Original subtitles

In this lesson we're going to answer an age old question "What is style?" Particularly if you're a beginner

at art, and it may well be that style could be something that you're worrying about, right, your personal

style.

"Do you have a style? How are you going to get a style?" and it's a very common question. It's a

very common question. "What is style?" "How do you get a style?" You know "Should I be working on my style" et

cetera et cetera.

And the truth is the answer to that question is really, don't even worry about it.

And we're going to look at it.

So when we talk about style, "What is style?"

You really get two types of styles, you get stylistic genres, right.

Stylistic genres.

And then you get your personal style. OK.

Your personal style or even someone else's personal style. Nevertheless, if it's their personal style. And when

we're talking about stylistic genres, we're really talking about a sort of proportional rules and some design rules

that make particular artwork look a particular way.

So for example, an example of a statistic genre would be, Disney. The Disney style has a very distinctive

look to it, right, there a certain proportions, size of the heads, size of the eyes and measurements that would

make something look Disney. And we know that when we see something Disney we acknowledge it as being

Disney because of its style.

Right.

Another example of a stylistic genre is manga.

Now obviously there are many subsets of the manga style, right, it's not just one style, there's no one

manga style. But we do get a sense of an aesthetic that seems very authentic, very Japanese, very manga

like.

And again it's going to come down to proportional rules and sort of design choices.

Now they're not all the same, and you have the ability to make your own style within these styles.

But we do recognize manga as being a sort of stylistic genre.

Let's do another example, which would be let's say, American comic book. Be very specific. American comic style.

Right.

And once again it's the same thing right.

It's a stylistic genre, and it has a certain proportional rules, and design choices that make it

look a particular way. And a lot of the time we could look at a Marvel comic or a DC comic and

say well that's American comic book style.

We look at some manga and say well that's Japanese Manga Style, and look at some Disney movies or some Disney

artwork and books and things and say well look that's a very much a Disney style. So these are kind of

stylistic genres.

And in a general sense really, style can move along this line of like realism, like super realism, or realism,

all the way to what is called the super deformed.

I'm just going to put it in "S.D" here "Super deformed". And these styles all tend to fit.

Somewhere along the line. And for example something like "Dexter's Lab" which is very flat is more on the

super deformed side of a stylistic genre and then sort of photorealism is right on the realistic

side, or when you're doing drawings and such that are very realistic.

So these are stylistic genres, so you want to think of style in terms of stylistic genres. Now in terms

of personal style,

this is really something that develops on its own, right.

So it develops on its own, you don't even have to think about it, develops on its own.

And really it's going to come from things that you like to draw.

OK.

Things that you like to draw.

Now you know assuming, you like to draw in a Disney style, or a manga style or maybe a comic book style, or whatever style

that you really like, or even if you want to make up your own style, what ends up happening is that you

start putting part of yourself in a sense, into that style, right, that it's unmistakably a stylistic

genre and yet unmistakably your own style. Or if you've made your own stylistic genre where you've

defined certain rule sets and things you want to follow, then it's all fully yours and you have

your own stylistic genre and your personal style's in it.

But you know, assuming you really like Disney, or you really want to work in the comic book industry, or you

know the American comic book industry, or you really want to be a manga artist, you will inherently insert

your personal style into that, even if you're borrowing and borrowing and taking things from different

artists or different art styles, different genres or you're hybridizing, you know and blending styles together.

But the main key here is that I want you to realize that your personal style is really just going to happen

anyways.

Right.

You're going to do the art that you like to do, the art that pleases you, and your personal style is just

going to naturally grow and come from that and you'll start forming habits of the way that you perhaps

tend to draw the eyes, the way you tend to draw the hair, the way you tend to draw the ears.

And it may or may not fit into that stylistic genre or a particular set stylistic genre based on what

you want to do.

So the key here really, in many senses is, don't worry about your personal style.

And in terms of stylistic genres, if you want to work in those genres, do so, if you don't want to work

in those genres, then make up your own style and way of doing things.

But nevertheless, you don't need to worry about it and worry whether you have a style. You inherently

will always have a style. Things that you draw because you've drawn them, have a piece of you in how they're

implemented.

OK.

So ultimately that is kind of what is style.

But now when we think about style in terms of theory, let me add one more point to all of this. And that

really is that style is a really thin little layer, right, a very thin little lair of the massive cake

that is fundamental art

theory.

Right.

So let's say fundamental art theory. Style is really just a thin little layer on top of the fundamentals.

Because when you know fundamental art theory, you can draw in any style, you can adapt to any style because

you understand what style actually is.

And it's really some tweaks. In a nutshell that's really just tweaks to proportions and certain design

choices of design trends that are being adhered to.

So it's got a lot to do with proportions, and design trends, for example, how line art may be done, how the

line weighting may be done with more thicker lines or thinner lines etc etc etc..

That's really what style is. But please know, it's this thin thin thin layer.

It's not a massively important crazy thing.

The fundamentals are very, very important.

So that's really is a summary of "what a style?" Hope it's been useful to you.

And let's move on.