So I had a little down time today and I thought I'd take a crack at making one of these, as I have seen many artists do. It is very heavily weighted towards my past influences, a look into my roots.
I realized that most of my exposure to art as a kid was French comics: Asterix & Obelisk, Lucky Luke, Tintin, Blake & Mortimer, the Smurfs, Gaston Lagaffe, and while I loved the stories, their styles never bled into my artwork. As it turns out, these artists which I grew to dismiss as infantile during my manga-filled teenage years are actually masters of drawing, showcasing unparalleled linework, stylization and clarity of expression (especially Asterix).
I would also like to give a shoutout to Frank Frazetta, Mike Mignola, and Moebius, whom I was emulating and admiring without knowing they existed (again, no exposure to these artists until recently). Had I known of them earlier, they would undoubtedly be on this map. Seeing their work would have greatly helped me a few years ago when I was obsessed with ripped warriors, strong graphic light and shadow shapes, and obnoxious levels of detail. Others who barely missed the cut include Phil Hale, Barth, Ashley Wood, Jamie Hewlett, Wayne Reynolds, Jim Murray, and Luke Mancini. I'm sure I'm leaving out a bunch too...
I also draw a fine line between Inspiration and Influence, as my breadth of inspirations is much much wider (in fact it is a common problem I have that I am interested in almost everything I see). I feel like these best represent artists who have transformed the art I make significantly.
Woo, sorry about the long post. Who are some of your inspirations/influences? :)
