STYLE EXPLORATION | Note #5
Master studies and other creative exercises to develop your art style
My main goal in 2025 is to refine my art style. To spot the patterns, subjects, shapes, colors I love. To be more confident and satisfied with my art - I had a rough 2024..
Master studies is the first exercise I did this month in this regard. Based on 101 Great Illustrators from the Golden Age book, I did 3 copies from 3 amazing illustrators who caught my eye.
WHY MASTER STUDIES?
Artists have always learned from other artists throughout history. Doing a master study is not just copying another artist’s work and stopping there. A master study should be a focused study of a particular aspect you liked about that work - color palette, poses, composition.. and that you aim to better understand by replicating the artist’s process and choices.
It’s almost impossible to know the exact tools, colors and techniques used by the artist. So it’s difficult to reproduce every aspect of his work. Not to mention the amount of unnecessary time and effort you would have spend on it. Choosing a specific illustration and specific aspects of it is the first step in understanding your taste and style.
When I first saw this illustration by Warwick Goble there was one thing that really made my heart melt: the big fluffy cloud. Especially the shape, the contrast, and the colors- I don't usually paint clouds inside. So I thought about what colors might fit the painting and adjusted accordingly.
And here is the final result! I added way too much yellow than I would usually do and figured out how to render it more vintagy looking by adding some graphite at the very end. I just spent one hour on it and jotted down all my thoughts and aspects I want to incorporate into my style. The cloud shape and composition for sure!
I filmed all three master studies and shared my thoughts in this video :)
TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR OLD ART
Going through your old art is also a good way to understand what you are most passionate about. You may have let go of some things that you now want to reintroduce in your art. Or that you want to forget forever! This has been the case with my anime drawings. Although I still do love some aspects of anime, such as backgrounds and bodies semplification, I no longer want to lean into anime faces as I used to.
Some aspects instead continue to resurface in my current work, like the delicate color palettes and shading. The consistent use of watercolors. The delicate features of my characters.
Other aspects, such as drawing lots of clothing and fashion are less recurring. But I want to get back and do more studies on this topic.
Here’s another video from January where you can take a look at my old art from 2004:
CREATIVE EXERCISES
Although drawing from reference is the best way to learn proportions and how things are actually made, I think this sometimes gets us away from creating our own distinctive style. I mean, how are we supposed to come up with new appealing shapes and characters if we don’t draw from our imagination too?
But drawing from imagination is not always easy. Sometimes I stare at the blank page for an hour or so and my mind feels blank too. In those moments I need an input. And I’ve figured out several ways to put something on the paper and then start adding something from my imagination. I call it a creative drawing exercise.
This is actually today’s video on my YouTube channel. I share 5 exercises that always help me when I don’t know what to draw. And after doing one of these, creativity starts going. And new ideas come to the surface. This process always amazes me!
I hope you’ve found some useful notes in this article to explore your art style and preferences further. And to draw more.
I plan to send out a newsletter once a month, on the very last day of the month. A newsletter that can gather all my thoughts and important notes I took during that month. A newsletter that can inpire you and make you reflect on your progress during that month.
See you in February! ♥
-Madalina