Who Influenced You?

[James]

Who is the most defining influence - or simply one of the biggest - on your artwork? Who would you suggest inspired your need to draw?

I'd be interested to know, especially from what genre he or she is from.

 

[Spike04]

It wasnt really a person that influenced me but rather cartoon shows that i had watched...probably the biggest influences for me were DBZ, Outlaw Star, and the biggest influence Cowboy Bebop.

 

[TimTwoFace]

My style of artwork was influenced by the classic Disney and WB (particularly Chuck Jones) cartoon shorts and films, and heavily influenced by Bruce Timm's "animated" Batman style. Basically, I think I have a mix of the two but have still distanced it enough to call it my own.

-Tim

 

[Dark Vicious]

SSJ quit laughing seriously it is SSJ his artwork is outstanding and breathtaking I could go on and on about his drawing greatness but I won't I'll simply leave it at that

 

[Discloner]

Originally posted by Spike04
It wasnt really a person that influenced me but rather cartoon shows that i had watched...probably the biggest influences for me were DBZ, Outlaw Star, and the biggest influence Cowboy Bebop.

Yea, Pretty much the same as spike's. I had been drawing...things forever, both my mother and my father are both talented drawers, and both have a cartoonish type style.

When I started watching Toonami, thats when I started drawing cartoons. I drew DBZ characters often, and found out that "hey this is kinda fun!" Now I draw other things too...but not many. I usually stick to my cartoonish creations, Tenchi, and once and a while DBZ, but I seem to be in a slump lately.

 

[James]

Originally posted by Dark Vicious
SSJ quit laughing seriously it is SSJ his artwork is outstanding and breathtaking I could go on and on about his drawing greatness but I won't I'll simply leave it at that

That's perhaps the most surprising answer and certainly not one I was prepared for! Thank you!

For me, it was mainly 2000ad. Cam Kennedy (the Star Wars Dark Empire series, Vendetta On Gotham) was a major inspiration. I used to love his early 1980's work on Rogue Trooper. Further on, Glen Fabry who sprung onto the artworld with Slaine, blewe me away. I could never draw as well as him. Never. He is perhaps most infamous for the Preacher covers.

Simon Bizley was a major influence although spurned on a cult of poor imitators. In particular, his use of white space. He then went on to shock the world with his groundbreaking paintings.

Ian Gibson, who has been doing fantastic work since the 70's (check out The Ballad Of Halo Jones) was and is an influcence too.

US artists? Frank Miller. Definately. Walt Simpsons's work on X-Factor and X-Men in the late 80's always impressed me - as did Jim Lee.

Finally, I enjoy Simon Fraser's fluid work as he displays in my avatar! Some artists for you to research and check out there!

 

[meatwad945]

my boring teachers

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Well, you haven't seen my pencils, so I guess you can't tell just by me saying. I try to learn from a lot of artists. I've borrowed some of Jaime Hernandez and Milton Caniff's chiaroscuro techniques for black and white art (my main preference) and I've also tried to make my pictures always feel like they're energetic and loose, even when they're just posing or talking--this I try to get from Kirby. Charles Schultz and Alex Toth taught me the genius of simplicity--which I'm still learning--and John Buscema and John Romita Sr I might have learned aesthetically pleasing anatomy from. As for painters, I'd say I've always liked Renoir's elegant compositions. Cartoonist Bill Peet may also be an influence--I intend to explore him further soon.

I'm also getting into some of Al Hirschfeld's stuff recently.

Some anime influence had crept into my stuff when I was a teen, but I've kinda blended it in or worked it out. I personally don't think it's noticeable anymore. I was a big Akira Toriyama fanatic, and I still love Toshihiro "Cowboy Bebop" Kawamoto's sexy and pulpy character designs. I'm afraid some of Kawamoto's stuff is imprinted in my memory, so it might show up in my drawings.

Even with all that influence, I'd still say I'm a pretty amateurish artist. Perspective in backgrounds is one aspect I'm trying to master without drawing a thousand grid lines on a sheet of paper for exact measurements.

I'll try to get ahold of a scanner.

 

[Defector]

My art god.
None other than... Todd McFarlane.

Spawn kicks so much ass!!! The drawings are incredible. And Todd is a master sculpter, creating so many awesome action figures.

 

[James]

Originally posted by Defector
My art god.
None other than... Todd McFarlane.

Spawn kicks so much ass!!! The drawings are incredible. And Todd is a master sculpter, creating so many awesome action figures.

Totally. not a fan of his faces, but his composition and body postures blew me away when he did some of the first Venom/Spider Man issues. Wow..

 

[MWilburyJr]

My influences

My mother, being the incredible artist that she is, gave me the notion that I could be a good artist myself. But comic books were the means (and gave me the greatest desire to learn). My early favorites were Norm Breyfogle, Kevin Macguire, and, perhaps, McFarlane.

Now, my list would look something like this (no particular order):
Bruce Timm (Of Course.)
Steve Rude (his stuff is stylish and fluid like Timm, but his old school comic influences show too)
David Mazzuchelli (Year One. The look of that comic was brilliant, and every bit as important as Dark Knight Returns or Kingdom Come. I have no idea what he's done since, and I would have never recognized his Daredevil stuff. . . maybe if he'd inked it himself)

also
Alex Ross (I don't think many will argue that he's the most talented artist in comics. . . but am I the only one that thinks his act is getting kind of tired? Same stuff over and over. . . Anyways, I often consider how he would light/shadow a given character. I love his pencils.)

 

[Patrick Bateman]

I'll just make a list.

- Bruce Timm

- Ty Templeton

- Javier Pulido

- Frank Miller

- David Mazzuchelli

- and others that I will no doubt forget to mention

That's pretty much the artists who've made me want to try and do this. As you can probably tell by the list, I like the artists whose styles are simple, yet extremely wonderful looking.

 

[LazyReaper]

Hmm... there's not alot of people that have inspired me personally. Though lately I have been inpired through alot of Bruce Timms style. As a kid, it's been mainly Teenage mutant ninja turtles and Spider-man that got me into drawing.

Honestly though, I just draw cause I like it. It relaxes me. It's been my 'dream' as a little kid. Watching saturday morning cartoons... I've always wished that I would someday be able to make my own cartoons and create adventures for little kids out there that would wake up to watch saturday cartoons, like how I once did as a kid.


-Aximlli-

 

[Frozen]

Very difficult to say, but I can identify artists to whom I have aspired at various points in my life as follows:

Brian Bolland: His work on Judge Dredd made the first real impact on me as a kid. To this day nobody has done Dredd better... and his Joker rocked too!
John Byrne: Back when this guy was still a God instead of the pale reflection he's sunken too in recent years, when he was on X-Men, Avengers and FF, I worshipped everything he did. I still look at those old Marvel comics and just feel so so humble... Talk about "I am not worthy..!"
Mike Parobeck: When I was a late teen, I became a little over-whelmed by the vast tide of Image-esque art that suddenly flooded comics - I couldn't draw like that, and I didn't want to. And then I saw Mike's work in Batman Adventures, and I knew I had a new idol, and a new benchmark in my life. Mike influenced me more than any ither single artist ever, because I could relate to the apparent simplicity of his art, and the hidden complexities... I was devastated when he died.
Tim Levins: Like Mike Parobeck, I love this guys work - so much better than mine, but everything I'v ever wanted to be. I know he gets a lot of stick for his work on Gotham Adventures, but I adore it... and if anybody here hasn't read his 'Sirens' mini-series, then do so now!
William Blake: I love the unified mythos that surrounds Blakes work. I always saw myself as a writer who could draw more than an artist who writes, and in that respect I love the sheer magnitude and epic scale of Blakes work, and his unique illustrations. I always thought that Blakes visual work wasn't the best in the world, but he sure worked at it, and he sure beleived in what he was writing... and I can kinda relate to that.

 

[James]

Originally posted by Frozen
Very difficult to say, but I can identify artists to whom I have aspired at various points in my life as follows:

Brian Bolland: His work on Judge Dredd made the first real impact on me as a kid. To this day nobody has done Dredd better... and his Joker rocked too!

Brian is a fav! His inking is amazing and I loved his work on The Killing Joke! Ah, yes. Brian's work on 'The Cursed Earth'. I was also a big fan of Brain Talbot's work too.

William Blake:I love the unified mythos that surrounds Blakes work. I always saw myself as a writer who could draw more than an artist who writes, and in that respect I love the sheer magnitude and epic scale of Blakes work, and his unique illustrations. I always thought that Blakes visual work wasn't the best in the world, but he sure worked at it, and he sure beleived in what he was writing... and I can kinda relate to that.

LOL. I was thinking of adding someone more classical. So I will. Hieromonyus Bosch

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Now I feel like an idiot. I accindentally wrote Ty Templeton instead of Rick Burchett.

 

[Livewire]

Bruce Timm has been a huge influence on my work. I love his animated style.

 

[HowardtheDuck]

When I can actually manage to finish my stupid comics, My influences are:

Art Influences
Sam Kieth (the Maxx)
Robert Crumb (Fritz The Cat)
Evan Dorkin (Milk and Cheese, Dork)
Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2)
Kyle Baker (The trouble with Saturn)
Berke Breathed (Bloom County and Outland)
Bill Griffith (Zippy, Griffith Observatory)
Aaron MacGruder (The Boondocks)
Kunihiko Ikuhara (Sailor Moon and Utena)
Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl, Gorillaz)

Writing Influences
Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Life in Hell)
Evan Dorkin (Hectic Planet)
Mad Magazine (Poor taste)
Berke Breathed
Aaron MacGruder
The Ramones
Carl Barks (Donald Duck)
Dennis Leary
Jamie Hewlitt (Tank Girl)

It just goes on and on...

 

[Caped Crusader]

My artwork is heavily influenced by Bruce Timm's incredible drawing style.

 

[Jukka]

Well, my art (or human drawing) has been mostly based on Filmation Studios´ 80s cartoon: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, that I liked as a kid.
It had people "looking" people.....(I know, I know, there are so many buffed muscle-bound men) but besides the style, that´s where I got the passion to draw "live"....as women looked women, not cartoony or anything so I tried drawing by that style.

And because it was an animation-show, the figures were simple, and I could learn from it.
Later I studied further art by looking at Alfredo P. Alcala´s rough work and compared it to Ed McGuiness´ art. (they were helpful as I was learning on were the muscles were and how they were shaped.)

And from "back then" to now, I´ve had some influence from Joe Madureira and Emiliano Santalucia.