

If there's one thing that all kinds of artists who manage to constantly create unique, meaningful work have in common...one thing that makes a person stand out from the crowd, it's the fact that they know who they are.

They know what's important to them and are unapologetically themselves. 

Don't get me wrong.

Developing our cold artistic skills and knowledge on Art Fundamentals is essential when we're just getting started. 

In my blog post titled 5 Tips for the (Serious) Self-Taught Artist, I get into the importance of learning about Art Fundamentals, as well as why its vital for serious artists to adopt a learning mentality and to embrace exploration. 

It's through knowledge about Art Fundamentals that you'll be able to make use of Elements and Principles of Art effectively, in a way that's visually impactful, harmonious, balanced and that transmits your message.

This knowledge also provides you the confidence you need to trust in yourself artistically, which is so important. 

And yes, we're always going to be inspired and influenced by other people's work (visual artists and otherwise) that has impacted us directly or indirectly throughout our lives. 

Our art is an extension of ourselves after all.

But there are effective ways to do it and others which aren't so helpful if we're already at a certain skill level.

In this blog post, I explain how to get inspired by other artists' work in a way that isn't copying and that will actually get you closer to discovering your own art style. 


Even though there's nothing "new" under the sun, no one else in the world has that exact combination of influences and experiences you have.

And you better believe that you have the ability to create an original mishmash of all those things.
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Here are the objective/tangible aspects that we often consider when looking at our own or someone else's artwork: 

What makes an art style?

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But, what about the more subjective aspects? What about those things that cannot be readily described, but felt and understood at a deeper level?
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What about the artwork's overall mood, message or story?

Artists who've developed a unique style and voice, find their own way of making use of their medium(s) and the aforementioned objective/tangible aspects in order to transmit a particular feeling or message that connects to who they are.

And while this message doesn't have to be anything complex or grandiose, it does have to come from you.
 

If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*



Creating quality original artwork comes down to two things:
a) Having an original vision and a message that's meaningful to you
b) Having the skills and tools necessary to see it come to life

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As you continue honing your skills and mastering your medium, start reflecting on your creative process, what you're enjoying and not enjoying, the commonalities that you're finding in the pieces you've created, your personal strengths and weaknesses, what strengths you'd like to enhance and what weaknesses you want to work on, etc. 

Also ask yourself what's most important to you, what life/world issues deeply affect you, what change you'd like to see in the world, what life lessons have marked you or made you different from others, etc. 

Remember that, even though a lot of us are total introverts and work in isolation, we create art to ultimately share it with others.

We create art to communicate important issues, bring light and/or build bridges. 

What is it that you want to communicate with yours?

Then, work intentionally, based on your findings and the goals you set for yourself. ​

Here are a few specific tips that'll help.

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Tips to Find Your Own Art Style and Voice

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1. Prioritize and stay consistent
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Consistency is number one whenever we're trying to achieve anything big in our lives. Even if you're only taking baby steps, if you continue, a year from now you'll be absolutely amazed with the progress you've made. 

It's important to embrace the fact that art is a large part of who you are, and to truly commit to improving your work and finding yourself artistically.

Make it a priority and don't be afraid to set those goals!

In this blog post, I share my method for setting goals and breaking them down into tasks you can do monthly, weekly and daily, so that you can make sure that you're moving forward consistently. 

Move past those limiting beliefs because quite often, we're holding our own selves back from making significant progress. 


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2. Inspiration can come from anywhere

When we're looking to get inspired to start a new piece or project, a lot of us immediately turn to other visual artists' work for inspiration. 

However, as an artist, you have stronger sensibilities than non-artists. If you want to, you can get inspired with practically anything.

By breaking away from Instagram and Pinterest, and practicing with finding beauty or interest in day-to-day objects, thoughts, feelings or circumstances, you'll be opening the floodgates to new, original ideas. 

Also, it's important to realize that we're not always going to be inspired.

​If we're serious about reaching artistic success, we need to find motivation in achieving our long-term goals (they're different for all of us and you need to find what these are for you). 

Oftentimes, inspiration will come to you as your working or will come to you as you continue busting through those milestones!

3. Create an inspiration board
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Create a collection of things that inspire and appeal to you.

Yes, other artists' work can be part of this collection but, add bits and pieces of all kinds of things/subject-matter including colors, textures, words, music bands, random elements and whatever comes to mind. 

What's absolutely amazing, is looking back at these collections you've created and discovering patterns or threads in the items you've picked (often subconsciously).

It allows you to discover specific things that appeal to you in a visual and tangible form. 

Analyze the collections you come up with and internalize the threads you find. Ask yourself questions like: How do these visual patterns connect with who I am and my personal tastes? Can I find a message here? 

I love doing these digitally, as the Internet makes it very easy to find all sorts of images and we can even create collections via Pinterest boards or in any sort of photo-editing software. 

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4. Put yourself through periods of "incubation"

As visual people, it can be very hard not to get influenced by art and design that we have right in front of us.

And this can be very hard because with the Internet and social media, we're constantly bombarded with all kinds of visual stimuli.

The fact of the matter is, that the influences that have already impacted you and make you who you are, are already inside of you.

You don't need to take anything new in, in order to create.

*This doesn't include using reference photos or subjects you have in front of you in real life, if this is the way you work. But try creating your own references based on your original ideas/concepts.

I put myself through periods of what I like to call incubation, in which I limit the new influences I'm taking in and make time to sift through what's already inside of me. 

It's important to turn off unnecessary external influences from time to time, trust that we have what we need already within us and listen. 

This tip goes hand-in-hand with another suggestion I've provided in other YouTube videos and blog posts:

"Limit consumption and increase creation." 

Do your best to create your own concepts and see those visions through from start to finish. Take your own art reference photos, draw that preliminary sketch from the imagination, whatever it may be for you.

And there's no need to be a master at your medium to allow yourself to do this!

And the more you put yourself through this process independently, the easier it will get. 


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5. Get writing!
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I cannot even begin to describe how much writing has helped me, not only in getting to know myself, but also in becoming a happier and more productive artist.

Writing things down or doing what I like to refer to as "brain-dumps", is so helpful in getting rid of unnecessary mind-clutter that's making you slower or may even be blocking you. 

I talk about it in my blog post: 5 Essential Self-Care Tips for Artists and Creatives.

It doesn't matter if you don't consider yourself a good enough writer, because it's not about getting perfect grammar and spelling. What matters is getting out what's in your mind and heart at the present moment. 

Similarly to tip #3, you're going to start seeing threads in your journal entries in terms of personal thoughts and even expression styles which continue popping up. These can give you clues on ideas that are important to you and that perhaps you can integrate into your artistic message in some way, shape or form. 

For me, my writing takes form of morning pages, but getting out that journal and doing free-form, unstructured writing is something you can do whenever you have time during the day.

​That's it for today's blog post!


I really wanted to share these ideas with you today because I know how frustrating it can be as a beginner artist who wants to desperately move past the awkward phase and get to creating original and meaningful artwork, to come across advice such as: 


"Keep doing the work and it will come to you eventually." 

or

"Don't try to rush it or pressure yourself, just keep on creating and it will come naturally, at the right time."
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While these suggestions are all well and good, they are too vague and often leave beginners spinning their wheels, continuing to do exactly what they were doing before and making the self-discovery process a lot longer than it needs to be.

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So, after you reach a certain skill level with your medium, you need to start trusting that you have everything you need to create original work from scratch already within you. ​

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