Stylised illustration

My goal in my own work has always been to have a strong voice and for it to overflow with personality. The style question is a huge one for anyone serious about illustrating, but the answers are elusive. In this article, I hope to demystify developing a style a little bit and give you a few actionable steps that should point you in the right direction. The very first step is to choose an 

Inspiration. My inspiration is Avatar. This crawling walking creature has inspired me

With its colours, features, expressions, the animation 

And of course the story.

What’s tricky about this topic is that the precise definition of style and its importance varies from artist to artist. Some swear by having a very strict style, whereas others consider that too limiting. 

I’ve often thought I should be more disciplined and consistent throughout my work, but it turns out I enjoy mixing things up too much to be that strict about style. For example these are some of my stylised illustrations that are mixed with colours, stickers & animations.

Developing a style comes with practice, trial and error, and, you guessed it, patience. But you already know that part. What else can you do? Here are some tips that I have found helpful in my own work.

Define your goals

No matter where you are in your illustration journey, it’s important to have a sense of direction. When we have goals, we have something to aim at, and thus a clear direction. If we don’t have goals, we tend to meander or never really commit to any one thing long enough to see if it will work.

Identify your Inspiration 

Identify an inspiration you would define as having the kind of personality you’re looking for. Study them, be inspired by them, and, at first, emulate them. Over time, your style will drift away from emulation, and you will start seeing innovations and adaptations that are uniquely yours. Because you likely have more than one inspiration, your own work will probably mix in a variety of influences. As for example my second inspiration was dragonfly.

Draw from memory(photographs)

For some, drawing from life or drawing realistically comes easy. Their challenge is to do away with any semblance of realism. And by that I definitely mean the portraits. Try to draw stylised portrait if you like.

So these are some of my ways to develop my illustration styles. It all boils down to having a sense of direction, lots of practice and experimentation, and looking for ways of injecting yourself into the work.