The Influence Map Meme

There comes another art meme (i'm addicted to those memes really) ^_^

This time it's called "The Influences Map" ... made by no other than the talented (go check his works and specially his tutorials .. cool stuff), after i saw a couple of my fav artists give it a try i decided its time to jump the bandwagon (lols) ... and as with previous memes it was quite an enjoyable experience in which i actually explored my own influences and inspirations (or my "Muses" if you go Greek style XD) .. so here is a quick run down about each influence shown above (size determines importance).

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Japanese Animation/Manga
There no way i can emphasize how much anime helped me improve my art and also shown me many interesting/bizarre/unique ideas, worlds, characters, designs .. etc etc .. which were inspirations to many of my works.

Some of my fav inspirations (All Gundam Series, Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Kenshin, Hellsing, Vampire Hunter D, Ghost in the Shell Movies, Ninja Scroll Movie, All Ghibli movies, Patlabor Movies .. and many others)

Shirow Masamune
While i did mention Ghost in the Shell in the category above there is a good reason i still mentioned Shirow as one of my important inspirations (other than the fact he wasn't actually involved in the making of the Gits movies i mentioned above), It's his detailed robot designs and the fact he actually studied mechanics and used that knowledge within his designs to make them mind blowingly detailed and believable ... also how almost all his heroines are the "strong female" archtype (my top favs being of course Major Motoko of Ghost in the Shell and Deunan of Appleseed).

He influenced most of my works with his deadly combo of sexy robots and girls with guns ... actually how he mixes social commentary with his detailed robotic designs and strong beautiful lead female characters is one of the main reasons he is one of my top fav artists and biggest influences.

Some of his best works (Ghost in the Shell Manga and TV series/ Ghost Hound TV horror anime/ Real Drive TV Sci-fi anime/ Appleseed OVA and movies)... ahm ... those who want to check his artworks should steer clear of "Galgrease" books as they have some heavily erotic content ... he can be quite eccentric sometimes

trivia: it seems no one on the internet actually knows how he looks like .. i never found a single pic for him .. only a chibi octopus avatar .. i did say eccentric didn't i .. lols XD)

Videogames
Just like Japanese animation games took a ton of hours from my life and also showed me countless worlds, characters, stories and things that formed a big part of my inspiration ... every game i played since Doom and Dune 2 on my first PC ever up to Bayonetta on my PS3 and Starcraft 2 on my current PC (latest two games i'm playing now) has influenced my as an artist and inspired me to draw something.

Marvel Comic
After years of reading Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse comic stories i stumbled upon some issues of the "Uncanny X-men" series .. i was blown away by the stories, characters and amount of detail put in the artwork .. it was quite a moment ... probably back then it was the first spark that made me feel i want to draw my own comics ... and while i couldn't keep up with the gazillion releases Marvel comics release every month/year i still cherish the impressive works they made and will always remember those were the first ever "true" comic books i read ^_^

Deviantart "banner is made by "
There is no denying this one, soon after i joined the site and was exposed to the awesomeness of the talents here i felt great motivation/inspiration to improve my art and explore stuff i never thought of before (like this meme for example), and it continues to inspire and dazzle me every day i sit in front of my computer and check the works of the +1000 artists i watch, join a new contest or join an art jam/project .. to all on DA .. keep it up everyone.

Mythology and Folklore
I'm totally a mythology and folklore geek, i do like the Greek mythology the most but Ancient Egyptian, Norse, Mesopotamian, Indian, Chinese and Japanese Mythology also mean a lot to me (i learned a lot about them through reading and playing games/watching anime with Mythological themes) .. just reading something like "Journey to the West" from Chinese mythology makes me feel inspired to draw something equally epic and impressive, also Folkloric tales played a big part in fueling my inspiration .. from Red Riding Hood to Swan Lake and all tales in-between (and i actually prefer the originals over Disney adaptions .. which i like too but not as much) ^_^

Disney Cartoons
Another inspiration that really lived side-by-side with my Anime fascination .. Disney movies specifically were always influential to me .. from Hercules to Atlantis and Beauty and the Beast .. they all inspired my with their lively animation, light-hearted humor and beautiful art-styles ... and while it doesn't show directly on my art-style i still consider Disney movies to be an inspiration for me as an artist.

Music
Without going too much into details, i'm pretty sure countless artists get influenced and inspired once they listen to a piece of their fav music ... it works for me like magic .. whenever i put my headphones on and play my fav music hundreds of images start flashing in my mind and i feel i really want to draw something (sometimes related to the song sometimes not) ... and due to my fascination with Japanese animation you can guess the Jap-pop and J-songs in genreal are my top favs ... frankly .. go check (Kokia), (Nana Mizuki) and the band (Kalafina) .. they are sure to inspire.

Novels
Reading has also been one of my influences and inspiration, i have read countless novels translated to my local language (and in some occasions in English) and also many novels for local writers (who write espionage, sci-fi and horror novels), it is a fact that reading makes your imagination work a lot more than watching something .. since you have to fill all the empty gaps with it ... and that in terms helped me a lot as an artist as i had to imagine entire worlds, fill them with colors, designs and characters based on the story descriptions and so on... not to mention the influence from the novels themselves.

Leonardo da Vinci
Not only was i indirectly inspired by the works of this master artist and genius, its his versatility that inspires me the most, how he did so many things from sculpturing to drawing and designing machines .. etc etc ... and while i don't aspire to follow his school of painting or sculpturing i do like his studies of the human body/anatomy a lot ... and also hope to have even 1/100 of his versatility (to be capable of drawing, coloring, making stories/comics, designing all sorts of clothes/machinery/architecture .. etc etc).

Human Body
There is a lot about the human body that really amazes me and inspires me to draw .... how every muscle, bone, organ intertwine and interact is just amazing ... for me the human body is the most interesting drawing subject of all ... if you ever want a good place to start studying anatomy .. try Andrew Loomis Books .. they are stunning .. specially for beginners .. later on you can use live photos and references .. and DA has plenty of that too ^_^

Japan
There is something about Japan that truly mystifies me, it isn't just the culture and the myths of the past .. it something beyond that, i can't put my finger on it exactly .. maybe it's a mix of both or neither .. but i know for sure that there is something about Japan that inspires me a lot ^_^

Insects
Of all the inhabitants of nature insects are the most fascinating for me, there is something about them that not only inspires me to draw but also study the little buggers ... did i mention Shirow also studied insects anatomy alongside mechanics in order to incorporate them both in his designs (His adorable tachikoma in Ghost in the Shell are partly based on spiders for example) .. he is partly responsible for my fascination with bugs.

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Phew ... that's all .. hope you enjoyed reading ^_^

Now go make yours .. you can find the original here --> [link] ... along with an example by fox himself --> [link] and another example by the talented here --> [link]

Go now .. do it .. why are still reading this XD