In 5th grade, my best friend introduced me to a certain cartoon called Sailor Moon. I fell in love instantly. I watch it every time it came on. I lived and breathed that show. I was so inspired by it that I began drawing the characters. And then I drifted away from those specific characters and drew my own, created from that style.
So I would say Naoko Takeuchi, the original creator of Sailor Moon, is my biggest creative influence. I have drifted away from her more recently, however. After taking a graphic novel class, it struck home that I need to develop something more unique to me, rather than stick with the same old thing. I've really only taken her style and let it go where it wanted. Perhaps I need to take in as many different styles as possible, and so blend them together incomprehensibly into something new and my own.
Mostly like stemming from my initial Magical Girl obsession discussed above, I found myself loving the work of Alphonse Mucha. Swoon! I absolutely love the colors, the classic looks (reminiscent of classical Greek statues and drapery), and of course the beautiful female figures. (That sounds creepier than I intend it to be.) But really, Mucha's women all have a little meat on their bones. None of them are skinny as a rail, as current fashion is trending towards. I appreciate that, as a not-a-stick girl myself. Many of his pieces are about nature, including personifications of the seasons and months, something I've attempted in the past.
Mucha's work has not yet influenced my own, but I intend to try the flowing hair and clothes, the "halo", and the subtle color patterns.
More influences to come!
PS: Imagine my surprise when I went back to a Sailor Moon book I bought when I was younger and saw the following picture, combining my two loves, as if someone out there just KNEW.
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