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Description
so, i posted an influence map in 2010 , but i've since felt the need to update it. i wanted to reference more specific pieces that inspired me as well as create a better idea of how my style came to be. i often get asked how i found my style, what my inspirations are and what my style is called (i have no idea - does anyone know??). i'm hoping this will help answer those questions!

here are links/explanations for each image:

1. rose besch / bara-chan - her work influenced me a lot when i was drawing intensively at the age of 17 and 18.
main influences: her approach to proportions and creating dynamic illustrations full of life and personality.

2. Jana Schirmer / janaschi : i've been following her work since she was generally known as the 14-year-old oekaki prodigy back in 2003. her work still inspires me enormously.
main influences: the thick, painterly coloring style + overall style of drawing characters.

3. lostfish : when i discovered her art, she was known as "rusty" on an oekaki board called 'oekaki circle'. her style has evolved enormously since then.
main influences: she drew a lot of fish in her art, as well as adding gothic/punky touches to the characters she drew, inspiring me to do the same.

4. klar : a fantastic artist who drew a lot of neat anthro characters when i discovered her work as a teenager. it always made me think of contemporary takes on 70's illustrations.
main influences: the proportions, 'chunky' aesthetic and faded brown colors/textures.

5. saka a.k.a sukinahito - i've been following her artwork since 2002, so it really inspired my early artwork.
main influences: the thick painting style, especially for the facial features and skin tones. the highlights on the faces she draws.

6. Paul Davey / mattahan - i discovered his work in college and was captivated by the poetic atmosphere he creates in his work.
main influences: the piece pictured above inspired a whole phase of ribbon-y artwork for me.

7. Eric Fortune : discovering his work also contributed to a surreal ribbony-phase.
main influences: the surreal, dream-like atmosphere and flowing forms.

8. Hyung Tae-Kim : his work made me want to completely change my painting style. before discovering it, i used relatively flat coloring techniques.
main influences: the creamy skintones, pronounced highlights and painterly feel.

9. Norman Rockwell: what's not to love about this fantastic artist?
main influences: the limited palette, skin tones and style of drawing faces in profile view.

6. Gil Elvgren + pinup art: definitely an inspiration for almost all of my artwork.
main influences: the flirty attitude and pinup format in general, as well as the painted style that Gil Elvgren has in his work.

11. Padmé concept art by Iain McCraig: when i first saw Star Wars: Episode II as a teenager, i was totally blown away by how beautiful padmé was. the outfits still blow my mind, even though i recently discovered that i no longer like the movie at ALL. :[
main influences: the style of designing surreal, futuristic costumes and feminine, art nouveau-like style.

12. zain7 : this is what i aspire to be able to convey someday in my environment drawings.
main influences: the approach to color, the detail in the environments.

13. Aurore Demilly / auroreblackcat : her work was my number one inspiration from 2003-2004. i loved her mix of manga + french comic style and the sweetness of her female characters.
main influences: her overall drawing style, especially how she drew faces.

14. YiLee : a korean concept artist whose work i've been following since 2004.
main influences: the textured look of his painting style, the colors (earthy shades with bright reds and blues), the overall sense of style.

15. MichaelShapcott : the decorative elements in his work and melancholic feel really inspired me when i discovered his work in college.
main influences: the colors, textures and circular decorative elements.

16. Benjamin Zhang Bin: i discovered his comics through a friend of mine in 2005. the style is striking and very unique.
main influences: the approach to color, the painterly style, and warm lighting.

17. disney / the little mermaid - an obvious one for people who have been following my work since 2003 or so. i still have all my disney fanart up at disney.loish.net for those who are interested!
main influences: the flowy, cartoony style and the exaggerated girlyness.

18. Koji Morimoto: His use of contrasting colors, especially blue and red, and the gritty, dystopian style really appealed to me when i discovered it in the 'animatrix' in 2004.
main influences: bright colors, cool shapes, edgy punky style.

19. underwater imagery + sea creatures: another obvious one :]
main influences: the creepy but beautiful appearance of the sea creatures and the floaty, dreamy atmosphere of underwater settings, as well as the colors.

20. retro colors: i've always been drawn to color combinations that have a 60's feel, or anything that feels old and faded, because of the nostalgic feeling it creates. the record player is a print by artist Jack Hughes .
main influences: palette and design elements.

21. Francisco Perez / pacman23 : he posted a coloring tutorial in 2004 when i was trying to develop a painting style with more depth. this was the first time it had ever occurred to me that i could layer lighter colors over a darker base layer, which has become a really crucial defining element of how i paint now!
main influences: approach to shadows and creating depth.

22. Alfonse Mucha: my number one inspiration, from when i started drawing more in 2001 to now.
main influences: everything - the overall style, the compositions, poses, color schemes, approach to detail, etc.

23. James Jean : i researched his work for my master's thesis in 2009 and it had a pretty big impact on my artwork at that time.
main influences: the surreal style, striking colors and flowing forms.

24. Gustav Klimt: art nouveau in general is a huge inspiration to me but klimt is one of my particular favorites.
main influences: the soft, impressionistic painting style combined with bright decorative circles + shapes, as well as the earthy colors.

25. Les Triplettes de Belleville : seeing this movie triggered me to draw in more earthy tones, and step away from only bright candy colors for a while.
main influences: the textured, faded feel.

26. Wallpaper patterns: i used these quite intensively for a long time.
main influences: the overall look of 70's and damask wallpaper patterns as background elements in my work.

27. J.C Leyendecker: another great painter that never ceases to inspire. i especially love his saturday evening post covers.
main influences: thick, painterly brushstroke and skintones. the overall 'creamy' look.

28. Cityscapes and urban settings: this type of imagery has always inspired me, especially the combination of something run-down and sad, but still beautiful and tranquil somehow. i was born and spent the first four years of my life living in an apartment block so i guess this is a form of nostalgia for me.
main influences: the faded colors and gritty feeling.

29. beautiful and fashionable girls on the internet: the list wouldn't be complete without this! the girls pictured are Kaylah from The Dainty Squid and Otiliah from ourbungalow.tumblr.com , but there are of course many more awesome ladies whose blogs i follow on tumblr.
main influences: their unique style and beauty!

[original template here ]

Description
so, i posted an influence map in 2010 , but i've since felt the need to update it. i wanted to reference more specific pieces that inspired me as well as create a better idea of how my style came to be. i often get asked how i found my style, what my inspirations are and what my style is called (i have no idea - does anyone know??). i'm hoping this will help answer those questions!

here are links/explanations for each image:

1. rose besch / bara-chan - her work influenced me a lot when i was drawing intensively at the age of 17 and 18.
main influences: her approach to proportions and creating dynamic illustrations full of life and personality.

2. Jana Schirmer / janaschi : i've been following her work since she was generally known as the 14-year-old oekaki prodigy back in 2003. her work still inspires me enormously.
main influences: the thick, painterly coloring style + overall style of drawing characters.

3. lostfish : when i discovered her art, she was known as "rusty" on an oekaki board called 'oekaki circle'. her style has evolved enormously since then.
main influences: she drew a lot of fish in her art, as well as adding gothic/punky touches to the characters she drew, inspiring me to do the same.

4. klar : a fantastic artist who drew a lot of neat anthro characters when i discovered her work as a teenager. it always made me think of contemporary takes on 70's illustrations.
main influences: the proportions, 'chunky' aesthetic and faded brown colors/textures.

5. saka a.k.a sukinahito - i've been following her artwork since 2002, so it really inspired my early artwork.
main influences: the thick painting style, especially for the facial features and skin tones. the highlights on the faces she draws.

6. Paul Davey / mattahan - i discovered his work in college and was captivated by the poetic atmosphere he creates in his work.
main influences: the piece pictured above inspired a whole phase of ribbon-y artwork for me.

7. Eric Fortune : discovering his work also contributed to a surreal ribbony-phase.
main influences: the surreal, dream-like atmosphere and flowing forms.

8. Hyung Tae-Kim : his work made me want to completely change my painting style. before discovering it, i used relatively flat coloring techniques.
main influences: the creamy skintones, pronounced highlights and painterly feel.

9. Norman Rockwell: what's not to love about this fantastic artist?
main influences: the limited palette, skin tones and style of drawing faces in profile view.

6. Gil Elvgren + pinup art: definitely an inspiration for almost all of my artwork.
main influences: the flirty attitude and pinup format in general, as well as the painted style that Gil Elvgren has in his work.

11. Padmé concept art by Iain McCraig: when i first saw Star Wars: Episode II as a teenager, i was totally blown away by how beautiful padmé was. the outfits still blow my mind, even though i recently discovered that i no longer like the movie at ALL. :[
main influences: the style of designing surreal, futuristic costumes and feminine, art nouveau-like style.

12. zain7 : this is what i aspire to be able to convey someday in my environment drawings.
main influences: the approach to color, the detail in the environments.

13. Aurore Demilly / auroreblackcat : her work was my number one inspiration from 2003-2004. i loved her mix of manga + french comic style and the sweetness of her female characters.
main influences: her overall drawing style, especially how she drew faces.

14. YiLee : a korean concept artist whose work i've been following since 2004.
main influences: the textured look of his painting style, the colors (earthy shades with bright reds and blues), the overall sense of style.

15. MichaelShapcott : the decorative elements in his work and melancholic feel really inspired me when i discovered his work in college.
main influences: the colors, textures and circular decorative elements.

16. Benjamin Zhang Bin: i discovered his comics through a friend of mine in 2005. the style is striking and very unique.
main influences: the approach to color, the painterly style, and warm lighting.

17. disney / the little mermaid - an obvious one for people who have been following my work since 2003 or so. i still have all my disney fanart up at disney.loish.net for those who are interested!
main influences: the flowy, cartoony style and the exaggerated girlyness.

18. Koji Morimoto: His use of contrasting colors, especially blue and red, and the gritty, dystopian style really appealed to me when i discovered it in the 'animatrix' in 2004.
main influences: bright colors, cool shapes, edgy punky style.

19. underwater imagery + sea creatures: another obvious one :]
main influences: the creepy but beautiful appearance of the sea creatures and the floaty, dreamy atmosphere of underwater settings, as well as the colors.

20. retro colors: i've always been drawn to color combinations that have a 60's feel, or anything that feels old and faded, because of the nostalgic feeling it creates. the record player is a print by artist Jack Hughes .
main influences: palette and design elements.

21. Francisco Perez / pacman23 : he posted a coloring tutorial in 2004 when i was trying to develop a painting style with more depth. this was the first time it had ever occurred to me that i could layer lighter colors over a darker base layer, which has become a really crucial defining element of how i paint now!
main influences: approach to shadows and creating depth.

22. Alfonse Mucha: my number one inspiration, from when i started drawing more in 2001 to now.
main influences: everything - the overall style, the compositions, poses, color schemes, approach to detail, etc.

23. James Jean : i researched his work for my master's thesis in 2009 and it had a pretty big impact on my artwork at that time.
main influences: the surreal style, striking colors and flowing forms.

24. Gustav Klimt: art nouveau in general is a huge inspiration to me but klimt is one of my particular favorites.
main influences: the soft, impressionistic painting style combined with bright decorative circles + shapes, as well as the earthy colors.

25. Les Triplettes de Belleville : seeing this movie triggered me to draw in more earthy tones, and step away from only bright candy colors for a while.
main influences: the textured, faded feel.

26. Wallpaper patterns: i used these quite intensively for a long time.
main influences: the overall look of 70's and damask wallpaper patterns as background elements in my work.

27. J.C Leyendecker: another great painter that never ceases to inspire. i especially love his saturday evening post covers.
main influences: thick, painterly brushstroke and skintones. the overall 'creamy' look.

28. Cityscapes and urban settings: this type of imagery has always inspired me, especially the combination of something run-down and sad, but still beautiful and tranquil somehow. i was born and spent the first four years of my life living in an apartment block so i guess this is a form of nostalgia for me.
main influences: the faded colors and gritty feeling.

29. beautiful and fashionable girls on the internet: the list wouldn't be complete without this! the girls pictured are Kaylah from The Dainty Squid and Otiliah from ourbungalow.tumblr.com , but there are of course many more awesome ladies whose blogs i follow on tumblr.
main influences: their unique style and beauty!

[original template here ]