Contents
Experimenting With Style
Once you are comfortable with the sketch and rendering processes, you might want to experiment with your own approaches and styles. An artistic style is a series of consistent artistic choices. For example, the sketch process creates a style by consistently using lines to describe the surfaces and forms of the subject.
You can apply the experiential learning cycle to developing styles. In the goal and planning stage, you decide on the process you want to use. These process decisions are technical, but they also have a big impact on the style of your drawing. Will you prioritize describing form, position, or light? How will you use line, shape, value, proportion, or color to describe those aspects of your subject? Follow the process you planned to create your drawing. You will also to make artistic choices as they come up while drawing. You cannot plan all your artistic decisions in an earlier stage. Afterward, you can evaluate the results based on how much you like the style. Which aspects of the process and style worked well, and which aspects do you want to change. If you apply these take aways to your next drawing, you complete a cycle.
For example:
Let’s look at another example of experimenting with style. I start with an approach similar to the rendering process, but in color.
Next, I try the same approach, but I don’t blend the edges of my shapes evenly to give it some more texture.
I can take this even further by not blending my edges at all and just use shapes and colors to describe my subject.
In this version, I use black outlines and large areas of flat value and color.
I can also take inspiration from artistic choices made in other artists’ work. In this study, I imitate the style of ‘St. Michael Slaying the Dragon, by George Hawley Hallowell. I use distinct shapes with smooth, subtle gradients and outlines with soft edges.
Finishing the Course
We’ve reached the end of the theory section of this course, but your improvement doesn’t have to stop here. As mentioned in the introduction, the goal of this course is not just to learn theory but to create a drawing of your chosen object that you’re proud of. Your diploma from this course is that finished drawing.
If you haven’t yet made a drawing you’re happy with, keep going. Repeat the assignments from Lessons 9 and 10 until you achieve a result that feels like a success. Keep drawing your object, learning from each attempt, and using exercises to improve your weaker areas. You can also keep sharing your work in the Discord group to get feedback and support.
When you complete a drawing that you’re proud of, celebrate your progress by posting it in the #wins channel. Include your baseline drawing and a photo of your object so everyone can see how much you’ve improved! If you show off your improvement on social media, please tag or link the Get Wins! Drawing Course, so others will know how you did it.
Lesson 10 Assignment
- Spend the first 30 minutes doing an exercise from a previous lesson. Choose an exercise that helps you improve the part of the drawing process you find most challenging. For example, if you struggle with form, you might practice the cross-contour exercise.
- Spend 50-55 minutes drawing your object using one of the processes in lesson 9 or a version of those processes that you have modified. If you finish before your study session ends, draw it again until your time is up. If you can’t finish within one session, continue working on it in the next. You can also take extra time if you want.
- Reflect on your results and write about what went well and what could be improved. Reflect and write on how you could modify the process the next time you draw.
Optional:
- Share your weekly study plan in the #accountability channel on the course discord server.
- Post your exercise results in the #exercises channel if you’d like feedback.
- Share your drawing and photo in the #course-critique channel to get feedback from the community.
If you have any questions about the course, you can ask in the #course-help channel.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to go through this course. I hope it has been helpful and given you effective study methods that you want to use to keep learning. If you want to continue improving, my free how to draw book provides both the theory and exercises that allow you to apply this study method to drawing from imagination and other drawing fundamentals, such as perspective, light, anatomy, and composition.
If you enjoyed this course, please share it with others who might benefit from it. While the course is free, if it has helped you make progress, please consider making a donation to show your appreciation. Think of it as a tip for excellent service.
If you’d like to learn from me one-on-one, you can sign up for mentorship. I’ll tailor this course to your specific needs and learning style, giving you personalized feedback, demonstrations, and guidance to help you stay accountable and motivated. I can also create customized lessons focused on other goals and art fundamentals, including perspective, anatomy, visual storytelling, and animation.