Unpopular opinion but style theft is real if you literally draw the same subjects that the artist you stole from draws. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE IP ART STYLES. But if you copy someone's unique art style to the smallest detail to the point where people are confused about who drew it, then it's pretty obvious that you're trying to profit from another person's creativity. There is nothing wrong with inspiration, taking details you like from another artist and adding them to your drawings, taking part in an art style challenge, or even imitating their techniques AS LONG as you add your own spin to it!! No one owns concepts, no one owns styles, but I would consider piggy-backing on a small artist just to get yourself seen and noticed WRONG!!!!! THE JOY OF BEING AN ARTIST IS EXPERIMENTING AND FINDING OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!! You are literally hindering your improvement if you rely on the creativity and rules another artist has worked hard to develop specifically for THEMSELVES. Even young artists who start out copying other people always end up growing and wanting to make something that represents them instead.
This is why no one likes those white boy Basquiat impersonators on Instagram, even though they adore Basquiats' original pieces. The history and meaning are lost and replaced with a horrible attempt at gaining clout and recognition. Basquiat is not a small artist, but I hope you understand my point. It would be an original piece if, for example, a person made a self-portrait using the Basquiat art style, rather than just recreating something that already exists with absolutely no creative input on their end.