How can you create a unique sketching style?

1 Identify your goals

Before you start sketching, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your style. Do you want to impress clients, employers, or peers? Do you want to showcase your technical skills, artistic flair, or problem-solving abilities? Do you want to create realistic, abstract, or stylized sketches? Answering these questions will help you define your goals and guide your choices of tools, techniques, and aesthetics.

2 Experiment with different tools

One of the easiest ways to create a unique sketching style is to experiment with different tools and materials. You can use pencils, pens, markers, brushes, or digital devices, depending on your preference and availability. Each tool has its own characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages, and can affect the quality, speed, and mood of your sketches. For example, pencils are versatile and easy to erase, but can smudge and fade over time. Pens are precise and durable, but can be unforgiving and hard to correct. Markers are colorful and expressive, but can bleed and require blending skills. Brushes are flexible and artistic, but can be messy and require water and paint. Digital devices are convenient and powerful, but can be expensive and require software and hardware knowledge.

3 Learn from others

Another way to create a unique sketching style is to learn from others who inspire you. You can study the works of famous industrial designers, artists, illustrators, or even other sketchers on social media. You can analyze how they use lines, shapes, colors, textures, shadows, perspectives, and compositions to create their sketches. You can also try to imitate their style, but not copy it, to understand their techniques and methods. However, you should not rely on others too much, as you may lose your originality and identity. You should use them as references, not models, and incorporate what you like and discard what you don't.

4 Practice regularly

The most important way to create a unique sketching style is to practice regularly and consistently. You need to sketch every day, or as often as possible, to improve your skills, confidence, and speed. You need to sketch different subjects, from objects to people to environments, to expand your repertoire and challenge yourself. You need to sketch in different situations, from studio to outdoors to online, to adapt to different contexts and constraints. You need to sketch for different purposes, from brainstorming to presentation to portfolio, to meet different expectations and requirements. By practicing regularly, you will develop your muscle memory, refine your habits, and discover your preferences and strengths.

5 Seek feedback

Finally, creating a unique sketching style is not a solitary endeavor. You need to seek feedback from others, such as mentors, peers, clients, or users, to evaluate your progress, identify your weaknesses, and improve your results. You need to be open-minded, humble, and receptive to constructive criticism, as well as praise and encouragement. You need to listen to different opinions, perspectives, and suggestions, but also trust your own judgment and intuition. You need to be willing to change, experiment, and evolve, but also maintain your consistency and identity. By seeking feedback, you will gain valuable insights, learn new ideas, and grow as an industrial designer.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?