Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery, but Can It Be Taken Too Far?

At left is one of John R. Neill’s illustrations for The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) and at right is one of my early attempts to imitate his style (2006).

It was a bright summer in 2005. I had just celebrated my sixteenth birthday by spending a wonderful afternoon at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, CA. While I was there, I spent all the birthday money my grandparents gave me on a set of Dover paperback Oz books. (I didn’t like my Books of Wonder hardcover editions, and I still don’t.)

At this time, I remember falling much more deeply in love with the original illustrations by John R. Neill than ever before, even though I already knew about the Oz books for quite a while, having first read them when I was thirteen. That gave me an idea. I was a very ambitious boy, always looking for an exciting new challenge, whether it be learning to play ragtime piano or winning a chess match with Dad. But this challenge was different than most, and quite unusual. I was already an established artist even back then, but what I wanted to do was to draw in the exact style of John R. Neill. Exact, as in, you couldn’t tell the two apart (unless you had a really good eye!)

This would prove to be a massive undertaking, and ultimately I ended up losing interest, but now I find myself looking back and thinking, was it even a worthy challenge to begin with?

I would ultimately say it was not worthy at all, and here’s why: I think it’s safe to say that there’s nothing so pitiful as a copycat who is always trying to piggyback off of the accomplishments of others while not having the confidence and the courage to pursue something new and original. (I say pitiful, not so much in a disparaging way as in a compassionate way, because I used to be one of those people.)

But there actually is a way to pay homage to the greats and be original! It all comes down to critically observing the work of someone you admire as opposed to just copying it.

What I like to do is consider all my influences, and I would suggest making a list of influences for yourself as well. What this does is get you to think about how you fit in the art community by positioning yourself within that slice thereof. It also allows you to more freely borrow elements that you find most intriguing about a variety of artists, rather than pigeonholing yourself within the confines of just one artist’s style. This is important because, while you are being your own person, you are effectively acknowledging that art does not thrive in a vacuum, and therefore you were most likely influenced by someone even if you don’t know it. (But of course, by the time you’ve done the exercise, you will know it. That’s the point of all this: it’s to be more conscious of your influences.)

You can see in this video that there are several influences on my work, including Jack Stauber, Mark Marek, and Bill Plympton.

Now let’s take a brief look at what happens when you try to copy one specific style: you will eventually get stuck in a rut. And you will likely not be taken seriously by the art community, especially if this artist (and their style,) are well known enough that a copycat can easily be spotted. This might flatter the other artist, but it only makes you look unoriginal and, well, boring.

Now what happens when you don’t do either? You’ll be more original, but you’ll eventually be adrift because you won’t have any roots to anchor you in your chosen style. You’ll kind of know what you’re going for, but it won’t be so well-defined or well-positioned.

What are your influences? Let me know in the comments!