My teacher said that I should change my art style…

[DualDragons]

Well most people gave answers already, but I wouldn't abandon your art style. If you are forced to draw in a style you are not comfortable with it'll impact you negatively.

That said, it wouldn't hurt to try and look at other styles, not necessarily to draw but maybe to learn from them. Like if you struggle to draw anatomy related stuff in your art style (not assuming you are) it might be worth it to do a bit of research in art that does these things well, even if they are not anime. And even in anime there are a lot of varied styles if you know where to look

[mountainwolves]

I disagree with several people about your teacher. I think she is giving you sound advice. Part of pursuing any sort of craft or profession is becoming versatile and having a wide understanding of it. There's nothing wrong about drawing in a specific style in your free time, but if you pursue art as your profession, you should definitely change your style (if it is mostly anime).

I would advice getting into realism, and then branching into different fields. In the end this would strengthen your anime style illustrations and you will be incorporating what you'll learn from different styles and mediums.

Anyways, I think your teacher is giving you a great advice.

[Fafnir]

Most artists working have to draw in multiple styles, depending on the project.
getting to draw in your own "style" is a unique thing on the internet, and getting paid for it is rare. I mean. its why were all trying to make our comics..

[Lensing]

I think you should 1) continue to draw in the style you love and do that for fun as often as you want
2) don´t draw in any style when you train/practice whatever you call it and just focus on reference,
construction, the technical part of drawing, perspective, proportions, gesture

Maybe that´s what your teacher is talking about and I think it´s good to forget style completely when
you are training

Style is also something I wouldn´t think too much about or not at all because it will come automatically
when you are drawing sequential art, technique and understanding will not come automatically and
must be trained

[LCT_m_a_d]

From my experience, If you're style is effective, developing a stronger and broader foundation will just make what your doing more sustainable and applicable for more opportunities. Personally, I have been told I have a style despite developing skills in realism, cartoon, and urban graphic style. (take Consideration my quality of work before taking my advice)

I do know often times portfolios aren't based as much on how "good" or "skilled" the applicants are. It's more about how they would fit for the type of projects. Most of the successful engineers I know have an above average foundation skillset in many areas of their field. We just see their pursuit of projects that they are most experienced fit in. I imagine art is very similar.

[TedGravesArt]

I'll echo what a lot of other folks have been saying here about drawing how you want. Being passionate about your art is one of the most important components of being a professional artist, and one of the best ways to tap into that passion is to draw things for yourself sometimes, like drawing things in an anime style.
BUT. I want to float an idea to you, as a fellow artist that started out drawing anime and was told by teachers to stop. Starting out in a stylized art form hurt my fundamentals. Professional anime artists don't just draw anime. They do real life studies too, because there are fundamental and essential art skills that only real life studies can teach you. Things like proper lighting, shape and form, anatomy, perspective (particularly things like zoom lens perspective vs close lens perspective), foreshortening etc. etc.
Anime is a stylized interpretation of real life, and it relies on an understanding of that core structure. I think about offsets a lot in art. An aesthetic is just real life with some particular offsets applied. When an artist's anime technique looks refined and skilled it's because they've referenced real life and then translated it into a stylized form. When you start from a stylized perspective, it's just an interpretation of someone else's stylization, and you won't grasp what things to exaggerate, or the core structure underneath, because you don't have the fundamentals down. You won't understand why or how to properly draw it.
Again, I started by drawing anime when I was younger too. It's the reason I got serious about art in the first place. BUT my resistance to drawing things from real life stagnated my growth, and saddled me with some bad habits that were very difficult to break.
So I guess what I'm saying is that studying real life will give you a deeper understanding of anime. Which is what you're striving for anyway, right?

[thecrystalrook]

Draw however you want. Be open to other styles, as you'll have to learn them if you go to art school, and it does help in the long run. But your style is your style. Don't let anyone, and certainly not a teacher, tell you you have to draw differently. I didn't go to art school for college, but I had a very encouraging art teacher in high school who couldnt have given two shits that I was drawing anime. All she cared about was I was doing SOMETHING creative and that I was developing a style to begin with.

To be honest, this comes up far too often. "Anime isn't art" "you're not a real artist if you draw anime" "you're not allowed to draw anime if you're not japanese" "you're not in japan, so your art isn't actually anime." Like my god, shut up already. Who are these people to say what's art? It bothers me so much when I hear this, especially when it comes from art teachers of all people.

[LunarScyphozoa]

That’s implying that you can ever fully learn realism, and that learning to draw realistic will give you the ability to stylize, which is simply not true. You can’t exactly finish learning anything in art, and if you do only realism then you’ll be out of practice stylizing.

[mg78]

change... to learn. that's it.
LEARN!
learn is the duty.
if u do not learn, u ll not know.
if u ll not know... how ll u understand what s your way?

u ll be always allowed to draw how you wish.
the school ll teach you different skills n worlds, and that is what everyone need.

[scottlincoln689]

I've self-taught, gone to college, apprenticed, and taught others. I don't think we have enough information to determine the teachers motivations, but let's assume this teacher just wants to see you excel and is trying to guide you based on their experience.

The question will eventually boil down to what you want to do with your art. If you just want to draw what you like you certainly don't need to accrue massive debt to do so, there are plenty of ways to learn. Certainly many of us started drawing because it made us happy and for many, that is enough.

If you want to earn a living doing commercial art in advertising or animation or other careers, school can be a benefit. But, whether you are at an agency, in an animation bullpen, drawing comic book pages, or just working freelance, very often you will be asked to draw in someone else's style. So having a broad pallet to draw from is an asset. But this doesn't mean you can't develop your own. This may be what your teacher is encouraging you to pursue.

From my own experience, I often felt a similar way about the style I drew in. But the truth was (and this may not be you), I lacked confidence that I could do anything else or I just dreaded the feeling of starting all over again. However, when I was pushed to expand my skill set, it had a profoundly positive effect on my own style. Sometimes we all need a friendly nudge.

That said, schools have pitfalls... crippling debt being foremost. There are rubber-stamp schools where every one gets a passing grade if their tuition is paid on time, regardless of their skill. There are teachers who don't teach because they perceive their students as competition. There are teachers who have skill, but don't know how (or have the patience) to share their knowledge. There are teachers who only produce clones because they never pushed themselves out of their comfort-zone. And the big con... Artsy-Fartsy. Those are schools/teachers that expound on art as some nebulous, magical, undefinable thing that can't truly be taught... that's total BS.

The only thing that can't be taught, is the desire to learn.

[DiegoPalacios]

A wise and skilled artist friend who can pull off many diverse art styles told me it's all about mastering the fundamentals in art, like anatomy, perspective, lightning and shapes among others.

Does that means to give up anime style?: nope

Trying different styles can help you notice common patterns when it comes to art in general.

For the sake of college, and for the sake of getting jobs, i recommend you to become a flexible artist with solid fundamentals.

[irresponsiblepics]

Great post..we have probably crossed paths at one point (also in UK and been to Jiman)

Draw in Manga/Anime style as much as you like if you enjoy it but if you want a career its good to not limit yourself into a niche.
Seen so many great Anime style inspired artists go nowhere sadly.
Avoid being Lucy.

'Lucy is an artist. Lucy paints portraits of Barbara...' - Fear and Loathing in...

Just an edit extra.
The best Manga artists learned to draw in many styles. Keep that in mind.

[DiegoPalacios]

it's a bad idea to have "luck" as a vital part of your business plan.

no matter the industry, this is true in whatever we do in life.

[system]

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