Hi! I’m kinda new
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Hi everyone! Been here for a while but not to social #introvert. I was wondering if anyone else is struggling between realism and illustration? I feel like I have two styles.. is that ok? Anyone else having problems with this? Thanks! Looking forward to being more social
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@kellipaints aren't we all just a little bit introvert? I know I am. Anyway I have been told that my stuff is a cross between realism and cartoonish, and that i should lean more towards one or the other. However I enjoy what I do. Maybe if I leaned one way or the other I might get work out of it, but for now its just for fun for me.
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@kellipaints Hi!
It really depends! Before, I was working in a mobile game studio as an illustrator, and over there the most important thing was being able to adapt to different productions. As a freelance illustrator, I've found that being able to do all kinds of different styles has helped me get started in the beginning because I was able to do a lot of very different jobs, however now as I move more towards children's books, I get more work for my own signature style. And having a lot of personal pieces in my own signature style for my portfolio was definitely a key in getting picked up by my agency and for applying to book publishers for jobs. But you don't have to pick a style and stick with it for the rest of your life, a style is not a prison and it'll keep evolving as you evolve as a person and an artist. In fact, if an artist stays too strict on their style and don't evolve with time, in 20-30 years tops they'll look completely outdated. If realism interests you as well, it's perfectly fine to pursue both and you will find that what you learn doing one of them can enrich and influence the other. Especially realism, since you can improve all of your foundations by practicing that style. So I would say, if you drew a different style every time you made a piece maybe it would be good for your to narrow your focus, but if you have 2 main styles that you do... Why not, I think it's perfectly finevanessastoilova.com
instagram.com/vanessa.stoilova/Check out my Youtube channel for tips on how to start your career in illustration! www.youtube.com/c/ArtBusinesswithNess
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@chip-valecek I feel the same way, its weird place to be.. I am trying to make a Red Riding Hood calendar and some ideas are realistic and some illustration style I am afraid the calender wont be cohesive
Thanks! I am glad I’m not the only one!! -
@nessillustration Wow! Thats awesome congratulations on getting picked up by an agency thats so great! I will have to check out some of your work!! Thanks for your input It sounds like we have the same way of thinking.. I am hoping somehow I will find something that works for me! I have a bunch of things I want to try so I am just going to try them and see where I end up!! Thanks so much
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@kellipaints I have the same struggle, but I feel like I am finally starting to strike a balance or at least understand how to get there. It has taken time and a conscious effort to focus on stylization in my illustrations. At the moment I am not entirely happy with the style I achieve in most illustrations, but the good news is that I see the problems at the end of each piece that I complete.
Recently I have been spending a lot of time looking at artists and artwork I love, and trying to figure out what it is specifically that I love about it. Style often has a big impact in the artwork that I am most drawn to. In the new year I am going to experiment with multiple illustration styles - really focusing on applying the style to every object in the composition, and I think this should naturally help me strike the right balance between realism and stylization. It should also help me find what style I like to work with best, and hopefully help me begin to develop my own. At least that is my current train of thought!
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@inkandspatter That sounds like the best way to do it indeed! It's how I found my own style, although for me it was through mandatory class exercises whereas you figured out by yourself what you needed to do, which is very impressive! Best of luck with the development of your dream style
vanessastoilova.com
instagram.com/vanessa.stoilova/Check out my Youtube channel for tips on how to start your career in illustration! www.youtube.com/c/ArtBusinesswithNess
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@kellipaints feel free to share some of your work if you would like some feedback on the pieces.
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@inkandspatter I'm going through that right now. I haven't tried consciously stylizing yet but have started my "top nine" collection Lee White kept mentioning. I already see some things that make me love particular work and am looking forward to narrowing my focus.
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Hi! In my opinion, it really doesn’t matter. As long as your work in both styles is of high quality, I don’t see any reason why you should choose over the other. However, if having 2 styles is putting a strain on your work and is confusing you on which one to use, I suggest you focus on one. Prehaps you can meet both styles at a happy middle, combining them. At the end of the day, it all boils down to you.
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@nessillustration Thanks! It was a combination of obsessiveness and passion (maybe more obsessiveness) that helped me figure it out. I’m hoping to see big improvements in 2019.
