Talk to me about your influences.

[Bustertheclown]

My biggest influences on the cartooning side of things are mostly of the European sexy sci-fi lot. Through what I consider good fortune, I happened upon copies of Heavy Metal Magazine when I was but thirteen or fourteen years old. I was after t&a, but I couldn't ignore the fact that the magazine contained work that blew away anything I'd seen in my experience as a fan of American superhero comics which ruled the day in the early 90's. After seeing my first issue of HM, I never went back to superheroes. I remember taking some issues of HM to school, and having them confiscated by a teacher, only to have my parents called for a conference with the principal. Needless to say, I never got them back, and had to buy them again. So, even now, the guys I most wish I drew like, aside from the obvious inclusion of Moebius, would be Alphonso Azpiri (Watch Out! Lady Nipples!), Massimilliano Frezzato (Watch Out Again! More Lady Nipples!), and although he's American, Sam Keith.

Lately, I've been reviewing my personal cartooning style, and this has led me to revisit the work of some of my greatest influences. These guys still fill me with the same sense of wonder and feelings of artistic inadequacy when I look at their work as I had experienced when I first discovered them when I was a young teenager. I'm trying to separate my traditional illustration influences, like Gustav Dore and Dennis Joern, and work on a cartoon style that works with both serious and humorous projects. It's definitely been a bit of a struggle, but looking at the works of the likes of Moebius, Azpiri, Frezzato, and Kieth, I feel like I might find a direction.

So, tell me about your influences. We've all got them. Whose work finally made you reach that point that made you realize you just had to try drawing comics?

[McDuffies]

I consider that everything that I've read influenced me a bit. Sometimes I'll find in my art elements of something that I don't even like that much.

Specifically, for a while I thought that my art was just a lame copy of [http://www.noosfere.org/mezieres/]Jean-Claude Mezieres[/url], though I mostly looked up to his early, perfectionist pages, while his later work is often sloppy, but then again I'm sloppy too. But not only style, exchange of light and shadows, and how separate panels work on a single page, it's all Mezieres.
Enki Bilal's works from 80ies, his works with Christin, prompted me to choose hatching as main shading tool. I've always been torn apart between Bilal's meticulous hatching and wide and sloppy hetching of Kubert or sometimes Moebius.

Hugo Pratt is the greatest influence alltogether. He wasn't as much an influence in direct taking of elements, but rather in idea of what comics should be, and how they should be mature, intelligent and poetic. I looked up to him in the way he expressed poetically in single panels, how he can get very emotional stuff from simple stories using powerful imagery. I should probably learn more about 20-page stories from early Corto Maltese books.
To this day Pratt is the greatest for me, but I'm reclutant to take anything from him, being that he's so special.

Though not a comic artist, [quote=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky]Andrei Tarkovsky[/quote] was a big influence on me, specifically his published diaries gave me ideas about the process of planning the story, analytic approach to writing, and generally I think that most of my opinions about art and integrity in art come from him.
Many post-modern writers influenced me, probably the most of all Italo Calvino, Donald Barthelme, Robert Coover and former's unrestrained experimental writing. The writer who influenced me the most, though was Frank Moorhouse.

Disney was a big influence when I was a kid (duh) and so was classic french marcinelle school. Later, stylised designs from Cartoon Network's production, were also an influence on some of my work.

[VinnieD]

i have had so many influences, it's hard to start.

When I started AntiBunny I decided to start over stylistically as well, and find my feet. Previously I was just yet another anime/manga wanabe artist who's work, I'll admit, was nothing that hadn't been done thousands of times before.

So when I started over I went back to my roots, and the art I grew up on before the big wave of anime popularity. Two of my favorite artists back then were Tim Burton with his highly stylized dark and fantastical artwork, and Don Bluth who'd probably influenced me since very early childhood with his masterpiece The secret of NIMH as well as the fox and the hound and American Tail. Looking back at the films he worked on you see a refusal to compromise between detail and motion. Motion isn't an issue for me, but repetition and time is. I'd say my character art is mostly Bluth, while the backgrounds are more Burton. Backgrounds still need work though. Around the same time I discovered the work of Frank Miller, particularly in Sin City, and I immediately found the sort of gritty noir style needed to tie the two styles together into something unified.

Of course in regards to Tim Burton my backgrounds are not fantastical at all, but I do strive to find the fantastic in the mundane, giving bland backgrounds some personality. Though I sometimes get lazy and just hack something together, depends on my level of energy at the time.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

I'm largely influenced by Mike Judge's "King of the Hill." I like dryness of the humor and honesty of the characters. Another influence would be Dan Clowes, who showed me that comics about normal people can be interesting. Jeff Smith gave me the idea to make my lines thicker and not draw a complicated background into every single panel. My earlier drawing style was influenced by R. Crumb.

[Wendybird]

My character designs are most influenced by fantasy artists, especially the illustrators of the 3rd edition D&D PH. I didn't really draw a lot of people until my friends started requesting drawings of their characters. Also, since I've been raised to love fantasy, the D&D books had reference for a lot of the things I was interested in drawing.

My line quality and inking style are most influenced by Manga artists, especially Nobuhiro Watsuki and Masashi Kishimoto. I love the grace of the pictures in Rurouni Kenshin, but I have trouble taking one of my functional pictures and putting that kind of grace into it. Naruto's lines are chunky and full of action, but retain enough of that grace to be beautiful, so it's easier for me to apply it consciously to my own style. I also need the action influence.

I've always liked Batman; I watched the cartoons when I was a kid. So the first American comic I picked up was Batman: Hush. I've read a few others and it's still my favorite. Sandman is also wonderful, but there are so many different art styles that I can't just list it as one influence. A lot of the art is chaotic, and while that appeals to me, I have trouble introducing chaos into my own art. Some of the chapters with more orderly art, such as Ramadan, I find useful to study, but that mostly as an interpretation in comic form of the Islamic art I already appreciate.

I also love the organic flow of Rodin's sculpture, the logic of Celtic knots, and the mixture of clarity and complexity in Art Nouveau. And I read a lot of webcomics, but on the whole I'm not there for the art. So I realize that art is important in comics to a certain extent, and after that it is distracting. At this point I know I'm a long way from using art to its full extent in the comic form, but recently I don't find myself looking at other comics for influences, but back at my own work and the work I've always loved. I've learned from other comics what kind of elements I'm missing; now I need to gather a selection of those type of elements that works for me.

Back to the topic. I don't think there was a specific person's art that drove me to draw comics, unless you count my own. The novel wasn't going as well as I'd hoped, and I love to be telling a story. I decided to try something new, and since I liked to draw, comics occurred to me.

[Redtech]

This may sound arrogant, but I'm not strongly influenced by any individual artist. if anything, it tends to show that I'm "winging" it although I really, really want to ween myself off using anime' style as a crutch when drawing humans. I just personally feel "taboo" attempting to borrow other people's styles although I will admit that I do pay attention to how scenes are narrated in comics.

If anything, I feel that I'm influenced more by "rules." I haven't mastered half the techniques that I want to know but even simple things like knowing when and how to do things aids me greatly. I suppose I could say that I'm "tutorial influenced". Hell I still use my school techniques from 10 years ago.

[Pimpette]

I have no idea why I started comics in the first place. I think I just liked to draw, and the idea of drawing a story was too much fun to pass up. I can't remember a time when I didn't have a few characters that I used in random doodles or those short little comics that don't go anywhere, which everyone draws in the margins of their notebooks.

But all of that aside, my very first influence would definitely have to be my older brother, since I did what most younger siblings do to older ones: idolize them. He drew one or two little comics about himself and his friends... so of course I had to do the same, and it just sort of snowballed from there.

Other influences during childhood and early teens would probably be along the lines of Archie, the Pink Panther, MAD and Fat Freddy's Cat (those were the only Freak Brothers comics my dad kept out where I could get at them).

After I started up Pimpette, I picked up bits and pieces from various webcomics. After I met Dawg, I picked up bits from manga/anime. And after I met Tynan... I stole his one of his How To Draw books and my art sort of exploded overnight. It was weird.
In general, I seem to be much better at copying lines than anything else - even turning people into basic shapes is difficult for me sometimes, but copying lines out of that book until I knew where everything sat in relation to everything else... seemed to help a lot somehow.

[Metruis]

My influence was my art teacher. The one who glowered at me when I said I didn't and wouldn't paint and said "oh, yes, you will" and gave me a paintbrush and paint and made me paint. ...Oh, jeez, she was right. Can you believe that when I was 13, I refused to write, and my drawings were no more than occasional DOODLES? I have no artistic influence! I read ARCHIE COMICS as a kid, that's the extent of my comics... and pretty much, the extent of my artistic... influences.

I did pick up a few how to draw manga books... I have the first one from that series, I think, and one from that other guy who does them, and then one faerie painting book from Linda Ravensomething or something like that. I can't remember. I'd say the How to Draw books were what got me into comicking and influenced me, but I see very little manga influence in my work. If anything, the only notable influence is in my panelling and slightly androgenyous characters. I didn't read webcomics, I didn't take interest in art at all... so, for BP, the influences would be this:

1) How to draw manga books got me drawing.
2) My art teacher got me painting. She painted ANYTHING and EVERYTHING and believed in trying EVERYTHING and taught me to ruin my own art, to play with ink and risk ruining my own art, to make a mess, to get paint on my hands without freaking out and maybe I surprised her that I took to watercolors more than acrilics because I think at first she thought I was impatient. I wasn't. I just hate admitting I like things.

The combination of drawing and painting led me to my computer, though, and digital painting. I did hate accidentally ruining things. I'm braver now, but I used to print out every pencilled drawing I did to ink.

I hadn't even read the comics people indicate look/feel most like my comic when I'd started, though I will admit there's some influence from the Phoenix Requiem, which I found a few weeks after starting. By influence I mean, I went "that's PRETTY. I want to do pretty."

And I think... my final influence... is this.

4) Disney backgrounds. My one artistic love as a child. I used to pause the movies and look at the backgrounds, I have strong memories of wishing I could print out certain 'screenshots' from Pocahauntas and Carebears and (yes, Carebears, shoot me now) a handful of others... uhm... the Rescuers, Lion King, Little Mermaid, mostly scenes with water or other sparklies. But it was the backgrounds I was drawn to. The elaborately painted backgrounds that didn't move while the characters did, with all their details. And I think I can see that influence in my art, more than the one comic I took to.




EDIT: Oh yeah...

5) Final Fantasy. If you've read any of my stuff, that should be glaringly obvious. Especially X and some of XII...

[Tim]

Artistically, my most obvious influence is Jim Davis. There's also some other influences from the rest of the comics page, since as a kid I took a piece of paper and copied the characters. Garfield just happened to be my best of the bunch.

Well, those were just the heads. I suppose my body influences come from John Romita, since it appears he's the chief artist in the Klutz book Draw the Marvel Comics Super Heroes, my first foray in to drawing anatomy.
There's also bits and pieces I picked up from the online tutorials from How to Draw Manga and such.

As far as inspirations go, I set up The List to keep track of the brains I'm going to eat.

Story-wise, my influences come from all the videogames I've played, but mostly from most of the animation I've watched since 1992. Everything from X-Men to Spider-Man to the watered-down anime seen on the WB and Cartoon Network.

[[geoduck]]

I grew up out in the sticks as a kid and didn't have much chance to be exposed to comic books, although I was lucky enough to get turned onto Mad Magazine for several years. Don Martin in particular was always a favorite of mine. I'd say that the biggest conscious overt influence on my character style is Jim Henson; my Gnolls in particular are essentially 2D Muppet-homages. Also Gary Larson was an inspiration, both in being funny and showing that you don't have to be the absolute best artist in the world to produce a product that people can still enjoy.

On the writing side, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is probably my biggest single influence; at least one reviewer of my work has even wondered if I'm British. Which I'm not, if it matters. Other writers I like include Terry Pratchett and Robert Sheckley.

[Phact0rri]

Rum and coke, mostly. Vegan white russians. also a good stout. Santa Marias ftw.

[McDuffies]

On the writing side, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is probably my biggest single influence; at least one reviewer of my work has even wondered if I'm British. Which I'm not, if it matters. Other writers I like include Terry Pratchett and Robert Sheckley.

How about Harry Harrison?

[Killbert-Robby]

Not a mention of Calvin and Hobbes? No Watterson?
Shameful

[Dreamaniaccomic]

Here's your mention of it: The Calvin and Hobbes comic was one of my biggest influences for the writing in my comic. I remember reading and enjoying the comic as a kid, appreciating it for the simpler jokes and funny situations. Now when I read it, I can see all of the subtler humor I missed before. It's given me the idea that a comic can have multiple levels of humor, and that even a humorous strip can have deeper and more serious messages ("Baby raccoon" arc, anyone?)

My art style is a fusion of my simplistic doodles from the days of youth with a large dose of japanese influence. The thing about manga and anime that I like and try to use is their ability to convey emotion much more easily then other art styles. The oversized eyes and facial expressions make descriptive text unnecessary, and I also just think it looks pretty cool.

I've been working on a more serious story and art style for a new comic, which has it's own set of influence. The art is largely manga-ish, with specific influence from Frank Perry and Haruno Nagatomo. The story, in it's actual structure, is influenced heavily by "How to Write a Damn Good Novel," by James N. Frey. Character creation and development was influenced my far too many sources at this point, so I don't feel like tracing it.

[Inshue]

I've had a lot of influences over the years. I started with the good old Batman and Spider-Man cartoons in the '90s, back when I was just a kid. I tried everything I could to get the great feel of action and excitement that they somehow put in every frame, but it never turned out quite right...

I suppose there was a bit of Joe Kubert in me at the time, as well. My dad had a stack of old Sgt. Rock comics, which I read as a starving man devours. Those definitely contributed.

I went through a bit of an anime phase as well, which still shows up from time to time. I started watching Dragonball Z, and did my level best to copy its style. I did pretty well, too, and almost wish I hadn't. There are times today where I still find that I've drawn that angry, angular eye, with an eyebrow spiky enough to kill a man.

About a year into that obsession, I discovered How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. Fantastic book, especially for a beginning artist who has no clue what he's doing. John Buscema's work fueled me, and I wound up drawing like him for several years, until I discovered Mike Mignola. God, the ink, the shadows, the simple beauty held in those pools of black! I (very poorly) imitated his work for a few years, even trying to do a fantasy epic in his style. I never finished it, although I feel that there's still something to those nice, heavy blacks.

Now I try and move away from most of my influences, and just draw what I think looks good. But, y'know, the old habits never entirely leave.

[K-Dawg]

[Pimpette]

Nice.

[Redtech]

INFIDEL!!

*Stashes his DBZ inspired comic*

[[geoduck]]

On the writing side, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is probably my biggest single influence; at least one reviewer of my work has even wondered if I'm British. Which I'm not, if it matters. Other writers I like include Terry Pratchett and Robert Sheckley.

How about Harry Harrison?

Yes, I've read a lot of his stuff, The Stainless Steel Rat novels, the Deathworld stories. I wasn't aware it showed. Isaac Asimov and Robert Sheckley are two other writers I've always enjoyed. (Even decades later, the latter man has few peers when it comes to short humorous sci fi stories.)

[McDuffies]

On the writing side, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is probably my biggest single influence; at least one reviewer of my work has even wondered if I'm British. Which I'm not, if it matters. Other writers I like include Terry Pratchett and Robert Sheckley.

How about Harry Harrison?

Yes, I've read a lot of his stuff, The Stainless Steel Rat novels, the Deathworld stories. I wasn't aware it showed. Isaac Asimov and Robert Sheckley are two other writers I've always enjoyed. (Even decades later, the latter man has few peers when it comes to short humorous sci fi stories.)

It didn't, you just named three out of four most well known comedy sf writers, and I felt obligued to fill in.