The STYLE challenge!

That guy · Post by **That guy** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:25 am

Anybody feel like improving as an artist?

I did a paper in college once in which I challenged myself to copy the styles of a wide variety of comics to use their characters as comparisons to Shakespeare. From Penny Arcade to Sin City, I drew each by hand and colored each myself. I learned a great deal from it and have taken many of their tricks into my own utility-belt.

My challenge to you - pick at least two artists with different styles and draw like them. Their characters or your own, try to make the copies so good you can't tell them from the originals at first glance. They needn't be long, elaborate pages - just a single panel (unless your artist has a particular layout-style you wish to emulate). DON'T trace. DON'T just redraw a specific image exactly like it was in the original panel. Really try to pull out the techniques and standards that the artist uses and create your own picture that looks like theirs.

LEARN something new by studying the details & techniques of others.
ENJOY a fun diversion that you can share when you're done.
EXPAND your artistic palate by breaking out of your usual mold.

Now give it a try!

Rickford · Post by **Rickford** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:12 am

Yah, I'm in. I've always claimed that I was an artistic parasite anyhow.

Snail · Post by **Snail** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:49 am

Hey! I'd be up for this!
Sounds neat.

Yeahduff · Post by **Yeahduff** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:01 am

Have fun, kids, I actually have a job.

*toils*

Serenagold · Post by **Serenagold** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:44 pm

Your style challenge paper was very impressive in and of itself. Standalone, aside from the artistic challenge of the piece. Fantastic.

Im going to think on this and go through some of my graphic novels and try to post something in here for the style challenge. This is a very cool idea.

Caybo · Post by **Caybo** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:30 pm

That pretty much the method I used to teach myself to draw. I sat around in my room drawing images from comic books. It's a good self-teaching method in my opinion.

Now, I need to search through my old sketchbooks, and dig up some of my old, copied images.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:41 pm

issue three of the new madman series, had a really neat challenge like that. he did countless artist styles. It was interesting to see the variations of Allred being how his style is very stylized.

I might be into doing this. course I've been practicing doing still life again and realizing my hand-eye coordination needs a lot of rework, so I'll probably suck ass at this.

yeahduff wrote: Have fun, kids, I actually have a job.

*tries to fight the urge to make another mention of the 8:1 shortage*

Jesusabdullah · Post by **Jesusabdullah** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:30 am

I wanna try this. If I can get my homework out of the way this weekend, maybe. I procrastinate a lot!

Also, Duff, update your fucking comic.

Salyavin · Post by **Salyavin** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:48 am

Interesting, very interesting I might just try it out.

Ashlakeartist · Post by **Ashlakeartist** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:18 am

sounds like a good way for me to improve, I will see what I can do.

Yeahduff · Post by **Yeahduff** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:23 am

It'd be pretty funny if I continued to neglect my comic and threw myself into this.

Col · Post by **Col** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:53 am

Neat idea, but I be too busy.

KWill · Post by **KWill** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:11 am

I did these for a thread over at Cornstalkers. They're just doodles though, and probably not exactly what you meant.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:40 am

yeahduff wrote:It'd be pretty funny if I continued to neglect my comic and threw myself into this.

No it wouldn't, you god damn suck factory.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:34 pm

theSuburbanLetdown wrote:
yeahduff wrote:It'd be pretty funny if I continued to neglect my comic and threw myself into this.
No it wouldn't, you god damn suck factory.

we said Sublet!

That guy · Post by **That guy** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:30 am

KWill wrote:I did these for a thread over at Cornstalkers. They're just doodles though, and probably not exactly what you meant.
IMAGES

Heh heh - those are pretty nifty.

As someone with no regular-update schedule, I'm not one to talk - but sometimes drawing something outside my regular "required" artwork helps get me more excited about drawing in general, which can help me get back into the stuff I need to do with a gusto.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:20 am

I admittedly rarely draw in other people's styles. I dunno why, its just hasn't been a thing for me, since I had to relearn most of the rules, after spending a good half of my drawing career drawing almost soley from comics and people's art as apposed to from life. I haven't even thought about drawing from art again.

its kinda like when you have a drug problem, and your phobic to taking injections or pills for fear of a relapse. *l*

Mo · Post by Mo » Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:38 pm

It's a neat idea. Maybe I'll do it one day when I have time for this sort of stuff again.