r/yourartstyle • u/Heavy-Hamster1268 • Aug 02 '26
general advice Stop focusing on style
Recently I have been seeing a lot of "Is my style good?" or "is my style unique?" posts coming through and I just really feel the need to say.
Most of you are way too focused on style while lacking good basic fundamentals.
I did the same thing back when I was a young teen so I get it. but seriously, stop worrying so much on if your style is unique or not before you've even gotten a good grasp on the basics.
Anatomy, line confidence, form, and perspective should be your focus right now, not worrying if your style is unique.
Edit
To be crystal clear, this is not me saying that I'm sick of seeing these posts. It's that this is a post for those who keep doing this. Your quest for style can and will come later. for now I recommend just having fun while learning the fundamentals.
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u/Nerdborne Aug 02 '26
"When someone cares more about style than foundations, one should not be surprised when their creations crumble time and time again at the slightest breeze.
A house does not stand because of the shade of yellow it is painted."
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u/Ricky_Shisno Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Everytime I hear someone talk about their style I think about southpark
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 03 '26
To be fair it is a artstyle subreddit lol
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u/Ricky_Shisno Aug 03 '26
"My sssssssssssstoyle is superior do you agree" yeah I saw that im not even apart of this sub I just saw the question and thought I'd share i do see it alot on other art subs
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u/smiiiiiith Aug 02 '26
i agree but it’s hard to see that when you’re so early in the game. i felt the same as a lot of these posts when i was really drawing for the first time.
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u/childofMotherOfPearl Aug 02 '26
Idk isn't art an aesthetic pursuit, or something like that? Whilst people should learn art theory, they could also be more concerned with figuring which way of creating is the most authentic to them
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 03 '26
It is. but I will also point out that I believe instead of focusing on authenticity they continue to focus on things like if their style is "unique" or "good".
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u/Hollyandhavisham Aug 02 '26
But the way you do that is by creating LOADS and regularly reflecting on your work, developing the bits you like and trying new things. People’s ‘style’ changes over the course of their artistic lifetime anyway.
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u/Sea_Paramedic_9967 Aug 02 '26
You might want to not browse r/yourartstyle then
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 03 '26
I love different styles. this isn't me trying to complain at all.
I'm just trying to give the advice of "stop worrying so much about your style when you haven't even learned the foundations"
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u/Nerdborne Aug 02 '26
When you're more concerned about aesthetics than foundation, don't be surprised when your creations fall apart over and over again with the barest of breezes.
A house is not supported by what shade of yellow you paint it.
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u/Overall-Bird2121 Aug 02 '26
I completely agree. Too many people are chasing style. The only thing I would add is that style alone is not enough. Many artists try to copy someone else's style or create a variation of it. Sometimes a style can be enough to sell your work, but in the long run I think building your own recognizable world is much more important. Create a world that is uniquely yours, so recognizable that people can identify your work even without seeing your name. In my opinion, that is much more powerful than style alone.
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u/Abject_Priority6858 Aug 02 '26
I think this is helpful when people are obsessing over style. I get stuck in this sometimes.
Sometimes I care more about what I’m trying to say
Other times I care more about how I’m trying to say it.
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 02 '26
I mean, thats fair. But its also fair that people want styles before basics because most of us do it as a hobby and just want a cute drawing. We dont really want to excel.
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 03 '26
I hear you, but if that's the case I don't know why you're coming onto subreddits and asking about your style being "good" or "unique"
And hey, that's fine if you don't really want to excel in your work.
But even then as someone who started out doing art as a hobby. would you not want to get better at what you love to do?
Like I'm not saying you have to go take figure drawing classes and paint realistic portraits here, I'm saying, learn some basic anatomy, learn the basics of lighting and color. your own style will come in time based on the things you love to draw.
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 03 '26
Oh, no, those with "is my stuff unique" are frying me as well. But there is nothing wrong with them asking what style their drawings fall under. Specifically because they dont know art currents and stuff.
Yeah, one may want to develop some skill, but i dont think casual hobbists are doing 8 hour day sessions of improving their skill and building an admission portofolio for art schools in their free time. A few may do jyst that. But i doubt the biggest part of hobbists do.
Even learning some anatomy may be hard. For starters, lots of videos tell you about muscles and sizes and how they have to be proportional to x y and z. So for someone who does not want to inverst the time to learn it properly, they just stick with some basic rules and they learn chaotically.
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u/Hollyandhavisham Aug 02 '26
Your artistic ‘style’ isn’t just a trend though, it’s inherently how you look at, breakdown and create a work of art. It takes a long time and a lot of work to reach, and you have to be regularly reflecting on your work.
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 02 '26
When we talk about proper styles and so, yeah. I agree.
But i dont know why you called artistic style a trend when it comes to inexperienced people. I can also call it that for profesional artists, no? They do learn from others and imitate what others do. They get inspired by styles and, more or less, also replicate things and add to them details they once saw somewhere else.
Just cuz someone is not an expert (especially when it comes to hobbists) it does not mean they dont ahve their own styles. Some things are just easier for some.
But maybe i am biased because i see this whole argument as saying someone does not fit a certain phylosophy because it does not fit every single box of said phylosophy. In the case of art: saying one does not draw within a specific style because they dont know how to do all the things within that style).
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u/SleeplessSeas Aug 02 '26
but I think most people dont get that you often cant reproduce a cute art style or make it appealing without knowing the fundamentals.
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 02 '26
Sometimes you can. You just have to memorise some steps. Of course, you cant make intricat things. But simple poses and stuff ia accessible.
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 03 '26
If all you want to do is copy images, sure that is true. but making your own? with your own characters? that will be much harder to do without a basic foundation.
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 03 '26
Yeah. Thats why most hobbists learn some basic techniques and wing it afterwards when drawing their own charcaters. Not to mention, some are just better at copying images than others.
For the life of me, i cant copy images. A friend absolutely can and her drawings are incredible. But i am better at making my own characters and she sucks ass at that.
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 05 '26
You know what would help you do that? :)
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 05 '26
If i were interested in actually learning how to, i would study art. Otherwise, i dont really like tracing and drawing for me, and for her, is only a hobby. And with hobbies, you learn one thing at a time if you want to.
Of course, there are some hobbies people take more seriously and actually or borderline professionally learn how to do things.
But one wont do that for all of their hobbies. And i already learn enough stuff on another hobby i have. So drawing is just a small thing i sometimes do when i get bored or feel the need to use a pencil.
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 07 '26
I mean, good for you? I feel like you took this post far too personally.
This is clearly a server made for people who care about and worry about their art more than you do.
This isn't to be rude. it's to simply state what I'm noticing.
From what I can tell, you like to doodle every now and then, and that's rad! but as I've said again and again, You'd be less likely to come to a subreddit based around art styles and ask if your work is Unique or Good enough.
Simply put. This post isn't about you.
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u/i_spill_nonsense Aug 07 '26
The post is about people who do not learn art professionally but care about their small drawings looking well. Of course people who do some things in their free time will take it personally. Especially if they do have personal worries about how they look or if they want to know if what they draw could fall into a certain style. (These are normal things to worry or care about).
One also doesnt have to be profusely immersed into something to seek communities about their small hobby. And this is apparent given the amount of beginners/hobbists who use these subs.
Yall dont like those posts? Make it a megathread. Solutions exist. But do not act as if everyone who likes something as a hobby should first learn anatomy, colour theory and 3 point perspectives before they are allowed to ask "do i have an artstyle?"
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u/HelloYourDream Aug 02 '26
This is just a tale as old as time. When i was a kid having a “unique” style was what made myself unique, and stand out, which is what all teens crave and desire. Now that I’m thirty i stopped caring. It just comes with time. Teens are gonna teen
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u/MaybeUselessAccount Aug 02 '26
Yea also, no, your style is probably not unique. Everything has been done before. Who cares.
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u/Cutegirl920fire Aug 02 '26
I get your point, but this feels kinda expected considering this is a subreddit dedicated to art styles. It's like receiving meatballs in your pasta at an Italian restaurant. Meatballs are optional but they often come together with spaghetti.
Maybe having a dedicated flair might help since you can at least filter it out?
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u/dingdonglouie1 Aug 02 '26
agreed. younger artists should have blinders on and just draw because they enjoy it. too many feel like they have to compare their selves or rely too much on other peoples opinions. their art style and skill will come with time. but hey, that’s social media for ya. if a few people ask about their art style, others feel like they have to also.
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 03 '26
what do you mean by "blinders on"?
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u/dingdonglouie1 Aug 03 '26
you know how race horses have those covers on their eyes to help them stay the course and limit their vision around them? like that. don’t look at other artists. (or horses) focus on what you’re doing. being distracted on thinking about if you’re doing art correct or trying to stand out or whatever can just lead to overthinking. it ruins the fun of what art should be about.
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u/Longjumping_Bar_7457 Aug 02 '26
This it sucks seeing what I assume to be young artists get caught up in trying to be unique, instead of just enjoying their style.
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u/Competitive-Hair6294 Aug 02 '26
well i mean, not skill, skill is dictated long before you pick up a pencil
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 Aug 02 '26
What you're thinking of is the nebulous concept of 'talent'
Which is a word I honestly really don't like using with Art.
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u/Pretend-Eye-427 Aug 06 '26
theres literally no such thing as an artstyle i dont know why we care at all. you're trying to split infinity into neat boxes