How to Do an Art Style Study
Art styles are the basis of everyone’s work. Whether you have one consistent style or love to experiment and switch between multiple, learning and admiring art styles has always been a part of anyone’s art journey. Yet, as many will find out, there isn’t a solid path to learning a style. Even the simplest styles can trip beginners up while they learn.
The good news is, there are a few techniques to help ease the process of learning any style, to understand the intentions of the artist you look up to, and to absorb and adapt their work into your own.
Before we get through each tip and step-by-step example, however, here’s a few things to keep in mind! (Click ▶︎ to view)
- Master studies and art style studies are one and the same with only a few small differences. Many things you learn from master studies can be applied here and vice versa, though they are slightly different.
- Do not study someone’s style if they have made it clear that they do not want to be taken inspiration off of. Every artist is entitled to their own choices made about their style. It’s best to not cross the line, as many other artists with similar styles are open for others to study.
- Do not worry about the specific program you are using. Though it is recommended to use the same kind as the artist is using, it is not a requirement and many adjustments can be made (They will also be noted down in each step).
- Do not worry about the process of the artist you choose to study works of, though it is recommended and somewhat imperative to follow them step-by-step during the process of learning. It is completely fine to alternate steps when you apply what you have learned to your own work.
- Every step that includes a fundamental understanding of any concept (such as color, light, anatomy, perspective, etc…) will have an article linked within it,to help anyone starting out learn in real time without having to put time aside to study every fundamental.
- Not everything listed here (especially the artist’s supposed reasoning behind a stylistic or artistic choice) will be completely correct and is not stated as the artist’s actual choice and reasoning behind every stylistic detail they have made. This is merely a walkthrough on what I had found most effective in my learning journey and what I interpret as the artist’s reasoning behind every step, process and stylistic choice made.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get into an example!
As an example of my art studying process, we will break down the work of Martograph in this article.
Let’s begin!
1. Research
Step 1: Researching and breaking down the techniques of an art style
Beginning the art style studying process, we’ll have to start by looking into Martograph’s works and defining the most prominent features of their style.
From a brief look at Martograph’s works, you can see that their style leans more towards realism, with both their painting style and stylization being not too far off from traditional realism painting.
Only a few features separate their style from realism: the eyes drawn slightly larger than those of real human beings, as well as the slight exclusion of further rendering. This keeps most features smoother and messier, valuing obvious shapes over meticulous detail.
Their style combines a few techniques of oil painting-like rendering and value control, as well as an extensive knowledge on human anatomy. A cold palette is often seen in their work.Natural and warm colors appear in a few varieties of their pieces, along with a range of stylization from painterly realism to anime-esque. This style study will focus solely on the semi-realistic style they are well known for, as well as the cooler palettes seen most in their gallery of works.
Though I won’t be touching on fundamentals in full detail within this step-by-step, I will gloss over a few things as we go. Please check out Color Theory 1, Color Theory 2, and Anatomy for a more in depth approach to their style and reasoning.
Step 2: Begin with an in-depth look into facial and portrait stylization.
Starting off the study, we begin with the face, the focal point of many pieces of Martograph’s. While many style studies skip over the analysis and practice of the face, it is one of, if not the most important part to any art style, making or breaking a good study of an artist’s style.
Looking at their artwork, begin by defining what features of real life human anatomy that the style keeps and what it lacks.
What Martograph’s face stylization keeps from human anatomy:
- Waterline and tear ducts.
- Realistic lashes (for both lower and upper).
- Well defined eyebrows.
- A defined nose with visible nostrils.
- A visible philtrum.
- Realistic lips and somewhat visible marionette lines.
- Detailed ear anatomy.
- Realistic cheekbone structure.
What Martograph’s face stylization lacks from human anatomy:
- Fully realistic sizing and proportions
- Realistic texturing (fine hairs, pores, etc)
Taking from the list above, Martograph’s style easily falls into the semi-realistic category, keeping a majority of the features from realism but also stylizing little from the fundamentals.
Keeping in mind all the above, we will proceed with a small exercise to apply what we have extrapolated, starting by drawing a head turn.
From this exercise, we can begin to understand the structure behind the style and the intent behind the stylization choices. I recommend doing this exercise until you feel comfortable enough doing it without references.
Then you can start experimenting with expression, just as the example below
Step 3: Painting techniques and the analyzation of color choices
Moving onto the painting techniques, Martograph utilizes a mix of loose painterly strokes (mainly within backgrounds) and a clean, realistic finish that varies from piece to piece. This combination is relatively similar to that of oil painted pieces.
Taking a look at the images below, we can begin to notice just what makes their rendering style so unique.
What Martograph keeps in mind when painting each piece:
- Clear and defined use of form and shapes.
- Awareness of various material texturing.
- Texture over cleanliness
- Awareness of anatomy within messy rendering
- Skillful separation of subject and background via texturing.
For a more in-depth look into shading, texturing and rendering, please check out the articles Shading Techniques, Textures in Art, and How to Master Rendering, which covers the fundamentals of the subject discussed above.
Moving onto color choices, Martograph’s main palette can be split into three distinct categories:
- Desaturated and dark
- Warm and vibrant
- Cooler hues and luminescent
Each color is chosen carefully, prioritizing mood, ambiance and feeling over realistic color choices for different existing material and implied colors.
Observing each category, it is apparent that despite the changes in palette and color choices, it is still noticeably Martograph’s work as the distinct way the artist renders ensures recognizability and consistency.
The messier rendering and painting style is also a showcase of a solid foundation of knowledge on fundamentals, as well as their application to further the stylization of each piece. This helps keep it distinct from a typical realistic painter’s work.
Once more, for fundamentals, please look to Color Theory 1 and Color Theory 2 for a better understanding of color choices; as well as Shading Techniques and How to Master Rendering for a deeper look into refining your artwork. Each of the articles listed will help with further understanding of the artist’s choices!
Step 4: The pipeline of Martograph’s work, a final look into the making of a masterpiece
The last thing we will look into, is the process behind a piece belonging to Martograph. While it is apparent that no two pieces will have the same pipeline of work behind it, from slight changes to massive process shifts, there is no one way to create an artwork.
Even the most professional artists work with whatever changes are necessary for the piece they are making. Luckily, we won’t have to stumble blindly through guessing each step, as Martograph has already posted a detailed look into each step of their process as seen below.
SKETCH
Starting from the top, begin with the sketch. With long, confident lines, cleanly map out the idea chosen. Note that the idea could’ve been chosen from numerous thumbnail sketches, allowing for a clearer direction for the piece. Keep in mind the sketch has to be clean.
LINEART
Moving onto the lineart, use a thinner brush to map out and clean up details established in the sketch. Add in clearer folds, seam lines, and anatomical details such as the inner ridges of the ear. The lineart does not have to be graphically clean. As long as the shapes and details are made out clearly, the next steps will be easier.
BLOCKING
The next step will be blocking in the flat colors of the drawing. This is where you can decide the whole mood of the piece from the color choices alone. This one in particular was a photo study, so the colors will be picked based on the ones in the photo. Don’t pick colors from the pictures, however. Always go by eye as well. Alongside this, make sure each color is in its own separate layer or masking layer for more efficient texturing later on.
TEXTURE
Also known as rough rendering, this is a crucial step within the process. Here, you will roughly block in the lighting and the texture of each material. Next, you can create depth between each element of the piece underneath the lineart by clipping each texture to each respective flat color. For a better understanding of this complicated process, refer to Textures in Art, as well as Lighting 1 and Lighting 2.
RENDER
Refining and cleaning up from the rough texturing, this step will be the last one done beneath the lineart layer. From giving a clear edge to the forms of each object to defining the anatomy of the face and adding in any final changes to the piece (in this case, the shadow behind the character), this step is considered the in-between of the texturing step and the final product. Work in the detail as needed.
FINISH
The last step of the process, here you clear up the rendering further. Add defined folds, refine seam lines, and clean up the texturing to create a more purposeful and less distracting piece This keeps the figure and the whole piece less flat. Finish with highlights, alongside any last tuning of colors and glow.
Note that this example shows a fully finished piece done without touching the lineart layer. Other examples seen by Martograph are different from the one shown.
With that, our observation and analysis of Martograph’s pieces and stylistic choices are complete. While this does not guarantee you will have a full understanding of the artist’s works and true intentions of each choice they’ve made, the practice of researching before application always helps to guess intention and work out what to keep in mind and what not to do during studies..
Just as a master study teaches you the intention behind each stroke of a single master painting, art style studies teach you stylization of realistic forms by learning from those who have already walked before us. Martograph is one of many artists out there that will inspire a generation of artists to come, so it is important to know how to study properly.
2. Practice
Extracting from the research, observation and analysis we have done above, let’s apply Martograph’s style and process to our own, choosing a subject befitting the study.
I will be using my original character, Ms. Rat, for the example below:
3. Activities
Now that practice has finished, I will list a few studies below to try to maintain familiarity with your chosen artist or artists while also applying what you’ve learned to your work.
3a. Continue portrait studies
Take 10-20 minutes out of your day to repeat the portrait study, using the artist’s work as reference, copy the way the artist draws the portrait in multiple angles. Slowly deviate from copying to referencing. Draw your own characters in the same angles, and use other photo references to try and mimic the angles shown in the artist’s style.
Note: Do not post, share nor claim the copied studies as your own. Keep them private and continue to add your own stylistic flares to the studies as time goes on. Add features from other artists style studies or your own art style before attempting a finished piece with it!
3b. Continue expression studies
Take 10 to 20 minutes out of your day to work on expressions within the artist’s style.Slowly adapt to mixing the style studied with other expression reference photos to ensure consistency in anatomy and stylization.
3c. Quick studies
Note - This is an excerpt from the article Exercises to Improve in Art
“Set a timer for 10 minutes, and do a study of their piece using only hard brushes and the lasso tool. I also recommend not color picking from the reference when doing these studies so that you can train your eyes to choose the right colors.
Block in the larger shadows first, and work on the details after that. You can also utilize layer modes, such as “Add” or “Multiply”, to make the process quicker and the piece more cohesive in its shading. By studying the styles of your favorite artists, you can not only draw inspiration, but also learn new techniques, and later, apply these techniques to your own art!”
3d. Master Studies
Finally, an activity you can do to refresh your mind on the artist’s style is to do a master study. Unlike the studies above, where your goal is to understand the intention of your desired artist, this study focuses on studying multiple or a single chosen piece already made by the artist.
Begin by copying a chosen piece made by the artist in question by eye. Use the artist’s process or your own to mimic the chosen artwork without using the “Eyedrop tool” or tracing in any way. Note down what you struggled with during the study and what you are still uncomfortable with drawing. Then, apply what you have learned to your own piece and fix mistakes you previously noticed in your personal pieces.
References
- X (formerly Twitter). (2025). martograph (@martographic) on X. [online] Available at: https://x.com/martographic [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2013424483713826848/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/1999176233905790988/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2016931992760168585/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2027068234373960048/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2006290889501483399/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2039986418928189485/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2024194745531322475/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2026482244345291074/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2028057144805740977/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/1996779527335526438/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2013424483713826848/photo/1.
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2009628625013002269/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2045147499220881647/photo/1 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2045147499220881647/photo/2 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
- X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: https://x.com/martographic/status/2045147499220881647/photo/3 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2026].
Your art journey doesn't stop here. Check out these articles next!
Gallery view