“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self.”
-Yohji Yamamoto
I read this quote on Pinterest the other day and it’s stayed in my head ever since.
I went through a phase of hating the idea of being copied. Over the years I have seen peoples work with a huge likeness to the style I had spent years developing as ‘my own’. Sometimes it would be other illustrators, or students recreating my illustrations as part of their coursework. At the time, rather than being flattered or even proud that I had become an illustrator other people found inspiring, I found myself questioning why had they been encouraged to copy? I’ll be honest, I felt uncomfortable. Like they were trying to steal something from me. I’ve never really spoken about those feelings or even thought about them until I read that Yamamoto quote.
Copying seems like such a shameful act, there’s something unethical about it, like it needs to be avoided. But when I think back to how I learnt to draw, develop my style and even discover fashion illustration in the first place, it’s because I copied. Copying and imitating is one of the best ways to learn. Maybe it’s since I’ve become a mother that I see this in how I teach my daughter new skills and even how to play.
Looking back, since the day I could pick up a crayon I have copied. Sitting down and drawing characters from books, my toys and teddy bears. I would even draw along with episodes of Art attack and Tony Hart, copying how they combined shapes to draw animals and people, learning and setting foundations as I copied along.
I can vividly remember copying the artwork of a snowboarder from the Nintendo 64 game 1080. I was obsessed. I’d draw and redraw until I was satisfied that it looked the same, or as close to the original, as my skills would allow. Then, when I got bored of copying, I would naturally start to develop my own version of it. Changing their outfit or creating a new character in that same style.
Later on I discovered books like illustration now, which showed me all of these new and exciting ways of drawing. Naturally, I wanted to try out as many of these styles as possible. I loved working out how these incredible images had been created. I discovering photoshop, illustrator, screen printing and even went through a phase of drawing with a sewing machine. It was through this copycat method that I figured out how my own hand worked and what tools I felt most comfortable using.
And I guess the copying didn’t stop there. I started copying poses in fashion magazines. Makeup styles from photoshoots. Outfits from the catwalk. I never wanted to be a fashion designer, but I loved drawing the creations that came down the runway.
From this, I’ve developed my own illustration style. Basically, it’s the way I am most comfortable working in, this often involves an iPad, Apple Pencil and procreate (which I taught myself by copying the odd tutorial on YouTube and working out how to create illustrations in my desired style in a digital way).
And now that I’m a mum, watching my daughter copy me and asking me to show her how to do something, my original negative thoughts on copying have completely changed.
So like Yamamoto says, copy copy copy copy. And watch how copying can turn into the development of your own creative style.
