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How to Find My Own Art Style as an Animator

ben marvazi 2020

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You need to find your own animation art style. What separates good animators from great ones depends on how established their art style is in their animations.

"How to find my own art style as an animator" is not something that comes immediately though! It's not like we all have our own artists' colonies where we can retreat for a few months and emerge with a fully formed vision for our future animations.

And yet there are ways to get close to finding your artistic voice and animation style—you just have to know how. So whether you're still in school or already out in the world making money as an animator, here are some steps you can take toward discovering your unique creative voice!

Figure Out Your Strengths as an Animator

Finding your animation strengths will help you on how to find my own art style as animator

GIF by James Thacher via GIPHY

The first step to finding your own art style is to figure out what you are good at as an animator. When I say this, I mean that you should take a look at the animations that you have made and see what they have in common. Do they all have the same amount of detail? Is there something else that makes them unique?

Once you can identify what makes each video stand out from the rest, then it's time for some soul searching! The next step is figuring out which direction suits your strengths best so that later on when we get into how to improve upon those weaknesses we won't be wasting precious time trying to fix something that will never be fixed (or even worth fixing).

Study other Animator's Work

find different art styles like riding a skateboard with different shoes

GIF by Sadmonstelina via GIPHY

The first step to finding your own style as an animator is to look at the work of other animators. You should look at the work of animators who have a different style than you, as well as those who have similar styles. This will help you understand what makes up different art styles and how they are used in animation.

You can also take this opportunity to observe more experienced artists' processes and techniques. If there's someone whose work really resonates with you, but their process doesn't seem feasible for whatever reason (perhaps because they do everything in 2D), then try mimicking their aesthetic while using your own process instead!

Dedicate Time to Improving Your Animation Skills

7 animation drawing ideas to improve your animation skills

Read our blog on "7 Animation Drawing Ideas to Improve Your Animation Skills!"

As an animator, it's important to set aside time to practice your craft. You can't just expect good results without putting in the hours of hard work. It's like saying "I want to be an astronaut" without actually going through training or getting a degree in space science--it just won't happen!

If you want your animations to be better than what they are now, then you need to dedicate yourself fully and regularly (at least once per week) with studying animation techniques and drawing skills that apply directly into creating great art for your projects or personal portfolio.

Master One Element of Animation at a Time

take your time and master one element at a time on how to find my own art style as an animator

GIF by 3D Gif Artist via GIPHY

Animation is a complex art form. There are so many elements to consider when creating an animated character or scene, from timing to acting and even storytelling. It can be overwhelming if you try to master everything at once. Instead, focus on mastering one element of animation at a time and then move onto the next.

For example: if you're working on your timing (the speed at which an object moves), try practicing with just one object first--a ball bouncing against a wall would be ideal because there's only one thing going on! Once that feels comfortable, try adding another ball into your scene; this way they won't overlap each other as much during their movement across the screen.

If they still seem too close together after adjusting their speeds slightly apart from each other (by lengthening or shortening each bounce), then make sure both balls hit the wall at different times so they don't overlap either visually or audibly (by making sure each impact creates its own sound effect).

Mistakes Are Part of How to Find Your Animation Art Style

mistakes are an infinite opportunity to learn

GIF by 3D Gif Artist via GIPHY

If you are a beginner animator, do not be afraid to make mistakes or fail! Everyone does. Even the pros have their failures and mistakes. But this is part of the process for learning how to animate; it's how we grow as artists and animators and improve our skills over time.

Failure can help us learn new things about ourselves and our art style, so don't let it discourage you from continuing on your journey as an animator (or whatever else). Instead, embrace failure as an opportunity to try something new!

It could lead in unexpected directions that could ultimately benefit your work in unexpected ways--and even if it doesn't work out exactly how you imagined it would initially... well... at least now there's one less thing holding back your artistic growth!

Be Consistent and Progress will Follow

progress will follow if you're consistent

GIF by Yool N via GIPHY

Practice is the key to success. The more you practice, the better you'll become at your craft. You should practice every day, even if it's just for a few minutes at first.

The best way to improve your skills as an animator is through consistent and focused work on them. By committing yourself to practicing every day and sticking with it over time, you will see improvements in both how well your animations look and how quickly they are completed.

Focus on What You're Good at, Learn from Others, Be Persistent

persistence is key and you'll figure it out when you discover your animation art style

GIF by Hey Arnold via GIPHY

The first step to developing your own personal animation style is to focus on what you're good at. If you enjoy drawing people, then focus on that aspect of your art and try to improve it as much as possible. If there are some things about the way characters are animated in video games that look cool to you, practice drawing those movements yourself!

Don't be afraid of trying new things--it's okay if they don't turn out right the first time around. The more mistakes we make when learning something new (like how to draw anime for example), the better we get at doing it correctly later down the road when we've had more practice with what we're learning or creating.

It may seem like a lot of work just trying out different techniques until one sticks but trust me: once you find something that resonates with you, it'll click, and everything will become much easier!

How to Find My Own Art Style as an Animator is a Process!

how to find my own art style as an animator is a process you should trust

GIF by Eledraws (Eleonore Bem) via GIPHY

We hope this blog has helped you to find your own style as an animator. Remember, there's no right or wrong way to create art and animations! The most important thing is that you keep trying new things until something clicks. Don't be afraid of making mistakes-- they are a necessary part of the process and can help us learn from our mistakes so we don't repeat them in future projects

For more information about finding your own art style, as well as answers to any other questions you might have, be sure to follow our blogs, check out our free masterclass, and our Animation Business Accelerator Program, download a copy of our free marketing handbook, and check out our blog on “How to Start an Animation Studio”!

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