The topic came up and it got me thinking. Also, I suffering under the delusion that people actually want to know what I think.

When it comes to “stealing” a style, are you really stealing?
It’s kind of complicated to just answer “yes” or “no”.

Not all styles are developed to be personal, some are made for a specific project. Just look at any cartoon or animated movie. A particular style is developed to fit the overall mood of the story, or even the environment.

When it comes to a personal style there is something very personal about it. Style is developed by taking the things we like from other styles (consciously or subconsciously) as well as personal preferences.
For example, my style:

• I am very inspired by Joe Kubert. I know it doesn’t particularly show outside of “Mitternacht” but it does influence a lot of subtle things in my drawings.
• A little bit of Naoki Urasawa, too.
• Pin up photos
• Old school photos in general- particularly the more artistic poses.
• In terms of thing that I add in personally I tend use more muted colors, and I do not eliminate most of the wrinkles and creases in the body. Among other things.

Now, there would be nothing wrong with anyone copying my style, but it wouldn’t mean the same for them. For them they are just drawing the same way as someone else because they like it, they do not have the connection with being mesmerized while reading Sgt. Rock or Enemy Ace. They probably don’t spend as much time thinking about how we’re big mushy bags of fat, flesh, and bones and being fascinated with how the skin behaves a lot like cloth. It’s like all the different layers that made up that style are now fused together with no individual meaning. It goes from being a bunch of parts working together, to being one mass.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with the mass, it is now devoid of its history and meaning. It is up to the artist to add meaning to it.

By all means, imitate other styles! Practice drawing in different ways, but add to them! If you are more interested in the geometric planes of the body then incorporate that into your style. If you think the nose is a very important feature that needs more emphasis then go for that!

I mean, shoot, I used to draw a lot of bad anime art… the reason it was bad wasn’t that it was anime style, but because I was just copying what I had seen without even thinking about how those particular aesthetics evolved (and maybe also because it was that very generic, inbred style of anime that permiates a lot of the genre). It really helped my style when I started to add in more and more of the things that I really liked. I realized that what I liked from the anime styles was often the glamorous eye shines, and thick eyelashes, so I use that in my own way.

What I’m saying is:

Don’t just copy, make it yours.