📗 Drawing Is Important — Now Available: tomfroese.com/book

Every illustrator wants a recognizable style — but what if chasing style is actually the thing getting in your way? In this episode, I reframe the whole idea of style as something you work out, not something you find. The real source of a compelling, consistent style isn't a look you copy or discover — it's your attractions: the things you love, the things you keep returning to, and the choices you've already been making all along. If you've been frustrated by not having a clear style yet, this episode will redirect that energy somewhere much more useful.

In this Episode

• Chasing the Scent vs. Baking the Cookies: Why trying to have a style is like trying to replicate a smell — and what to focus on instead.
• Your Attractions as Raw Material: How the things you love, notice, and keep returning to are already the seeds of your style.
• Style is Hindsight: Why style is a pattern you see looking back at your work — not a destination you arrive at.
• Style is Selection: How artist Heather Hollington's insight reframes the whole creative process as a series of choices that add up over time.
• The Creative Self Inventory: A practical exercise for reflecting on your best work to discover what makes it distinctly yours — and how to do more of it intentionally.

Links and Resources

The Style Class on Skillshare: Go deeper on working out your style — and get 30 days of free Skillshare membership through this link.

• https://skl.sh/4cFnIej

Drawing Is Important: My new book is out now! Your guide to making drawing a meaningful daily habit.

• https://www.tomfroese.com/book

Today's Action Exercise: The Creative Self Inventory Ready to reflect on your work and discover what makes it uniquely yours? (Become a paid listener on Patreon to access today's "Action on Illustration" prompt.)

• https://www.patreon.com/tomfroese

Tag me on Instagram @mrtomfroese or email me your results!

Tom's Links

• Work: tomfroese.com
• Classes: tomfroese.com/teaching
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrtomfroese