How to Find Your Artist Style: 3 Methods To Help You Decide

Are you a punk, preppy or pre-Raphaelite? Are you a minimalist, maximalist, pop artist or cubist? Maybe you’re all these things — or none of them. If you’re just getting started as an artist (or are thinking about getting started), one of the first things to figure out is how your personal style influences the kinds of art that you like making. Do you lean more towards realism, expressionism, abstract art or something else? The truth is that everyone has their own unique personal style. It might be subtle and not obvious to others at first glance; however, it’s there. As an artist, it’s important to know what kind of aesthetic fits you best so that you can hone in on your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Once you know what kind of artist you are, it becomes much easier to expand your horizons and experiment with new techniques and processes. Here are some ideas on how to find your artist style.

What is your Artist Style?

The first step to figuring out your artist style is familiarizing yourself with a few different types of art styles and techniques. There are many different kinds of art styles out there: realism, expressionism, cubism, pop art, minimalism, etc. Each of these art styles has its own set of techniques and aesthetics. You might have a deep appreciation for the work of Wassily Kandinsky and Henri Matisse, or you might have always been fascinated by the works of Vincent Van Gogh. You might be drawn to the simplicity of Bridget Riley’s work, or you might love the boldness of Cy Twombly’s paintings. No matter what styles or artists you are attracted to most, there is a good chance that they have some impact on your own personal style.

Find Your Artist Style Through Inspiration

One of the best ways to find out what art style you lean towards is to look at a lot of different kinds of artwork. This will allow you to see what inspires you, what you’re drawn to, and what makes you want to create. Find art museums in your area and visit them. Find art galleries and exhibitions and go to them. Find art and design websites and publications and read them. Find Instagram accounts and Pinterest boards related to the types of art you like and follow them and their creators. Find art blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels about art, artists and the creative process. Find interesting visual content and consuming it will inevitably spark something inside you. You might find yourself feeling very inspired by certain works of art, or you might just start feeling drawn to certain types of art. Find art in all its forms: paintings, sculptures, photography, architecture, graphic design, etc. Find art that appeals to all five senses. You don’t only want to look at art, you want to feel it, smell it, taste it and have it touch you as well.

Find Your Artist Style Through Process and Technique

Another way to find your artist style is to look at the materials and processes you use when creating art. When you are in the process of creating a piece, you might find that you lean towards a certain medium or technique. You might prefer working on paper, or maybe you’re more of a digital artist. You might create most of your pieces with a brush, pencil, marker or paintbrush. Or, you might prefer using digital software to create your pieces. What materials and techniques do you use most often? Which ones do you gravitate towards when you have to create something quickly? What materials and techniques do you find yourself struggling with the most? What materials and techniques do you have the most trouble with? What materials and techniques do you find yourself exploring outside of your comfort zone more? What materials and techniques do you want to explore outside of your comfort zone more? If you are drawing a blank, here are some ideas to fill in a blank canvas.

How to find your Artist style With a Quiz

If you’ve tried the other methods listed above and still aren’t sure what your style is, take a few online quizzes. There are many quizzes out there that will help you discover your art style and personality type. With these, you might learn something new about yourself that you didn’t know before. Some people find it helpful to take multiple quizzes and compare the results to figure out what fits them best. As you take these quizzes and look at the different styles and examples, you might notice a pattern emerging. You might discover that you lean towards one style more than the others. You might also discover that you have aspects of several different styles in you.

Finding Your Artist Brand

Once you know what your artist style is, the next step is to figure out your artist brand. What are you known for? What do you want to be known for? What makes you the best artist you can be? Your brand is a promise to the world of what kind of art you make and what you stand for. It’s a summary of your style, aesthetic, strengths and weaknesses as an artist. It’s a promise to your clients and audience. Your brand is important for a few reasons: it helps you focus on honing in on your strengths and improving your weaknesses, it helps you stand out from the crowd and make an impression on people, and it helps you get more clients.

How to know if you’re an Abstract Artist or not?

If you’ve tried all of the methods above and you’re still not sure what your style is, it might be helpful to look into some of the different art genres and sub-genres out there. You might lean towards being an abstract artist, a conceptual artist, a cubist, a minimalist, a pop artist, a realist or something else entirely. You might be attracted to a lot of the work in one particular genre or sub-genre, but it doesn’t mean that you’re limited to only making pieces in that style. Here is a post on going from blank canvas to work of art.

Conclusion

Even though you have a few ideas of what your style might be, it’s important to remember that you are still growing and developing as an artist. These ideas will likely change over time as you discover new things about yourself and your creative process. As you continue to learn, create and explore new things, your style will evolve and change. Keep an open mind and remember that no style is better than any other. All art is beautiful and worth appreciating regardless of what genre it falls under.

If you are looking for how to find your artist style, consider taking a free or paid class. This art process will get you in touch with your inner voice and begin to show you your own inner art worlds.