Which would you choose?

[masi]

So I’ve been trying to find my own style for awhile and I kept getting distracted by gorgeous arts with very different style, and after trying various style this led me to think; what is important or feel more valuable to you in comic; distinct memorable art style or generic(which is not a bad thing) but good art style with pretty high demand, or atleast mainstream enough. And why? Me myself is still undecided.

[fleurravenbooks]

I can't say this for every style in the world, but i don't think style is that important (well it is but not in that way), there are plenty of good comics with different art styles, for example i like these styles:

LavenderTowne

True Beauty

Everything is Fine

I think it's better to have your own art style because then people would recognize your work, whatever you choose i'm sure it will be good

edit: i know i left link to youtube, but that's because i used to watch that channel ,i didn't read her comics but i like style

[igneriss]

tbh I don't care about art styles in comics. Okay, no, I do care, because I just don't like some styles, but that's a very personal preference and there are people who love those styles, so as an artist you shouldn't pay attention to that cx but as a reader, for me what's important is that the art is readable- I can see what a character is doing, what's going on in the background, and characters' emotions are cleanly shown by their expressions or gestures. And you can do that correctly with any style you use.

If you are looking for a style to draw your series with, go for your comfont zone style, it'll be the easier one to keep consistent. If you have several comfort zone styles, go with the one that matches your story the best ( :

[masi]

Yeah those three definitely have different art style. Actually most comics on webtoon have pretty diverse art like suitor armor, which is pretty awesome. I guess I need to find my own journey Thank you for your insight.

[masi]

I’ve definitely leaned into one style more than the others I don’t know if that’s my comfort zone style. I am creating fantasy comic so I guess whichever is more suited to action because there’ll be fighting scenes etc. Thanks it helps me thinking the long term strategy(effort, time) more clearly

[darthmongoose]

The best art style is the one that fits the comic you're making.

If you use a generic sort of style for the genre you're working in, people will tend to expect the story to stay close to the typical tropes of the genre. So for example, if you see a Romance title and the visual style of it is that very classic Korean webtoons looking style, you'd probably instinctively assume it'll follow the most common tropes of Korean Romance Webtoons. But if you see a Romance and it's drawn in some sort of bold fusion cartoon style, you might expect that it's a bit more unusual, perhaps featuring unconventional characters (maybe an older couple rather than early twenties, or the story is about a couple with geeky interests or perhaps it has heavy comedic aspects).
Beautiful styles are lovely, but if a comic is a comedy, but the art is really pretty, a lot of people won't realise at a glance that it's meant to be a comedy, or even in some cases really pretty art where the characters always look pristine and gorgeous and the panels always have rich depth to them actually damages the comic's ability to be funny.

It's like Heartstopper. When you see Heartstopper, you instinctively feel like it's not going to be a generic shiny BL story because it doesn't look like one. The art has a rough "handmade" sort of charm to it and a more western influenced style, and sure enough, it's about an awkard, down-to-earth love story about lads who play rugby set in a typical British High School.

So I'd advise finding a style you think will appeal to the sort of people who will enjoy the kind of comic you want to make. With my comic I went for a bold, fusion sort of style that might evoke stuff like modern cartoons that combine action with emotional drama, say Young Justice, Avatar/Korra, She-Ra or comics like Witch Boy, Fullmetal Alchemist or Scott Pilgrim, because the people who like stuff like that tend to be the kind of people that like Errant (and also I like those things and made Errant to be like that sort of vibe because I like it!). You can definitely put your own spin on things to some extent, but it is easier to get readers if your style fits in with the kind of stuff your audience is familiar with.

[TAMAnnoying]

As someone who has done it in the past - avoid the hyper realistic style for comics.

That’s really my only advice that kind of matters for comics. The reason I say this is because ultimately like most creators the true goal is to >finish< your comic/story. And the more detail and time that you spend doing a single panel will do one (maybe both) or two things:

The first issue is that you take a very long time doing even a single page- you realize your time on this planet is limited, you get burned out almost immediately and you give you/get frustrated with your craft because you never feel like your getting anywhere

The second probability is the more common one which is that drawing comics in super realistic styles are horrible for your physical health ie hand, wrist, even arm and shoulder damage depending on how poorly you take care of yourself and do routine stretches/see message therapist

Don’t get me wrong super realistic styles are beautiful and if your doing a really really short story you can sometimes make it work out long enough to only hate yourself afterwards and tell yourself your never gonna do it again.

When it comes to comics styles that help you get through your pages fast and effectively without compromising your skills is the one you want to go with if your doing any long term projects

[masi]

Why can’t I quote? sighs.
Anyway, @darthmongoose “The best art style is the one that fits the comic you're making.”
I have thought about this, but never in detail and why. This is such an incredible explanation about why. Also I checked out Heartstopper and found out I’ve never read it before, but it turned out is made by Alice Oseman, someone I’ve watched before in the interview video by Rowan Ellis lol, I didn’t know that she publish in canvas, the world is such a small space. Anyway thank you for new reading materials (heartstopper and errant) xD

@TAMAnnoying “..because ultimately like most creators the true goal is to >finish< your comic/story.” I know this is like the most important thing, the better story is the story you finish, but I guess I was in denial about my prowess(or lack thereof) and thinking that a little bit more detail(not realism but still) I can do. But no, I’ve seen more manageable and even simple style comics where the artists are extremely exhausted and I have to remind myself of that to calm down my enthusiastic urge for drawing comic in too complicated style because maybe later I’ll hate it because I can’t finish it.

This forum is such a gem. Not anywhere else I could get these kind of reply with so much insights like I’m an insider in the comic industry. Thank you so much for your thoughts, I really appreciate it

[river121693]

for me, I avoid the super generic style. That said, you can have "generic" style that're distinct. Satoshi Kon, for example, is stylistically similar to 80s and 90s anime/manga, but you can always tell his work by the way he draw his faces.

Unfortunately, we don't have time to experiment with every style in the world. I think you should think about your goal. Is it just to finish telling your story? or is it to also develop your art skills? a mix of both?
With that, you can decide on a general stylistic "path" you're interested in, comfortable with, and work best with your story. Then you can keep developing the style till it looks good, and also experiment within your stylistic confine so your art can stay unique. Lavender Town's earlier art is in the same vein, but still very different, from what it is now. But she had to stick with it for a long time to get to where she is now.

If you feel like you're not skilled enough to use the style that you like, maybe it's time to work on your fundamentals within that style? or just develop your general art skills and come back to the style later.

[EncryptedWriting]

Super off topic, but Everything Is Fine is a fantastic webtoon.

[GingerLoge]

Even if you're going for a generic style, I think you should put something "yours" in it, like a sort of style signature. In my opinion, the best comic artist is the one you can recognize from their drawings, even if the drawings aren't perfect. I mean, you see their drawing from a distance and say: Oh, I know exactly who did this!

[fleurravenbooks]

i can't wait for new season!!!

[Sethstiel]

I don't especially care about the style but sometimes some styles appeals to me more..?
These are my current fave Webtoons; (also True Beauty but it's already included in the topic)

The Advanced Player of the Tutorial Tower

Wind Breaker

Cursed Princess Club

Boyfriends.

Mage & Demon Queen

CinnamonRoll

Death of a Pop Star

BUT my fave artstyles are these;
https://twitter.com/leecheedoodles

https://twitter.com/ctchrysler_

https://twitter.com/UZyuzu37

https://twitter.com/Chalseu_D

[Mallory]

Honestly for me, the biggest factor in deciding on a style was the thought of having to draw background characters and backgrounds in that style. Like, I enjoy drawing in a more realistic style when it comes to protagonists or people I LIKE to draw, but the thought of drawing background randos/one chapter supporting characters and buildings (only realistic background element I like drawing is cars/motorcycles) in a more realistic style made me feel kinda

So I chose a more cartoony style because that way I knew I'd be having fun regardless of what I was drawing. You're looking for that sweet spot of a style that compliments your story, isn't too time-consuming for a comic, reads clearly and quickly and something that is versatile and fun for you as often as possible. That balance is different for every artist and that's what leads to the variety of art styles. I do think every artist should strive to lean into their strengths and have something unique about their art, but it doesn't have to be like, massive or anything. Something like line weight can make art very memorable and recognizable, even if the elements are otherwise "mainstream".

[Insanebaker92]

Good art style is one thing, but story plot and characters play an important on making your stories more interesting and getting more readers.

I will say both needs to be balance in your comic/novel.

[masi]

Good taste! I’ve definitely seen ctchrysler’s arts before but forget where(the internet obv) lol

[masi]

I personally like messy style like this one by jae liu.

But I’ll have problem coloring for the background since this style works best with white space, which….won’t work well with my genre fantasy since backgrounds are important element to my story. Unless I want to spend hooooouuuursss on them, which, no lol. I decided simpler version of messy western/anime hybrid with less detail to aim for now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts ^^

[masi]

Yeah. This is one of the reason I made this thread. I feel that ‘style brand’ is also kind of important. But I need to learn more first lol.

[masi]

I’m working on my fundamentals whilst experimenting the style I like and comfortable with in the long run. Thank you for the suggestion ^^

[Breezy]

True Beauty is really good! Also, it's a super good example of an artist who mixes styles for comedic effect.