I was influenced by so many people when it came to my art style. What about you? Whose art style were you inspired from? Did you try to emulate anyone? What things did you change when you adapted certain techniques for your own art?
When I was very young, a variety of film, television and video game characters fueled my imagination and inspired me to draw. Among these were
Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
Dinosaucers,
My Little Pony Tales, Disney's
TailSpin, and any number of
Looney Tunes episodes. Disney's
The Lion King had a huge influence on me as I got older, as did Spielberg's
The Land Before Time,
We're Back!, and
Jurassic Park. I also was inspired by drawing my beloved dinosaur toys. They served as models I suppose.
At first I drew Sonic characters fairly well (I got a prize for a piece in high school in the Anime Club!
), and branched off from there with my own furry creations. As I learn more about animal anatomy, my drawings change...I try to incorporate more realism in my pieces, but they come off cartoony, so I suppose I am a cartoonist at heart.
My greatest inspirations now are a ton of wonderful paleo artists, namely James Gurney, Julius Csotonyi, Emily Willoughby, Mark Hallett, and Bob and Tess, to name a few.
I admire their ability to capture ancient life so vividly...meanwhile, my cartoonish dinosaurs are lovey dovey or goofing off in the background, tripping over logs and what-not.