HII i’m so late to answer this omg, thank you so much for your interest!! ;w; I don’t technically advertise them as being open because my health can be pretty undependable in terms of “how long can I sit at my desk or hold a stylus” so im nervous nowadays on taking on too many at once, but i’d be more than happy to draw something for you! (though the time frame might be a little longer than what i’d have estimated in the past- but if you’re fine with a turnaround time with a cushion of a couple weeks & don’t mind a wait like that, please feel totally free to message me!!) 💖

;w; its so kind of you to say so!! thank you!! I wish I could offer some insightful or exciting advice haha but I do have a short and a long answer!

the short answer: its the boring yet tried and true tip youll hear from everyone 😭😭 it all comes from a lot of practice over a lot of time!!

i kind of hate hearing that too because it seems dismissive BUT the practice isnt just drawing as much as possible, its also looking at art from other people, paying attention to the colors n shapes n composition around you, and at times just Thinking…

the long answer: style is … hard to pinpoint! and in some ways, aiming to have your own very distinct style (and that being your main goal) can be restricting. focusing on that can keep you in a box of what’s recognizable as Yours and hesitant to experiment or make changes. Ive seen some people who get hung up on making themselves a Brand draw no differently today than they did 10 years ago because they admit making changes or venturing into new subjects/styles “flop”…. (and if your livelihood comes from selling art or merchandise and you rely on engagement to pay your bills thats another thing but as a hobby artist myself im talking more about a goal of just getting better at your craft in a way that makes you, personally, happy and satisfied and proud of it vs making what an audience wants to see and feeling rejected in pursuing other creative endeavors)

a lot of style development just progresses naturally over time as you absorb more art around you and train your mind to distinctly pick out what you like about other artwork and why. :] its all about the influence and how you incorporate that into your own work! so many of my artistic choices come from other artists, and the more you draw and the more you study other art, it becomes something thats a unique blend of You, even if not necessarily something immediately and strikingly unique that anyone could recognize as yours, its You cuz of the choices made in it and all the influences you enjoyed enough to pick up.

for me, it was pretty much doing studies + compiling an “inspiration/reference” folder (for doing studies) :3 ive been doing that since I was in elementary school and just drawing on loose leaf college ruled paper… I started out copying drawings in the funny papers we got on sundays, going to the library to get those “history of disney” kinda books that show a lot of cels or concept art, googling looney tunes screenshots to copy… it was So much copy, copy, copy. in my teen years it was shonen jump, i’d trace panels from naruto and one piece and shaman king, i’d freehand it, i’d redraw pages in my own way… and more recently ive kept it up with other interests (opening a catalog of model cars and filling sketchbook pages with car drawings… taking photos of cool scenery or bugs i see and blocking out the composition to figure out Why it looks appealing… going through an invertebrate zoology textbook and drawing creatures to understand their shapes/distinguishing features so i can anthropomorphize them in fun ways)

it might seem contradictory that spending a lot of time copying stuff leads to something thats your own but it does!! so much of art really does come from that internal library you build up, and building it up happens thru all that observation and exercising your hand to match up movements with the images in your head, and gaining experience + refining memory of how certain things are built or shaped or constructed. thats probably the number one tip i’d give to anyone who wants art advice… get a little sketchbook thats JUST for your eyes, and fill it totally up with stuff you copy. youll learn SO much and feel really refreshed for your own original works!

and if you feel discouraged, keep in mind that things tend to look better from an outside perspective! you see my art as having a developed style, and i very much appreciate that comment cuz to me, it’s jumbled haha. i can draw the same character in very different ways in the same day… even the way i draw hands varies depending on what set of ocs I’m playing with. each of my stories presents some different artistic choices, and draws from a few different inspirations, so even if all the characters and the ways i draw them are recognizable as my art, they would still look a bit strange if they were all together because I have multiple “styles” ehehe

so in short, rock on with making art thats enjoyable for you and dont let an idealistic goal of a distinct style hinder you from having fun with the process & being proud of what you make. cuz honestly if you hold out waiting for the moment of realization that youve developed a style, you might never have that moment! not for lack of having anything distinct about your art, but just because its natural to be more critical and lost in the details of your own work than an audience would be. you likely already have aspects in your art that are recognizable as yours! consistency is good in some regards (like animation or comics) but dont be hesitant about trying things that are new or drastically different from your usual!