Discovering Style

By R.E.D. Team | March 12, 2009 at 5:31 pm | 2 comments | Multimedia in Business | Tags: art, artistic style, design, san francisco, style

What is artistic style? Its the personality of the artist conveyed through the lines, strokes, colors, or subject matters left evident in the final artwork. It is why you pay for professional artistic services over someone with some expensive equipment. It is something I look for if I’m hiring a new designer or editor.

Just like personality, I believe artistic style is a culmination of life experiences, in-born sensibilities, and personal discovery. Many young artists start out copying other artists’ style, which I think is completely valid. Many focus so hard on just getting a composition to work or an object to look like the intended object, that they overlook style. The result is flat. The viewer identifies the object and moves on. But that same object developed with an artistic style grabs you and makes you sense something more. It is like beautifully written prose filled with underlying metaphors and tones. Style reveals something personal about the artist.

I think developing an artistic style is a process and it evolves over a lifetime. In a production, many people work together on conveying a Director’s style. But, there are still stylistic qualities that shine through and in fact many artists are hired for that very reason. It is like hiring a specific actor for a role in a movie. They must fit into a preset character, but it is their style that they bring to the role that gives it depth and appeal.

If you are an artist, look deeper and discover your style. If you are a company, start paying attention to the subtleties of artistic style and find the right artist for your needs.

Ben Young
CEO – SilkMotion Studios
www.silkmotion.com
www.silkmotion.com/blog