Ah, my apologies about that! I’m sure I’ll set Anon asks back sometime after New Years! Plus, no harm in wanting to ask for advice! I’d love to see if my two cents on the matter could possibly help out. :)

There was a short period of time where I actually got the occasional question like this from my mom, sis, and friends when I began drawing. There was a small part of my that felt somewhat defensive when asked, but also made me realize I was clueless of how to truly answer. But as time went on, I personally began to realize this was kind of part of my learning process. If anything, I’m actually grateful this kind of question came up.

Contrary to some may think. these are actually pretty valid questions to be asked, as they can actually help you develop your art skills and methods. More so, it can help you understand your own art pieces better. At least, assuming your family’s asking this because of the idea(s)/scenario(s) you’re trying to portray. Asking questions usually is a sign that someone is confused about something, or at least their not sure that they are understanding things correctly. If they can further explain what exactly their asking about, that let’s you know where it wouldn’t hurt to try and work on. "Why is it like this/that?“ can start up a lot of other questions if you happen to reply, "What do you mean?" 

"Why does he look like that?” “What’s there to be upset/happy about here?” “Is there a reason she’s here?”. etc. 

Heh, I could be wrong about this, but that’s how I personally interpret this sort of question. It’s helping you in your storytelling (assuming you’re doing fully fleshed out pieces, of course)! Not every drawing you make has to have a reason for it though, haha! If it’s just drawn to be silly, goofy, you’re bored, etc., then it’s drawn because it’s silly/goofy/you were bored! 

If their asking you this because of your style, though, try not to let it get you down! I’ve been questioned on  why I draw the way I draw (I would interpret that to mean, “Why this ‘style’?”), and honestly it’s because… I just like it. I find myself satisfied with it, and others seem to like it. So why not keep rolling with it? :)

There’s always gonna be at least one person (if not a few people) out there that may question how or why you do things the way you do them. Not always because they don’t necessarily like it, mind you, but it still may seem questionable to them. But there will also be others that do like what you do. Plus, if you’re just starting out, improvements will happen constantly as you go on! You are still learning! You can eventually develop your own style, but there’s no limit to how much it can be built upon.

I guess in the end, all I’m saying is to try not to get discouraged by it, especially if your family’s asking these questions genuinely. And, hey, like you yourself said, you’re still trying to develop a style, or find what works best for you! That’s a pretty valid answer to me, and more power to you for trying to work for it! I wish you great luck in your art endeavors!

(Hope you don’t mind me answering this publicly, given you would’ve wanted to be set to anonymous! <:) )