{for part 1 in this series, please click here}
Developing your own style
What makes up an artist’s style? Often you can tell who the artist or designer of a piece is just by the colors they use, the subjects portrayed, or even how they choose to frame a piece…it all becomes part of their brand/trademark.
- Color
- Value
- Perspective
- Subject
- Materials
- Technique/Process
Discovering Style
- Look at as much art as you can. {museums, books, magazines, online blogs and websites}
- Keep a record of the artists and styles you like.
- Make it your own, try your own version of the style, technique, materials, color, and subject.
- Draw, Draw, Draw {Keep a sketchbook, take photos, make a portfolio of your best work}
- Build, Build, Build {practice your 3-D skills with clay, blocks, anything you can find}
Make a list of:
- Artists who’s art you enjoy
- Styles/compositions you’d like to try
- Art styles/periods you would like to study
- Subjects you find interesting
- Visual art careers that interest you
Look for local art & design resources at:
- Your library
- Galleries
- Museums
- Art fairs and showings
- Art associations/groups
- Group/Private art lessons
Making it your own
A design professor once encouraged our class to look through books and magazines before we undertook a new design problem. He explained that very few ideas are truly original. Rather, it is the way we change and revisit a design or process that makes it new and our own.
The kiddos and I love to read and then illustrate our own version of the story. When they were small, I would have them retell the story as I illustrated in a similar style as the book’s illustrator.
Later, when I made handmade books for nieces, nephews, and friends of the kiddos, it was easier for me to choose my own illustrating style.
My younger brothers each had their own sketchbooks filled with cartoons and story boards. I could tell as soon as I opened to the middle of the book, which of them had drawn the scene just by their style. Use and keep sketchbooks. They are inexpensive and priceless!
Just for kicks and giggles: who are some of your favorite designers/artists? What is it that you love so much about their work?
-----
katrina berg loves to create with her three small kiddos everyday. They paint, cook, and make lots of messes. The future cooks & artists like to borrow her favorite tools, so if you spot a stray ladel, paint brushes, or sushi mat...please let her know!images by katrina berg (except of course, Alice in Wonderland...by Disney, Mary Blair is the illustrator)
