I am pretty new here, and have seen LOTS of different, unique artistic styles. Who are your influences artistically?

I think this might fit better in the Art/Literature subforum. Anyway, I've already posted my main artistic influences (though more can certainly be added to the list - Tetsuya Nomura, for example, and Alphonse Mucha) in this thread over there. :)

Mike Ploog, Tardi, Wally Wood, Egon Schiele, and Edward Hopper are some of the bigger ones.

Who are some of yours?

I have alot of influences, that run the gambit. Jack Kirby is propably the stonger influence, then Joe Mad, Perez, Grell, Timothy Truman, Byrne, Miller, Bissette, Robert Crumb, Corben, I'm sure I left people out. I just love the medium and the artform of graphic storytelling through words and pictures. :-)

Yeah, I should have said Perez too. I attended a lecture Bissette gave when I was in college but I didn't really realize who he was at the time.

Hmm... in random order :)

Dave McKean, David Mack, Ashley Wood, Ben Templesmith, Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Pope, P. Craig Russell, Sam Kieth... and Philippe Druillet, whose work might not have any effect on my style directly, but it certainly jumpstarted a large chunk of my imagination.

I might go later to that other thread with an updated list and a bunch of examples, but not right now...

I had lunch with Jack Kirby at an early Chicago comicon. My friend and I were just sitting there, outside by the pool, when he walked up. we knew who he was, but never actually spoke to hi before. he asked if he could sit for a while, and proceeded to tell us stories of him and his platoon during ww2. One story, had Jack jumping onto an enemy tank and, turning the turrent away from his embedded platoon team, thus saving their lives............Yeah, we know it was probably just a story,...but man, did it sound good, and, in a way, I like to believe it was true. :-)

For my comic? I developed my eye style from reading the sonic comics, but that's not even noticable XD Other than that, I have no idea.

But fine art wise, I've been influenced by kandinsky, giger... Mostly unknown artists though. You can find some amazing artists through google images and such.

I can tell you it isn't Frank Miller.
I hear it all the time and don't get me wrong...I like Frank Miller's art, but honestly he isn't my influence.
I think the reason most people make that comparison is because of the addition of a third color I use in my comic is as he did on Sin City and its noir feel.
But I think that's where the comparison ends.

Old B&W films, Noir books and films and Early films by Akira Kurosawa.
Those are my influences.

For some reason, I could go on about this for hours. And no, it's not because I'm a self-important prick who likes talking about himself too much. I mean, I am, but that's not the reason. ;-)

Bulletproof gets compared to Wildstorm comics a lot, and I don't disagree - Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell and Travis Charest were huge influences for me, and I can see the similarities in content as well, I just happen to think a lot of what they do is good examples of mainstream superhero stuff done right.

Erik Larsen was also a huge influence, and Dave Johnson's second Superpatriot miniseries is one of my bibles when it comes to how to do it right.

As for non-comic artists, mostly H.R. Giger and Frank Frazetta.

Don't get me started about writers.

Japanese anime, Tagalog comics, and the figure drawing classes I took. I cant really zero in on a particular person cuz I wasnt really that in to art at first.

Mike Mignola, Matt Wagner, and Mike Allred.

I read Matt Wagner's first "Mage" series when my grandfather brought it home for me as a kid, and I was hooked on Wagner for life. It was the first time I realized that all the old stories and mythology stuff I was obsessed with could actually fit in comics and popular culture. I think Mage was the first time the idea of the hero not being in a cape, tights, and wearing a mask had ever been brought to my attention, too. Something about a guy in a jeans and t-shirt fighting the forces of evil appealed to me.

Then, Mike Mignola's Hellboy came along when I was...damn...about 11 or 12. That was it. All of the sudden, it was OK to be that kid who read WAY too much and knew way too much about mythology and folklore. The art was like nothing else out there, and the story-telling was simple but kept you wanting more and more. You didn't MIND that you didn't know where all of the characters came from. They were just... THERE...and the comic was just too good for it to even be an issue. I think it was the first comic I ever read that didn't really have action lines in it, too. For some reason, I found that insanely cool. Mignola's penchant for Lovecraftian monsters and stories didn't hurt either. Lovecraft's been one of my faves since Pop read them to me at bedtime just to give me nightmares.

Mike Allred's Madman was given to me by a friend's older brother when I was in Jr. High, and struck a chord because until I read that...almost all the heroes I liked were "dark" or dark-ish. Madman was this cool, generally upbeat guy who just seemed to find a way to be this really nice guy no matter what got thrown his way. And beat up bad guys with a yoyo and one of those Zebra disc guns. I loved those as a kid. Plus, Allred's art is amazing and the way he draws a fight scene is fantastic. You can almost SEE each move flowing into the other like it was happening in front of you. His way of coloring was/is terrific in that it's bright and shiny...like a comic book should be...and painted. Not computered. I still feel like there's too much computer shenanigans in comics.

...and I've rambled on way too much. Sorry about that. Opened a can of worms with the subject and the graveyard shift leaves me with time to babble.

ttyler
I had lunch with Jack Kirby at an early Chicago comicon. My friend and I were just sitting there, outside by the pool, when he walked up. we knew who he was, but never actually spoke to hi before. he asked if he could sit for a while, and proceeded to tell us stories of him and his platoon during ww2. One story, had Jack jumping onto an enemy tank and, turning the turrent away from his embedded platoon team, thus saving their lives............Yeah, we know it was probably just a story,...but man, did it sound good, and, in a way, I like to believe it was true. :-)

Jack Kirby was $#%^&% Captain America! Guess he didn't have to look far for the inspiration.

Definatly Mike "Gabe" Krahulik from Penny Arcade, he actually inspired me to draw!

Hiroyuki Imaishi, Glen Murakami, Genndy Tartokovski, Brandon Graham, Jeff Matsuda, and ...um that's all I can think of right now.

Not that I'm anywhere near as talented as these people, but they are all rather responsible for my wanting to be a cartoonist:

Adam Warren
The pseudo-anime style. The intensity of the action. The humor. Adam Warren is my favorite comic artist. EVAR!

J. Scott Campbell
Master of the sexy pose. I don't like his early Gen 13 stuff, but he's really made a name for himself by drawing the girls.

Al Rio
The man just knows how to draw women. Damn!

Bill Watterson
DUH! He should be on everyone's list. The man brought back stylistic comics during an age dominated by crap like Cathy and Garfield. Extreme poses. Funny facial expressions. Every panel unique and special. Watterson's work was a celebration of imagination and creativity.

Walt Kelly
Another master of the facial expression. Walt was great for ironic sense of humor and application of local color. He was the 20th Century's equivelant of Mark Twain.

Ironically, my introduction to Pogo was a claymation film that was broadcast on Spectrum when I was a kid. (WOW, am I showing my age!) Sadly, I don't think the movie has been transferred to DVD, but I keep hoping.

Best. Stop-motion. Ever.

I'd probably have to say that my biggest influence is Tim Tyler.

When i was little i used to LOVE going up and looking at my uncle T's art and huge

collection of comics. He's taught me basicly everything i know today about comic

art. Here's to you Timmy ol' boy! :)

I was in the same class as Adam Warren at the Kubert school, a loooong time ago.
Thanks Mr. C........your character designs inspires me as well!! Now....wheres that dollar you owe me. lol

Sorry, left it in my other avatar >_> <_<

Well, I believe it would be Sonic the Hedgehog, since that's what got me started in the first place.

But then again, I have seemed to develop my 'own' style. So I'm not really sure.

Golden, Snejbjerg, Sale, Kirby.

Oh, yeah, Davis (Alan).

TheMidge28
films by Akira Kurosawa.

Kurosawa is probably my all-time favorite director. I'd mark him and Dave Barry ans my biggest influences when it comes to writing. Kurosawa heavily influenced the way I like to tell stories, while Barry's influence is pretty obvious in my news posts.

So far as I have any influences in my art, I guess it would be Gary Larson. I got the dark line he draws for animal's eyes that I use for thuggish characters and the single panel concept from him. Other than that, my artwork in my comics is pretty much completely my own creation.

Not in particular order: John Byrne (X-Men with Terry Austin), George Perez (1980 Teen Titans, Wonder Woman), Frank Miller (Wolverine), John Romita, Sr., Jack Kirby, Alan Moore, Sal Buscema and Terry Moore.

I was also profoundly affected by the Ayashi No Ceres anime when I saw it a little over a year ago. I was impressed with the visual storytelling.

Um, I guess it's Gosho Aoyama, since Detective Conan/Case Closed is the only comic/manga I read, and it's the only style I've ever really tried to mimic before. I don't really get into many comics or art in general. (I draw because I have no one to draw for me. :P )

I have tons of story influences, though -- ranges from Sherlock Holmes to I Love Lucy (and a ton of other things).

Oh! I thought of a few more.

Scott Ramsoonair -(http://www.vgcats.com/) His awesome coloring style, and expressions are quite good.
Mike Krahulik -(http://www.penny-arcade.com/) Do I even need to explain? Just amazing.
Elson Wong - (http://www.darkspeeds.com/) Check him out. Oh, he's quite awesome, he started out drawing Sonic the Hedgehog as well, but he's progressed much more than I. lol. He started earlier too.
Sam Logan - (http://www.samandfuzzy.com/) An amazing artist. So good, he does it all in black and white. His expressions are one of the best I've seen.


And last but not least...

Doug TeNapel and Rob Schrab both great print comic book artists. TeNapel made Earthworm Jim, one of my favorite things of all time.
And Schrab made Scud, one of the greatest comics ever to hit the face of the earth.

And the only ones that aren't in this, is Street Fighter, and the artist of the Battletoads.

:)

I find it interesting that all the "different, unique artistic styles" that are present here on Drunk Duck, seem to drawing inspiration from many of the same artists.
Which goes to prove that "inspiration" is not "imitation".

With that said, many of my influences are the "silver age" artists. guys like Carmine Infantino, John Romita, Ross Andru, Neal Adams, John/Sal Buscema, Murphy Anderson, Jim Aparo, Gil Kane, Dick Dillin, and of course The legendary... Jack Kirby!

Later influences would be artists like John Byrne and George Perez.

So many people were and are influenced by Jack Kirby, if they know it or not. Like John Byrne? He was influenced by Kirby. Barry windsor Smith? Kirby. (look at his early work.) Buscema drew like Kirby early on, Perez, Ladronn, Simonson, Alan Davis does alot of Kirby like stuff, Erik Larsen, Steranko's early stuff, Bruce Timm, ect......even Jim Lee has Kirby in him. Just an incredible visionary, if you like his stuff or not. When I went to the Kubert school, I sat down with Joe Kubert one day, and he talked Kirby like Kirby was beyond comparison. Coming from Joe Kubert, that told me something.

Kirby was new. He did stuff with comics that had never been done before. In that way it makes him similar to Osamu Tezuka, only Tezuka changed his style more than Kirby did throughout his lifetime.

I think "life" should be on everyone's artistic influences list. It doesn't matter what artists you were inspired by. If you can't draw realistically from life first and foremost then you're really not worth too much as an artist. Picasso only developed his other styles because he was a master of drawing reality and got bored with it.
All art springs from what is perceived in the real world.

In no special order:

Boris Vallejo, Brom, John Ridgway, Olivia deBeradinis, Chris Achilleos, Luis Royo, Julie Bell, Tim White, Wolf, Coop, Robert Crumb, Steve Purcell, Dali, Durer, Burne-Jones, Bosch, Frazetta, Doré...

Not a huge number of comic book artists in there, as I'm mostly a writer first and foremost.

I don't think I've ever really tried to mimic anyone's style before - early on, I wanted to draw like all the anime artists, but I'm moving away from that pretty rapidly. Now, I guess my biggest influence/coaching comes from BetaJess (the other mastermind behind the comic) - she's so far the only one who isn't afraid to tell me, "Hey, that really sucks - why don't you try this?" =]