Ok. Well here is my latest project; a revamped wine label for the brand "Toasted Head". Can't go wrong with a bear shooting fire out of his mouth! I decided to go more towards the idea of smoke rather than the fire...
Anyways, I wanted to make a post in regards to illustration style. For those of you who aren't artists/illustrators, then you should know that as you progress through your early career, your style is perhaps the most important thing that sells you to clients. And if you're like me, you constantly get hounded that your style looks a lot like other artists. I GET IT.
This is something that is always on the top of my mind when i go into a project- "make it your own. You NEED to keep this consistent". Well, for one thing, i am terrible at consistency. especially when it comes to art and i want to try everything. I hate the fact that I need to stick to ONE thing and make it my signature because it gets sooooooo boring. I have been trying to keep things similar lately and to those of you out there that think I have a definitive style, thank you, i really appreciate it.
But it seems as hard as i try, i can't break away from the grip that makes my style look like "James Jean meets Sam Weber". Yes, I love those two, and yes, they DO influence my work, however, I have so many other influences I hold dearly that affect my creative process. The truth is, I really cant help if my stuff looks similar to theirs (as for right now), thats how i LIKE to draw. I dont do it because its trendy or the 'in' thing. I am so tired of people telling me that my work looks too much like what's already out there, because I honestly am doing what comes out of my head, not anyone else's. This is probably my biggest insecurity about my art! I don't want to have to change the way I do something just because somebody has done it before. Because, well, its me!
I know in time my work will change and become more of what I am, but for now, I like it. So we'll see how this little topic matures...
