The 3 Phases and Style
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I can relate to this very much, I also kind of blame this feeling for one reason why I more or less gave up on illustration and art in general.
What I am doing at the minute is trying to just make things and , especially, FINISH THINGS, I'm doing master copies and drawing from life and not really worrying about whether I will be making comics or concept art in the future. I also listen to the Podcast 'creative pep talk' and that has helped me think about think industry as a whole and where I fit. I am also taking the SVS Learn courses and working through them methodically, following the lessons closely (If you aren't using the SVS online course consider doing it, I have learned so much already, my process has changed a lot for the better).
ETA: I don't think of finishing something that you think isn't 'great' a waste of time, you will learn from the process, the next time will be better.
This story you want to tell, don't worry about your artistic strength and just start telling it, you could start with a zine of the characters involved, not a full blown graphic novel and commit to finishing it, just a little 10 page thing or something.
On the subject of personal projects is there a brand or magazine you would like to contribute work towards? If there is make something with them in mind (anything: t-shirts, labels, stickers, album covers, movie posters etc), just something you can finish as a one off, easily, don't worry about the style or how great it is, just finish it.
I found making a board in Pinterest and on Milanote for the dream portfolio lesson really helpful and have added and subtracted people's stuff as I find it, it is easy to see in what seem like very different work what similarities there are and pull out what I like. (For example I love Tove Jansson and Becky Cloonan, they seem very different but when you hold their work up they both use limited pallets, strong lights and darks and inky textures, so that is where my style lays).
I'm 46 soon and I have had a career in something completely unrelated to illustration for 25 years now, I get how you are feeling, hang in there and finish stuff.
lol sorry this got long.
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Finishing things is such a struggle some days...(most days, haha). I've actually done t-shirts before, a couple logos, and even working on some album art at the moment. And yes, it done feel so good to have the closure of finishing something and then putting it out in the world. I really like the idea of a small 10 page comic. Seems like a good way to test the waters.
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Yes! I really should look into that...seeing if there are particular aspects of drawing that prevent me from finishing. I'll keep my eye out for patterns over the next week or so. Thank you!
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I can totally relate to this. I was there/am there. What I think is great about you is that you have stories that you are dying to tell. That's amazing!
Take a look at Jake Parker. He's worked in all three industries you are interested in. Look at Dan Santat, a Caldecott Medal winner. He worked as a concept artist, and worked in the animation industry, he now does children's books, some of them very reminiscent of a comic book format. Don't limit yourself.
Start a project and start producing some work. After you've given yourself a chance to explore, play, and make mistakes, you can start trying to peg down your style a little more. Every project you do will strengthen your overall skill and improve your work for the style or industry you may ultimately end up in. Something else I've heard time and time again is that clients have approached artists for jobs after seeing their personal projects or artwork, and sometimes it's in industries they hadn't considered before. So make artwork and projects that interest you and see where it takes you. Try to have fun.
Start something soon! Give yourself parameters and a deadline. Then do something else! Not everything will be a masterpiece, and that's ok, but you just might surprise yourself with what you can produce.
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@lauraa You can show them to us!
. Show us your art and what/who you copied. The 3 Point men tell us that it’s a good thing to copy masters. 
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@cam-royce see you've actually done the thing, you can do it again! I love the idea of world building and having, like, all these little guides to a story; characters and places, machinery. Small, finished zines seems like a good way to finish something while still building your story.
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Great thread. I can totally relate as well. I would say, just keep producing what you love although you should make an effort to complete more works. You could try grouping your finished works into similar styles and see what you get. You may find more similarity than you think.
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Forgive the bluntness--Perhaps you are over thinking things too much?
Sounds like you've found a few areas that you really enjoy--lean into them. Don't be as worried about style--Just work and get better. Why can't you do comics, character design and children's book all in one style OR all in different styles? Just do you. Create, try, fail, repeat, succeed, etc. I think if you spend too much time worrying about what lane you need to fall in, you wont fall into any lane and spin a lot of wheels doing nothing productive. Do an art challenge for a month...see what comes of it. Sit down and make a short comic. Design concepts for a movie that you want to see but may not ever make. Just do.
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@cam-royce I think the answer to your dilemma depends on what you mean by “grow as an artist.” If your goal is to make an income from your art (especially a living income) then you probably do need to decide which style is going to be able to get you noticed and eventually find you employment but if you mean that you personally want to become better at art, then exploring many styles and playing with lots of media is making you a better artist. The advantage of being a professional artist is that you are forced to really hone a particular aspect of the craft because the reality of the market and deadlines keep you on task but the advantage of being an amateur is that you get to play.
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I also had same problem about style and what's more I love experimenting with styles. My styles range from flat color simple shapes to painterly looking. I also like incorporating Indian folk art styles too at times. I used to worry a lot about this until I came across this article by Kyle T Webster link text. I also subscribed to free email course 'Discovering your Personal Style' by Amy Pikaland.
