influence map

followin' the meme!! also, i thought this was a good idea because lately i have had to really question what my work is. so it's nice to look at my art influences all together. yadda yadda.

i liked that kate beaton had explanations for each of hers, so i think i will be even more of a copy cat and type some little explanations of my own.

1. Hayao Miyazaki- Totoro and Nausicaä were a huge part of my childhood. I recently found drawings I had done in the third grade of Nausicaä flying around on Mehve. I think that the environmental message in that movie struck a cord even then. Last year I read the complete comic anthology of Nausicaä and fell in love with the story and art even more.

2. Tove Jansson- Finn Family Moomintroll, my favorite book of all time, was given to me by my grnadmother when I was little. Every birthday I looked forward to receiving a new Jansson book, and I treasure them to this day. If I had to pin point where the inspiration for my own creatures drawings is from, it would be Tove Jansson's illustrations, and stories told to me by my grandpa when I was little.

3. Osamu Tezuka- Astro Boy!! Sometimes the old theme song gets stuck in my head still.

4. Friso Henstra- The patterns and detail of Henstra's work are both exciting and intimidating. I only wish I could get such fancy detail in my designs.

5. Sylvan Migdal- Someday, I will make a comic, and I really hope it's as pretty as his. Curvy is perfect.

6. Charlie Immer- A recent discovery, but a near perfect sum-up of what I would love to accomplish with my work: brightly colored cute insane gorey creatures.

7. Miss Van- I was once a big street art nerd. Okay, I still am. I love that Miss Van puts all this sensuality out in public. And the colors!! They are my weakness.

8. Pendelton Ward- Okay, gotta admit, don't know too much about this guy, but I freakin' love Adventure Time. They have awesome catch phrases. Looking at Curvy, Adventure Time, and Finn Family Moomintroll, you can see a pattern of what appeals to me: clean lines, soft curves, distinctive shading/coloring.

9. Lucy Knisely- My comics hero. Her work is simple, beautiful and detailed all at once. Actually, her style might fit into the aesthetics mentioned above as well. She tells a dang good story too!

10. Nick Cave- My favorite musician. Sometimes I want to illustrate his words.

11. Corey Lewis- Sharknife got me interested in the way you can break down standard comic formats. I am such a sucker for colors. But what I really love is the motion in his illustrations. Crazy limbs everywhere!!

The big thing I did not manage to squeeze onto that page:

12. Bill Watterson- Calvin and Hobbes, my original comic book love.