How to Find Your Style of Art: Understanding What An Art Style Really Is

How to Find Your Style of Art: Understanding What An Art Style Really Is

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People romanticize “style” as this mystical, perfect aesthetic, but at a practical level your artistic style is just:

• The way you solve visual problems over and over
• The recurring elements that keep showing up in your work
• The choices you make when you are not copying anyone
• Your default habits when you draw fast and stop overthinking

Exploring different art styles—such as Impressionism, Mannerism, and others—can help you identify the recurring elements and choices that define your own style.

Your signature style is not some special filter. It is your consistent way of handling:

• Line
• Shape
• Color
• Values
• Edges
• Subject matter

When people talk about a unique artistic voice, they are just talking about a combination of these choices that is recognizably yours.

You do not need to invent something completely alien. You just need a distinctive style that feels like you, not a blend of ten artists you follow on Instagram mashed together.

Step 1: Stop Hunting For A Style, Start Making A Lot Of Art

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Obvious, but people skip this and then wonder why they have no own art style.

You will not find your own artistic style if you are:

• Only watching speedpaints
• Only saving inspo boards
• Only reading a blog post like this and not actually drawing

You need output. A lot of it. Consistent practice is essential—developing your style comes from regularly making art, experimenting, and learning from each attempt.

Do this:

• Pick a subject, for example “portraits” or “small city scenes”
• Draw or paint that subject 30 to 50 times
• Same subject, different approaches, different mediums

At the end of that, you will notice:

• What you naturally exaggerate
• Which elements you keep repeating
• What looks good even when the piece is technically sloppy

Take time to reflect on what you have created and which pieces you enjoyed making the most.

Those are the seeds of your own style.

Step 2: Study Other Artists Intelligently, Not Desperately

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Looking at other artists is not the problem. Copying them blindly is.

You should absolutely:

• Admire artists whose work you genuinely love
• Do master studies of their paintings and drawings
• Analyze what, exactly, is working

Ask yourself:

• Is it their color palette, or their shapes
• Their composition, or their edges
• Their looseness, or their clean graphic design

Write it down. For each artist you admire, list 2 to 3 techniques or recurring elements you want to absorb.

Then, when you draw your own work, do not copy the whole art style. Be aware of how you are influenced by other artists and make conscious choices about which influences to incorporate. Combine specific influences:

Example: “I like their soft color transitions, this other artist’s chunky shapes, and a third artist’s stylized faces.”

That mix is one step closer to your individual style, not just a clone of someone else.

Step 3: Explore Different Mediums Without Trying Everything At Once

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Yes, you should try different mediums and different techniques, but if you bounce endlessly between:

• Gouache
• Oil
• Digital
• Charcoal
• 3D
• Mixed media
• Watercolor

You will spend all your time starting over, never developing depth in any of them. Exploring new mediums and techniques is valuable for discovering what resonates with you, but focus is key for growth.

Better approach:

1. Pick one main medium for now
2. Pick one “side” medium just for loose experimentation and experimenting with new approaches

For example:

• Main: digital painting
• Side: ink sketchbook for fast drawings

Your personal style will show up differently in different mediums, but you need at least one place where you put in serious mileage.

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Step 4: Focus On Subjects You Actually Care About

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You will never build a recognizable style if you force yourself to paint things you do not care about, just because the algorithm likes it.

Ask yourself:

• What subject matter would I still draw even if no one saw it
• What kind of artwork actually excites me to make
• What topics do I keep coming back to, even if I wander
• What subjects, themes, or techniques am I most drawn to

Could be:

• Characters and figure drawing
• Still life with weird everyday objects
• Architecture and art deco inspired buildings
• Nature, plants, or animals
• Emotional narrative scenes

Inspiration can come from a wide range of sources—nature, personal experiences, or other artists. Noticing what inspires you can help clarify your personal style.

Your personal art style is glued to your subjects. A lot of “style crisis” is actually “I am drawing things I do not care about.”

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Step 5: Pay Attention To The Patterns In Your Own Art

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This is where it starts to get real.

Collect 20 to 50 pieces of your own art from the last 6 to 12 months. No cherry picking. All of it. Now look for patterns.

Questions to ask:

• Do you naturally simplify or overcomplicate
• Are your shapes soft or sharp
• Do you use saturated or muted colors
• Do you tend to draw similar figures or faces
• Do you repeat certain compositions without noticing

Write down what you see:

• “I always outline everything.”
• “My paintings have heavy contrast.”
• “My characters have big eyes and small noses.”
• “I keep using blues and purples.”

These are the recurring elements that define your personal style already. You are not starting from zero. You are just blind to what you are already doing. Recognizing these patterns is the first step to deliberately develop your own style.

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Step 6: Push Constraints, Not Infinite Options

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Too many options kill your unique style. You need constraints.

Try this:

• Same subject matter
• Same limited color palette
• Same canvas size
• Same brush set or tool

Then experiment inside that tiny box. Stepping outside your comfort zone during these experiments can lead to unexpected discoveries and help you grow as an artist.

For example:

• Draw 10 portraits using only 3 colors
• Paint one scene in 5 different artistic styles
• Do 20 character sketches using only line and flat color

This is where your own limitations become useful. Style often comes from what you cannot or will not do, just as much as what you can.

You are not trying to master every fine art tradition. You are trying to build a unique art style that is repeatable and honest. Working within constraints can actually boost your creativity and help you find new solutions.

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Step 7: Do “Same Painting, Different Style” Exercises

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This is underrated and brutal.

Pick one painting or drawing idea, then:

• Render it realistically
• Push it into flat graphic shapes
• Try a more cartoony or “Steven Universe” inspired proportion
• Try a textured mixed media feeling
• Try a monochrome version

Doing the same painting multiple ways shows you:

• Which version feels most like you
• Which style you can repeat without dying inside
• Which approach feels forced or fake

Reflecting on how you drew the same subject in different ways can reveal your tendencies and preferences, helping you understand how your drawing style evolves over time.

If you find yourself always drifting back to one particular style, that is your default. That is your own art style starting to harden.

This exercise is a valuable step in finding your art style, as it encourages exploration and self-discovery.

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Step 8: Accept That Your Style Will Evolve

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Hot take: locking into one particular style too early can hurt you.

Things to understand:

• Your artistic journey will have phases
• Your signature style at 20 will not be the same at 35
• You can build a collector base around one look and still evolve slowly
• As you gain experience, your style will become more developed through deliberate practice and experimentation

You are allowed to:

• Shift subject matter over time
• Try different genres, like moving from fantasy to slice of life
• Incorporate new techniques while keeping your core identity

Trying new things—whether it's a different medium, subject, or approach—can help your style evolve and stay fresh.

Finding your style is not a final destination. It is more like tightening a spiral. You keep coming back to similar themes, but each time with more clarity and control.

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Using AI As A Tool In Your Style Exploration (starryai)

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Quick but useful section, not some fake hype.

AI will not “give” you a unique artistic voice, but it can speed up exploration. AI tools can also open up a world of possibilities for artists to explore, offering new sources of inspiration and creative directions. Tools like starryai can help you:

• Generate variations of a composition you are stuck on
• Test different styles or moods without repainting it 10 times
• Explore lighting setups or color palettes for future original art
• Create reference for character design or backgrounds
• Use AI as a tool for creating new variations and ideas to inform your own artistic process

Ways to use it without losing your soul:

• Feed your own ideas, not random prompts
• Treat the output like a sketchbook, not finished work
• Redraw or paint over AI concepts in your own hand
• Use it to test different techniques and visual directions

AI is not your style. It is a tool inside your artistic process. The style comes from how you interpret, redraw, and transform ideas, not from what an algorithm spits out.

Practical Exercises To Find Your Style

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If you want something more concrete, do these. No fluff. These exercises are designed to help you build your skills and confidence as you work towards developing your unique keyword.

10.1. Draw the same thing every day for a week. Try to make each drawing a little different. Occasionally, switch to new subjects to keep the process fresh and challenging.

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1. 30 Day Subject Lock

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This is a great exercise for a new artist who might feel overwhelmed by too many things to try at once. By focusing on one subject, you can avoid spreading your attention over too many things and instead develop your unique artistic style through repetition and observation.

• Pick one subject: hands, faces, buildings, anything
• Draw it every day for 30 days
• Use the same medium
• After 30 days, look at recurring elements and tendencies

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2. Influence Map

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Pick 9 artists you genuinely admire. For each one, write:

• What you like
• What you do not want to copy
• One technique you want to steal on purpose

As you do this, consider seeking advice from artists you admire. Be selective and look for good advice that aligns with your personal goals and creative direction, rather than following every suggestion.

Then make 5 pieces where you consciously blend those influences.

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3. Style Constraint Project

• Choose 3 colors, 1 brush, 1 subject
• Make 10 pieces in that system
• No cheating, no extra tools

By working within these strict constraints, you can develop your skill in a focused way, honing your technical expertise and mastery as you create.

You will be forced into a recognizable style even if you do not intend it.

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4. Different Medium, Same Style

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Take a piece you like. Recreate it in another medium, for example:

• Digital to gouache
• Gouache to ink
• Pencil to mixed media

Notice what stays constant. Those constants are your style.

This exercise is especially helpful for new artists to identify their unique artistic style. You can also try applying the same approach to other subjects, which helps further explore consistency in your style across different themes.

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Red Flags That You Are Not Finding Your Style, You Are Just Stuck

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Some brutal signs:

• You keep changing style every week, chasing likes
• You only make fanart, never your own ideas
• You zoom in on details to avoid facing big composition problems
• You never finish anything, you just “experiment” forever

You fix this with:

• Finished work, not endless sketches
• Clear projects, not random doodles
• Limits, not infinite freedom
• Dig deep into your own motivations and habits to understand what is holding you back

Your own art style emerges when you do the same type of work enough times that your brain stops copying and starts improvising. Developing your own style requires persistence and self-reflection, so be patient and keep pushing forward.

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Final Thoughts: Your Style Is Built, Not Found

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If you want a simple summary for how to find your art style:

1. Make a stupid amount of art
2. Study other artists with intention, not worship
3. Focus your subjects and mediums
4. Notice your own patterns
5. Double down on what feels natural and honest
6. Let your artistic voice evolve instead of freezing it

There is no shortcut, but there is a clear process. Draw, experiment, analyze, repeat. Over time your personal art style will become obvious to everyone else before it becomes obvious to you.

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