How do I make my art stylized?
That may seem like a stupid question, but I'm just wondering if there are techniques out there to do it right. Anyone can through something together and call it stylized but if done right it really pops. That's what I'm looking for are some techniques I can use to make my art stylized but not cartoon like.
Replies
1) Move away from "realism". Simplified features, exaggerated planes, and wacky proportions are common ways to achieve this.
2) Be consistent. For example, if you make a character with a simplified "cartoony" face, don't give them anatomically correct muscles in their arms, or over-detail their clothing.
When I think of an artist's style, I typically think of it as the artist's visual shorthand notes on what things look like to him/her.
What I meant by that:
By now, I'm going to assume that we've all had life drawing classes or at the very least drew something from a photograph at least once. In translating what we saw onto the paper, something is almost inevitably lost. There are many reasons for this; be it limitations in patience, ability, or whatever. It's like taking long-form notes on a lecture. You may get close to writing down everything that was said, but in the end, you're always gonna miss something.
Successful styles are often informed by anatomical/mechanical knowledge (or at least, I'd like to believe as much). If you look at those long-form notes and start making observations, you'll notice that there are some things that can be truncated. You'll most likely find that you can define some things while leaving others undefined. You'll also find that there are things you like to see or draw more than some others. Additionally, you'll discover that there are some things that can be embellished and/or elaborated upon.
You have to know the rules before you know how to break them.