Psst. You. Let's talk about stylistic choices.

[Giovedi]

H'lo everyone, Gio here with a general discussion thread! (And you thought all I ever did was ask for help and... uh, ask for help.) I couldn't help noticing that these here forum's lacking an active style discussion thread! I love listening to other people describe the influences behind their styles, almost as much as people enjoy talking about them.

Now, then. We're only gonna talk about ourselves here. If you want others' detailed feedback on your work, take it to the Personal Art subsection. 'Dig? We can't have anyone feeling alienated, or like all the focus is being drawn towards a few select people. Let's keep our self-esteem up, too-- if you need help 'cause you're a 'bad artist' (p'shawww) you can take it to the Personals. Just try'na maintain the peace is all.

Anyhoot! I don't have anything substantial to contribute right now, but I'll be sure to chip in when possible. If you need to kickstart your brain, here are a couple o' questions you can pick from:

- Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?
- Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern, Western, a smattering of both...?
- What are your favourite features to incorporate into a character design?
- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
- Ideally, your style would be ___?

Have at it, friendos.

[deviltales]

- Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?
Average. Like, really. Nothing too fancy, nothing too simple.
Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern, Western, a smattering of both...?
A mix of the two, actually. I like the dynamic Western as much as the cute Eastern.
- What are your favorite features to incorporate into a character design?
Uh.. depends on the character. In terms of clothing, I love to do multi-layered dressed characters . Even in the summer.
- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
I'll take the who as a what, because even a table or a bug can become an influence . I admire the style of The Walking Dead comic[ along with Batman, Spiderman etc.] - it's so simple and detailed at the same time and the style of Takeshi Obata's Death Note. I guess some elements are noticeable, such as the urge to draw more realistic, but I try to stay as original as possible.
- Ideally, your style would be ___?
Recognizable and varied.

[alexwhite]

- Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?
tabletop rpg asset book
- Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern, Western, a smattering of both...?
I bit of both
- What are your favourite features to incorporate into a character design?
i like heeled boots on everybody
- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
i love video game concept art.
- Ideally, your style would be ___?
marketable. the kind people will pay me for

[Hazel-Bun]

Ohhh~ I love topics like this ^^

- Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?
A little...strange? Or, more kindly, unique as some have called it. Currently in flux.

- Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern, Western, a smattering of both...?
Both really. You can see a lot of the Eastern influence when it comes to the face (large eyes, semi-elongated foreheads, mouths) and hairstyles but can spot some of the Cartoon-esque influences when it comes to movement/poses, the noses (I've been told this a lot xD) and the proportions to a degree. I'm not the best at it but i'm getting better.

- What are your favorite features to incorporate into a character design?
Unusual color combinations, full lips and shiny-shiny eyes for both genders. Clothing wise I oftentimes add elaborate add-ons to simple outfits (via belts, accessories, rings, patterns and so on) and glasses. For men ,specifically, I love to give their nose a lot of...flavor ;o; ? And wide chins. For girls I like to give them fun hairstyles and things like moles, freckles, blemishes and so on.

- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
Anime as a whole, Cartoons and Fashion magazines. I think so but my style has gone from distinctly anime, in my mind, to what I've stated above by a fair amount of people. Who knows haha.

- Ideally, your style would be ___?
Consistent! I love my style as it is and it's getting better every day but, some days, I wish I could draw something more than five times without the sixth being like "Woah, what hand did you come from?"

[Taleweaver]

Just a short reminder about one of our rules:

11.) Poll-Like Threads
Poll-like threads are open-ended threads that ask a user for their personal opinion, without requiring that they justify that opinion.

The administration asks that you not post poll-like threads on the Lemma Soft Forum. When such a thread is posted, we will change, edit, or lock it as we deem appropriate, to ensure that polls do not take the place of discussion. There may be exceptions for "get to know your fellow forum members" type threads.

Giovedi didn't start this thread with the intention of making this a poll. However, a few of you seem to be interpreting it that way by just straight out answering the five example questions given in the opening post.

Try to deviate a little from the poll structure, please. You're creative people. I'm sure you can do it

[Giovedi]

Waugh, I probably should've popped in sooner. I've been quiet thanks to having little input re: my own style, but initiating dialogue earlier could've probably avoided us the warning. Whoops.

Also, you guys are free to respond to each other! You've all got some great histories. I'm sure you'll find no problem discussing them between yourselves.

As for me, well, it's neat to see how many of you are eastern/western hybrid artists! I've been drawing on and off for most of my adolescence, so my influences from both sides of the hemisphere aren't very obvious. I've got favourite artists from both sides of the globe.

Are there any specific works you guys draw from in terms of visual style? I've just got back into Symbionic Titan (Genndy Tartakovski cartoon) and Ciel ~The Last Autumn Story~ (Korean shoujo manga). I've been drawing really, uhm, pointy people since then.

[DerWanderer]

- Describe your style in one word.
General. My style is not too anime-ish but not too Western either, so I guess it can range a pretty wide audience.

- Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from?
My first influence was anime, but then I spent a lot of time developing realistic portraits since I was so much inspired by classical musicians. So I guess now it's a hybrid.

- What are your favourite features to incorporate into a character design?
Suits. Formalwear.

- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
Classical musicians, basically. People who know me can notice it pretty easily, sadly.

- Ideally, your style would be ___?
No ideal style. I just let things flow.

Are there any specific works you guys draw from in terms of visual style? I've just got back into Symbionic Titan (Genndy Tartakovski cartoon) and Ciel ~The Last Autumn Story~ (Korean shoujo manga). I've been drawing really, uhm, pointy people since then.

Hmm, interesting. At first I too was very much drawn into shonen Japanese stuff like Naruto, but as I grew older I tend to leave the Japanese world and develop other things and before I realize it, I've turned more and more realistic. The usual anime style has appear childish to me now.

[myapple]

In one word, I think my style would be... confused. Just due to pure inconsistencies from picture to picture, though every one does have a 'general anime inspired' look.

About 3 years ago my style was much more western than it currently is... but as of right now, there isn't much western influence at all (at least that I can see).

With character design, I think it really depends on the character, and what they're being created for. I can't think of one thing that I can really say about all of my characters (which I kind of think is a good thing?).
If everyone has the same bangs, or the same body type, or really the same anything, then... a group of characters goes from being something interesting, to something very sterile. People IRL, even within a certain type of lifestyle don't all look the same, so why should characters be like that as well?

I think... real life would be my biggest influence. Maybe not in terms of style, but definitely in terms of what I draw. I love finding things in real life and trying to translate them to artwork. I'm not sure if I have any stylistic influences at the moment.
When I first started drawing, Shaman King was the love of my life, and it really did show in my artwork. I did my best to imitate the style... but now I think i've grown out of that stage.

Ideally, I just want my art to be something i'm happy with.

[shinyshoe]

- Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?
Unpolished.
- Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern, Western, a smattering of both...?
Eastern faces with Western aesthetic.
- What are your favourite features to incorporate into a character design?
Spindly hands, long hair, string, and weird gloves.
- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
Gunnmgally and a useless A.A.S in Visual Arts. It's not noticeable at all.
- Ideally, your style would be ___?
Something people would buy.

[noeinan]

Okay, breaking the mold!

I have been drawing consciously since I was 5, but probably scribbled on paper before then. At that age, I read "Ah My Goddess" (totally age inappropriate, haha...) and tried to imitate the style. I would say my art is very anime/manga influenced, though more from the seinen (comics with a target audience of adults, usually men) genre rather than shoujo (target audience of girls) or shounen (target audience of boys).

I really liked the androgyny that sometimes popped up in manga as well as the fact that it tackled more adult themes than comics/cartoons written for my age bracket in America. I was also pretty put off by the gender dimorphism in the American comics I had seen (mostly superhero comics with buff guys and busty women.) There definitely is dimorphism in Japanese comics, though the type and frequency of differences changes depending on the genre.

Um, so that's some background at least.

One thing I personally strive for in my art is having diverse characters. In anime/manga there tends to be a cast that is all ambiguously white (Mukokuseki) and a high likelihood that several characters look the same and can only be distinguished by their hair/clothes (Only Six Faces). Oh, also everyone is skinny except for one character meant to be either played for laughs or creepy.

Because of this I try really hard to make my characters faces unique, and have people of different sizes-- though sometimes it's pretty hard to do that while keeping with the very animesque style I use. ^^;

I started drawing character sketches, so my art is very character oriented. I'm also best at drawing head on or 3/4 view (like character sprites) but I try to make more dynamic poses when I can.

My current project requires me to draw in many different styles, so I have been trying to get to the point where I can reliably draw in styles very different from my own. It's a lot harder than I expected! But it's also fun.

[rodusa]

-Sketchy!

-Both! Definitely both. I voraciously steal bits and pieces of styles I like and work them into my own from wherever I can. I think it's important to expose yourself to a wide variety of art, and not to disregard an entire movement, subculture, or style right off the bat. There's a lot of overlap and branching between them, and it provides important context and history.

-Really over-the-top expressions! Even when I have a very somber character, I love to break the tension with a funny or silly look. Other than that, I loveloveloooove being able to draw lush and luxurious, or just really-detailed clothing/costumes. You can sneak a lot of silly symbolism into ostentatious clothes!

-I started drawing as a kid in the throes of Toonami and Cartoon Network! I was (and still am) utterly obsessed with Sailor Moon, The Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack, so both the hyper-lush detailing of vintage shoujo aesthetics and the bold graphical style of 40s-60s american cartoons/upa-style resonate really strongly with me. I'm glad that I have a taste for both, because I think they balance each other out nicely.

UPA/cartoon modern (?) style has a lot of focus on simple, strong shapes, both in character design and in scenery. For characters this makes it super super easy to see when your silhouettes start looking the same, or when you're relying too much on a certain shape (I know I tend to default to circular/heart-shaped faces, so I try to put in more of an effort to make characters with more angular features, or to just play around with the proportions of the face to a greater degree.)

As for vintage shoujo I just think it's darn pretty. The soft feel and fine linework give such a dreamy feel to the art, and I think it works really well for fantasy stories.

Other than that, I'd say I'm influenced really heavily by my friends' art, chiaroscuro, mixed-media/collage art, and fractals/non-representational doodles/repeating patterns.

-I'd love to be able to convey a greater sense of motion and weight/tactility in my style, but I know I still have a lot of work to do in that regard! Ideally, though, I want my style to convey as much emotion/attitude as possible to the viewer. I'd rather have unrefined work that makes me feel something than work with the soul polished out of it.

[jellyfishsoda]

In one word, I'd describe my style as future-anachronistic. Hey, a hyphen makes it one word, right? Or otherworldly. I like clashing styles in terms of time periods or dress styles, like a little bit in the future, but with influences from the past.

My inspiration comes from pretty much the best of all world cultures, at least the ones I personally like. My stories usually take place in some alternate kind of world that actually has reason to have influences from Earth, or at some indescribable time period on Earth. I take a lot of influence from Indian and Arabic culture, I think, but then there's some stuff that's very modern Western influence. And if there's something more efficient that I like utilized in specific countries, I'll incorporate those conveniences.

My favorite features to incorporate into character design are interesting hair styles, body types, facial features. I rarely create a character with hair shorter than their ears because I feel like hair is such a crucial part of someone's personality.

I don't know if I have any particular stylistic influence. When I see something I really like, I will try to incorporate it into my own style without outright copying it, but taking influence from it. I prefer a somewhat more realistic anime style but not overly so. I like the more realistic nose and a little bit smaller eyes with a distinctive shape to give an idea.

And, ideally my style would be something that reflected a lot of emotion using color, expression, and the smallest details. I just want to be able to make people connect emotionally and understand the characters very well just by looking at them.

[nankaimo]

Wow, I love the idea of this thread and it's really fun to read through how people determine their own style C:

If I had to describe my style in one word it would probably be "Urban" I really like seeing the people who live in the city and taking inspiration from their clothes, hair, accessories ect.

My style has influence from mostly the western hemisphere with a smidgen of eastern C:, It really depends on the character I am drawing though.

As far as character design goes I love to pick out and take and mix inspiration form different lithology and cultures, I love city life and the urban artist appearance.

My greatest Influences in art would most likely be Boomerr and Soptsy 甘蔦 Queans Mark Brooks , They have all influenced my style soo much especially Boomer who is my absolute favorite artist. I'm not sure if any actually show in my style though C:

Ideally My style would be flexible but complex and skilled.

[pineapplepocky]

Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?I'd be a liar if I said 'Unique' because my work is incredibly inspired by other artists. But I'd be a liar if I said 'cute' or 'sophisticated' either. I draw comics, which range from cute children's style works, to bloody stuff more suitable for older audience. So a bit of everything?

Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern comics, and Western movies/ tv shows.

What are your favorite features to incorporate into a character design? If I'm writing the character, I would say sympathy. When you can relate to a character, wish you could relate to them, or want to be them, that is when I feel I've brought some sort of life out of a character. Illustrating...that depends a lot.

Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable? Tsutomu Nihei, mangaka. It can be quite noticeable in my work. KOKUZAWA Yousuke as well, whose work looks way opposite that Tsutomu Nihei. And it can also be noticeable in some of my work as well. Mike Mignola and Jonathan Wayshak are my greatest influences regarding how my shading in art looks like. My stuff fluctuates a lot.

Ideally, your style would be ___? It would be awesome. ideally. Right now I want to combine my inspirations and make a fusion of Japanese and American comic style work.

[Semienigma]

- Describe your style in one word. Cute? Sophisticated? Unique?

Hmm I have to say its more on the um...kinda cute side?

- Which hemisphere do you feel like you take most inspiration from? Eastern, Western, a smattering of both...?

Eastern, totally eastern.

- What are your favorite features to incorporate into a character design?

I love androgynous boys so most of my boys can be really girly looking. And my guys also tend to dress pretty metro too. Girls are either very mature and sexy or adorable and stuck in absurdly cute dresses or outfits.

- Who are your greatest stylistic influences? Do you think it's noticeable?
My greatest influence is totally CLAMP early on and some Broccoli (Game company) added in there.

- Ideally, your style would be ___?

Really really preeeeeeetty!