Artists strive to have a signature style—it makes your art immediately recognizable and helps attract buyers. Developing a unique artistic style is absolutely possible. The only question is: how long does it take to find your own art style? Finding your voice as an artist takes some time. Especially beginners might get impatient and ask themselves, “why can’t I find my own art style?” Worry not, here’s what you can do to speed up the process!
Every artist wants to find their own art style.
Having our unique artistic voice and signature style that everyone immediately recognizes is one of the biggest dreams we artists have. If you are still struggling to find yours, I have a related post for you to check out where I suggest 8 steps to help you develop a unique art style.
BUT—finding your own art style takes time.
No artist finds their style from one day to the next. It is something that happens over time. And it takes lots of practice and many artworks.
But how long is that? How long does it take to find your own art style?
Well, this is what we’re going to explore in today’s blog post. Sounds interesting? Then stick around!
…and let me quickly reveal a secret to you before we dive in: you already have your own art style. You just don’t know it… (ᴖ‿ᴖ)
How that’s possible? Well, read on to find out!
How do you find your art style?
Even though some artists don’t like to hear it, let me tell you this: an artist’s style is always inspired by others. In that way, no art style is really unique.
It’s an agglomeration of the works of art you have seen in your life, perhaps of the styles of your favorite artists, and of creative ideas you get by looking at things others have created.
Finding your own art style is a collaboration, if you will. We all influence each other. Which is OK. That’s why it’s also OK to learn from copying art.
In fact, most artists—if not all—have started out by looking at their favorite works of art and trying to emulate them. That’s commonplace, but still a huge taboo in the art world!
‘Wounded Vanity‘ from my Surreal Stories Collection, for example, was inspired by Michel Tcherevkoff’s ‘Shoe Fleurs’. To learn more, check out the Making of ‘Wounded Vanity’.
Why you can’t find your own art style...
I already said it at the beginning of this post. The truth is you already have your own art style. You might just not be aware of it.
How’s that possible?
Well, look at it this way: you are a unique being. No one is like you. That also means that you have your very unique way of drawing, painting, compositing, modeling, or whatever kind of art you are creating.
Your creations might look really awkward at the beginning, but believe me: you are already doing it uniquely.
You might find it hard to figure out what’s unique about your art while you are still learning. And it’s not even important at the early stages of your artistic journey!
First and foremost, it is essential to acquire the skills you need to create the art you love. After that, you can make more conscious choices about your style.
Can you choose your art style?
Of course, you could deliberately choose your art style. You could look around at what art sells best and then you could emulate that style, hoping that that trend lasts long enough to make you some money and achieve some acclaim in the art world…
However, more often than not, artists don’t choose their style in that sense. Style is something that develops over time and it depends more on your taste in art than on making a conscious choice.
Our taste in art is largely rooted in our subconscious mind. It’s the result of our likings and preferences that have developed based on our past experiences, cultural environment, personal upbringing, and much more.
So, if you simply follow your intuition as an artist, style is something that will come to you naturally.
You don’t need to choose your art style. Your art style will choose you.
‘Removing the Webs of the Past‘ from 2012: experimenting with surreal photo manipulation and digital painting. Not exactly the style I’m working in today, but on my way…
How do artists find their art style?
How quickly artists find their style depends on multiple factors. The amount of practice plays a huge role. But there are also other factors, such as
- art education —does someone guide and help you figure out your style?
- art community —how much feedback do you get from fellow artists?
- skill level —having solid skills in your type of art helps developing your style.
- medium —some media are easier to come to grips with than others.
All those things and others decide how long it will take you to find your own art style.
And even when you find your own style, it will change constantly. You are always growing as an artist, learning, improving, and finding inspiration in new things.
It’s just natural that your style changes as you change and look at the world differently.
Those subtle differences in your style will be almost invisible for viewers at the beginning, but you’ll know they are there.
And one last important thing: you don’t need to restrict yourself to having one art style only!
There’s a lot of talk about niching down your art in order to attract collectors and buyers. I often see that artists are told to focus on a specific color palette, theme or medium as the only way to success.
Truth is you can have more than one art style and many successful artists do!
My art style does not only include surreal photo manipulations. Ever since I started to create art in 2010, I’ve loved to make lip art photography as well. Why not? I don’t feel like depriving myself of all the wonderful diversity life has to offer. ‘Bleeding Rose‘ is a shot back from 2011.
How long does it take to find your own art style?
Art is a skill and every skill takes practice. You know by now that you already have your unique style, it just takes time and practice to hone it.
But let’s talk numbers.
For artists to find their own art style that is immediately recognizable, it may take several years of practice. It is not uncommon that artists need 4, 5, 6 or more years to fully develop their artistic voice.
Also, it depends on the amount of practice you get within those years. For example, if you are working full-time and only manage to create an artwork here and there, it will take you longer.
Some artists say that, as a rule of thumb, you must have created around 50 good artworks to find your own art style.
How long does it take to find your own art style for beginners?
This is a question budding artists ask a lot. But, as I said above, even as a bloody beginner, you already have your unique style. Even though you don’t know it.
I know creating art can be highly frustrating, especially when you are just starting out. You have a beautiful image in mind, but when you bring it to the canvas, it doesn’t look anything like imagined…
There will be a lot of trial and error, but with time things will be getting better. That’s all part of the journey!
Nevertheless, your style will show even in your very first creations, when you are still struggling to get it right and not even thinking about having an “art style.”
Let me give you an example. When I look back at the pieces that I created in my early beginnings, I can clearly see that those works already had some of the typical features that also characterize my art of today.
‘Broken Dreams‘ that I made back in 2012 is a good example of the big eyes and the stylized faces that I still use for my surreal ladies today. Also, there is this atmosphere of melancholy and weightiness that characterizes many of my works.
“Broken Dreams” from 2012
“neglect.” from 2017
How to speed up the process of finding your own art style?
This is probably the question that we artists are interested in the most: is there anything you can do to speed up the process of finding your own art style?
Well, first of all, the best thing you can do is shift your mindset. Let go of your expectations; don’t pressure yourself. Your art doesn’t have to be perfect and you have all the time in the world to develop your artistic voice.
Generally speaking, the more open you are to learning and improving, the faster you will find your artistic voice. That includes being open to making mistakes and learning from them.
On the other hand, the more you are focused on perfectionism and the final result of your artwork, the harder it will be and the longer it will take to develop a unique style.
Why? Because you are missing out on valuable opportunities to learn and to grow in your craft. That’s one reason why artists should embrace mistakes.
In other words, giving yourself the permission to make bad art may help speed up the process of finding your signature style. Try it! (ᴖᴥᴖ)
Embracing imperfection and allowing mistakes to happen helps speed up the process of finding your own art style.
Apart from that, needless to say, you should always stay true to yourself.
Artists like to show their art to the world—which is good because it’s crucial to make money with your art skills.
Seeing that other people like your work is surely a great feeling. But you mustn’t forget that it’s not about how many likes, comments and followers you have on social media.
First and foremost, you should make art for yourself. You should make sure to create the art you love, before doing art for others!
Get inspired: How To Make It As An Artist WITHOUT Social Media [MUST-KNOW]
The third advice I can give is to create art consistently.
The more practice you get, the faster you will be able to find your style. Style comes with consistency.
Over time, you will start seeing a pattern in your works and recognize repetitive elements. There will be things that you enjoy more than others and you will be coming back to them again and again.
You might even have the desire to create an art series that features the stuff you love the most. This is how you will slowly develop your artistic style without even noticing!
All Art Style Posts at a Glance:
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I hope this post helped you understand how long it may take finding your own art style.
Remember that an art style is never anything static. Even when you have found your own style, you will see it constantly change and evolve.
I personally feel that I’m now already much closer to having my own style than a couple of years ago. But at the same time, I feel that I’m not quite there yet… But hey, isn’t that what keeps things interesting?
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I love the idea that finding an art style is an evolving process rather than a fixed goal. Your encouragement to experiment and enjoy the journey really resonates with me as an artist who’s still finding my voice.
Hi Charlotte, don’t worry, I’m sure you’re on the right path. We have all struggled finding our own style. The best thing you can do is not force it. Our art styles just keep evolving and many of probably will never have a “fixed” style — which keeps creating art interesting ʕᴖᴥᴖʔ
Very interesting reading as I am a complete beginner, having started about 5 months ago. I used to love art at school but never dared to start creating art seriously. Reading that I don’t have to work to have my own art style was somewhat relieving. It takes a lot of pressure off your shoulders. I feel a strong urge to create something and think it’s about time to give it a try!
Hi Victoria, I believe your art style will come to you naturally over time and with practice. The most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing. Our lives are already so stressful, so why would you stress out about something you actually love doing in your free time, right? I wish you all the best on your creative journey and lots of fun!