# Adopting someones style?



## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts on adopting someone elses style.

To be more specific if a tutorial teaches you a technique that has a very unique look, so much so that people recognize it just by looking at the picture do you think this is wrong? Personally I'm OK with it, but I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts.


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## just (Mar 3, 2015)

Wrong no. Limiting yes. Style should be yours. If you own it you can do anything. If you don't then you are dependent on others to show you how. Spread your wings.


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

The problem is I don't have a style and have been trying things to develop one and the techniques I like the most so far has been from Gary Jenkins. What I think I need to do is get his stokes firmly in my brain and then try to apply what he has taught me to my own compositions. Though his are so far superior to anything I can dream up.


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## chanda95 (Apr 6, 2011)

Well here is the deal. I think that copying the unique style of someone else not only takes away from their work but yours as well.

I do think, however, learning from the techniques someone else uses to develop your OWN style is perfectly acceptable. 

We all have influences (mine are obviously equine artists with Wesley Dennis as a personal favorite). I could NEVER draw like Wesley Dennis..he had a unique style and his art (though not technically perfect) had LIFE. I still learned a lot from each of his pieces. 

Honestly I think focusing on trying to develop your own style is counterproductive. Focus on each piece you do on an individual level and learn from each style and technique you try. In time you will develop your own style without knowing it.


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## FanKi (Apr 23, 2015)

Hmm in the art-world I don't really know how it works, as I'm a begginer, but I guess it's similar to Sports-World.

It's okey to Copy someones style, as long as you keep learning things from other people (copying someone else style too). So, when you combine both styles, you are creating your own.

If then you combine this 1st result with things you like and have learned by yourself, you are creating a totally new style that is all yours. Yes, you have some influencies and they can be noticed sometimes, but the gap between your own style and the style (or styles) that is being copied it will get bigger over time.

Of course, that's what I think :biggrin:


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

I like the way you think FanKi.


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## Sorin (Jun 15, 2015)

A person's "style" is like a stew... It changes & grows as it matures & different ingredients are added. You can't grow without experience & tasting various ways. I see no probs with tasting another's "stew" once in awhile, to look for ideas I never had. Any ideas I like will simply become a part of my stew and be affected in kind, never to be a duplicate of anyone else. Anybody think it would be wise to go off in a lonely place to work, with no contact with "contaminations" from other artists?


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

l like your philosophy Sorin.


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## Sorin (Jun 15, 2015)

Just recall my old moniker... "airhead".
To be honest, or perhaps complete, I must mention the flip side of the coin. Think of all the Bob Ross clones you've seen. New artists, without a strong basis of their own, got swamped by his "happy trees" & many never really got away from his style. So perhaps I should modify my stance by saying that its wise to develop your own base before doing much copying of others'. No probs with picking up tid-bits though, such as the suggestions I've given T.


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## just (Mar 3, 2015)

I never thought much of Bob Ross nor his trees.


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## Asancta (Jul 28, 2015)

TerryCurley said:


> I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts on adopting someone elses style.
> 
> To be more specific if a tutorial teaches you a technique that has a very unique look, so much so that people recognize it just by looking at the picture do you think this is wrong? Personally I'm OK with it, but I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts.


 Well that's how an artistic movement starts in the 1st place-remember the "Romanticism" 4 ex?One or two(or more artists) have an impact over an entire period and almost all of the other artists feel like they see themselves and their art as part of that movement.Van Gogh was only one but how many other artists has he influenced and many consider he is the father of all the modern painting.
I know what you are saying,and is like you "almost feel guilty" for imitating one painter but this is also a step in learning,the next step will be to make your own pieces that "look like" and have a touch of the works of the artist you like and the 3rd step will be to develop your own signature style that might be totally different from what you were doing in the 1st place.Study the great painters and see those are always the steps(Picasso am looking especially at you lol)


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

Well I decided to do a me composition kind of hoping it shows the Gary Jenkins influence. I just started it today and have my fingers crossed. But what the heck if I totally mess it up, at least I'll learn something else that doesn't work. There's a lot of those I've learned already.


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## Eddieblz (Jun 15, 2013)

Terry, I've been looking at the one for a while. I think your confusing Technique with style. Let me give one example. Everyone here has probably heard of Bob Ross. Regardless of what one may think of him, his instructional art shows are priceless. He taught simple techniques for creating extremely realistic landscapes, advanced the awareness of art and really pushed many types of concept to new levels. His techniques (even though he used oil as his preferred medium) really can be used in every medium. Oil, Water color, pencil, digital.... Who of us hasn't thought of his show's when working on a piece while using something that resembled one of his techniques to create an effect.
Now no one would say we are stealing his style and we're not. We're using a technique to help advance our own artistic abilities and style. As an art community we all need to feed of each others talents for the betterment of art. 
So I don't view it so much as adopting a style as much as adopting a technique to better our own abilities for the betterment of art over all.


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

@Eddieblz I like your thinking.


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