#style dynamics

There’s a number of ways you can try to push yourself to do things you’re not used to. I’ll say it’s all about “ just doing it” , but naturally, it is easier to dabble in things outside your comfort zone if you have directives and an end goal. So here are a few exercises to get you experimenting. 

Just remember, you’re not out for immediate results, you’re just trying new things. 

Challenges:

The internet is full of drawing challenges that sets forward an agenda for what you’re supposed to draw at a given time. One of the more popular ones is Inktober, or some of it derivative versions ( see; Finktober, Kinktober, etc ).

These challenges push you to draw daily, which in turn will mean that you’ll exhaust your typical ideas eventually and possibly have you on to different motives. 

https://gomedia.com/zine/inspiration/web-roundup/inktober-2016-inspiration/

Prompts: Drawing prompts are somewhat similar to challenges, as they lay down a set of contents for you to draw, often combining a vast majority of strange and curious subjects together.  Like Inktober these can be completed with more or less time poured into each drawing. You can find prompts-lists for just about any art subject so just go googling for a bit. 

https://theartofeducation.edu/2017/04/10/100-silly-drawing-prompts-engage-students/

Tracing exercises:

Tracing is a good way to exercise a new style, new compositions or subjects. And it’s very relaxing too. Especially in traditional media. Interchangeable, you can try to trace overworks using mediums different from the original, and then observe how different tools make for different expressions in the trace. Remember not to post your traces unless you have permission from the original’ creator. And always include credits and links to the original work. 

https://www.wikihow.com/Draw-Manga-with-a-Tracing-Method

Sketchbooking: 

I love sketchbooking, but I'm really bad at it! Bring a sketchbook where you go and scribble down the things you see in any way you like. Remember to do it quick! A sketchbook is not typically meant as a refined catalog of art. You can also grab your sketchbook and go out for the afternoon, sit on a street corner somewhere with a drink of choice and start sketching the people who walk by. Don’t worry about them looking, typically people don’t bother with you beyond a glance. If you’re really conscious about looking at strangers, you can wear sunglasses to obscure to the people around you who you’re looking at specifically. 

https://www.edinburghdrawingschool.co.uk/home1?lightbox=dataItem-jmuhe160

Abstract exercises:

Exercises that forces you to work abstractly can be influential to your art style, and your way of perceiving figures generally. One popular exercise is drawing a random scribble on a piece of paper or a digital canvas and then turning sections ( or the entire thing ) into recognizable figures or characters. 

https://patioyarddesign.com/

New inputs: If you’re looking to move out of your comfort zone, I can recommend consuming different media than you usually do. This can give you fresh, new perspectives and new terminology to work with within your style and craft. And generally, it’s just a breath of fresh air to try reading/watching/listening to something new.

https://www.sweetyhigh.com/read/how-to-start-reading-comics-050117

Gesture drawing:

If gesture drawing is not already somehow part of your typical drawing routine then I recommend getting into it. If you don’t have a studio or money to attend croquis sessions, then there are numerous pose-generators and croquis service online that can give you several poses to work from. Try to vary the amount of time you are allowed to spend on each drawing as well. Somewhere between 10 seconds - to 1 minute is the typical sweet spot for many artists to get the clearest and most dynamic gestures out.

https://www.proko.com/gesture-vs-proportion-time/

Memes: Memes are fun and easy. Redraw or draw your characters on top of bases made by other artists, to depict your favorites doing all sorts of things. This is a good little timewaster, but it can help you assimilate your style with the style on display, as you would want to incorporate your added visuals - with the base your using. You can find these lying all around the internet. Just search “ drawing “ or “ art meme “ and you ‘ll probably find them quickly. 

https://imgur.com/gallery/zhk9D/comment/872192991

New methods: 

There’s another type of meme/challenge out there that I personally enjoy a whole bunch. Say that you have a bunch of online art friends, you can take a little bit to study their styles by replicating them on your own character. These forms can be found on Deviantart, but has also emerged on regular googles searches. You can also find similar challenges that ask you to draw in the style of popular shows or the style of popular artists or art epokés. Give ‘em a look. 

https://www.pinterest.es/pin/573364596285474078/?lp=true

New media: 

https://www.boredpanda.com/super-detailed-ink-drawings-pavneet-sembhi/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

Trying your hands on new mediums is a refreshing ( and sometimes frustrating ) way to get new perspectives on your native style and method. If you’re usually doing digital, get back to your pencil and paper. Or swap it out for liquid inks, watercolor or pastels. 

Keeping it private ( or not ): keeping it loose: You are by no means bound to publish anything at all. Especially not your little homegrown experiments. If you’re not satisfied with how something looks, and you don’t want nobody to see it - don’t publish it. But don’t throw it away either. Your observations now can become valuable later. A lot of my really experimentative stuff is mostly kept private and sits in little sketchbooks on my bookshelf. They’re not for the world to see - at least not at this point in time.

And as I mentioned before, remember to keep it playful. Don’t hold yourself to any standard whatsoever. You’ll only end up frustrated. Take it from someone whose entire study-career has been all about experimenting and throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks.