I have TWO HUGE influences...

John Byrne (EVERY COMIC! Notably created Marvel's Alpha Flight)

-AND-

Tom Batiuk (Funky Winkerbean)

Both write and draw excellent comic stories/strips!

Would love to hear YOURS...I'm sensing heavy anime influence. Any notables?

Toshihiro Ono - the man who inspired me to try writing comics. His pokemon comics were the first Manga I ever read and I fell in love with the medium immediately. He didn't just draw pokemon, he drew them slightly more naturalistically and WAY more badass than Ken Sugimori ever could. One look at his Gyrados images will show what I mean. He also drew the scariest Haunter I have ever seen.

He paralleled the pokemon anime and gave it a lot of awesome tweaking, with my most favorite ones being Ash catching a huge Fearow in the first issue (Which he uses frequently) and Misty changing her hairdo and wearing more than one outfit (I mean, how many girls wear one outfit for that long?), not to mention getting rid of Tracey. He gave the entire Pokemon universe an entirely different feel, one that I found fascinating. He did a good job of expressing the desperation and hardship as well as the personality of the world that that anime never touched on (Ash having money hardships and getting lazy in his attire without Misty around, etc.)

Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Bendis, Maleev, Bill Willingham, Garth Ennis, Matt Hollingsworth...

So many more, but those're the main ones.

I think my main comic influences (epsecially when I was young) are - Alex Toth, Jaime Hernandez, Steve Rude, Osamu Tezuka, and Stan Lee. More recently, I'd say I've been inspired by Dwayne McDuffie, Frank Miller, Will Eisner, Darwyn Cook, Frank Quitely and grant Morrison.

Hmm - Sometime i should sit down and list my favorite writers and artists who *haven't* influenced me. Like, I LOVE Warren Ellis - but I dont see him having influence on my work - at least, not yet. I could say the same thing about Masamune Shirow or Bill Willingham. Gee - I hope they influence me more soon!

My style in not very similar but Akira Toriyama is my greatest influence.

Hmm...My artistic influences include the rather diverse selection of:
Kubo Taito (Zombie Powder, Bleach), Kosuke Fujishima (Ah My Goddess!), CLAMP (What? Surely you know who Clamp are!), Nomura (The Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts director and character designer), Stuart Immonen (Nextwave), Mike Allred (X-statix), Adrian Alphona (Runaways).
There are probably others I haven't thought of here. People say my art is 'Naruto-esque', but I can't say I was heavily influenced by that manga.

Hm, on the short list of influences: John Byrne, George Perez, Martin Wagner of Hepcats and probably Frank Miller, Jack Kirby and a few others.

WOW! Frank Miller! CANNOT forget Frank Miller!

StaceyMontgomery
More recently, I'd say I've been inspired by Dwayne McDuffie...

Maybe this is cheesy but, I like the stuff that McDuffie has done to much of the TV comics - Justice League, JL Unlimited, I hear he was responsible for Batman Beyond. Great transistion from paperback to the silver screen.

Darth Mongoose
CLAMP (What? Surely you know who Clamp are!), Nomura (The Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts director and character designer), Stuart Immonen (Nextwave), Mike Allred (X-statix), Adrian Alphona (Runaways).
There are probably others I haven't thought of here. People say my art is 'Naruto-esque', but I can't say I was heavily influenced by that manga.

Who is CLAMP? Seriously...

Also, maybe this a topic for a different forum but, is it safe to say that ANIME art or even MAGNA art cannot be identified immediately by who did what? It all seems to look the same. For instance, I could look at John Byrne without knowing John Byrne did it and RIGHT AWAY say...Ooooh John Byrne - Same with Alex Ross (Any Alex Ross fans?)

Now that sounds like a topic for debate.

Hmmm. Herge (Tintin) for sure. Uderzo (Asterix) as well, though I doubt I will ever have their patience for background detail... There are also some Kenshin influences (artist is Nobuhiro Watsuki, right?) and a little bit of whomever made Papyrus. Maybe.

Tantz Aerine
Hmmm. Herge (Tintin) for sure. Uderzo (Asterix) as well, though I doubt I will ever have their patience for background detail... There are also some Kenshin influences (artist is Nobuhiro Watsuki, right?) and a little bit of whomever made Papyrus. Maybe.

I forgot Herge! I cannot believe it!

As for CLAMP, they're an all-female team of manga artists. They did such popular things as Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits.

The only comic I ever read is Detective Conan, so I guess Gosho Aoyama is my only influence(?) That might explain my characters' big goofy ears. I'm probably influenced by the storytelling too... He is influenced by the great mystery writers, and I'm a mystery novel fan myself.

blntmaker
Who is CLAMP? Seriously...

CLAMP are a group of four female manga artists who are very famous~ their most famous work is probably "Card Captor Sakura" (made into an anime called "Cardcaptors" in the west *shudder*) though other titles like "Chobits" and "Magic Knight Rayearth" have also gained considerable popularity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clamp_(manga_artists) http://www.eluts.com/ ... mmm mmmm... my god I want one... so so so pretty. I immediately started emulating those big almond-shaped eyes, drawing in the tear ducts, very petite noses, small mouths~ at a similar sort of time I discovered the work of Kouyu Shurei... I didn't appreciate her storytelling much but her artwork is breathtaking - I took a fair few influences from that. *nodnod* I also LOVE Ai Yazawa~ I totally stole the way each of her characters has a unique style and changes their clothes more often than I do. XD I've taken a lot of things from Yazawa's writing style too~ the dramaticly emotive, almost soap opera-type action that happens is just awesome. Me loves.

blntmaker
Also, maybe this a topic for a different forum but, is it safe to say that ANIME art or even MAGNA art cannot be identified immediately by who did what? It all seems to look the same. For instance, I could look at John Byrne without knowing John Byrne did it and RIGHT AWAY say...Ooooh John Byrne - Same with Alex Ross (Any Alex Ross fans?)

Now that sounds like a topic for debate.

You sound like one of those people who says "Asians all look the same" with that quote. Like was said before, it just takes some time, but you can identify the styles eventually.

For example, you can probably look at the art from Dragon Quest [en.wikipedia.org] and say "Holy crap! It looks like the art from Dragon Ball Z [en.wikipedia.org]!" That's because it's by the same artist: Akira Toriyama. You just need to immerse yourself a little more to see the differences.

Then again, I could probably never tell the difference between John Byrne or Alex Ross...

blntmaker
Also, maybe this a topic for a different forum but, is it safe to say that ANIME art or even MAGNA art cannot be identified immediately by who did what? It all seems to look the same.

Oh good grief, I bet you're one of those people who says 'huh, manga? That's all like Pokemon, isn't it?' *headdesk* Look, you know how with American comics, on the surface it looks like a bunch of muscular, square-jawed men with Kirby ripoff heavy black shadows, and then when you have your eye in, some artists really stand out, but lots more blur into a generic mess? Manga is like that. There are lots of generic manga artists, then a number who have really noticably distinctive styles. With both types, the more you read, the more you'll be able to tell them apart by smaller and smaller differences in the art. On the surface, if you haven't read it, it might look to you like just skinny people with big eyes and little noses and mouths and spiky hair, and that's kind of what it's sometimes like, but that's just a sweeping, general statement. It just SEEMS to look the same because you're not used to it, so you're looking at it superficially.

Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane mainly, though I am also influenced by Masashi Kishimoto.

Darth Mongoose

blntmaker
Also, maybe this a topic for a different forum but, is it safe to say that ANIME art or even MAGNA art cannot be identified immediately by who did what? It all seems to look the same. Oh good grief, I bet you're one of those people who says 'huh, manga? That's all like Pokemon, isn't it?'

Ohhhhh-KAY. WHOA.

The "All Asians look alike" analogy? Ease up a bit. I enjoy the look of ANIME and MAGNA too - I'm just not too familiar with any ARTISTS of that genre. Identifying ONE artist's work with another. But that's what a forum is for, right? To DISCUSS it so a guy like me CAN learn more. Not tell me I think "All Asians look alike" or "I'm superficial" about MANGA art.

Because TRUTHFULLY, you cannot sit there and say ALL American artists do the same thing...John Byrne does NOT do what Bill Sienkiewicz does...or Barry Windosr-Smith...or even Todd McFarlane.

If I offended anyone's interests, I apologize. I was HONESTLY just posing a question for discussion.

WOW.

And THIS statement:

"On the surface, if you haven't read it, it might look to you like just skinny people with big eyes and little noses and mouths and spiky hair, and that's kind of what it's sometimes like, but..."

Just confirms what I've been asking because YEAH - sometimes, some of it CANNOT be distinguised. Then again, It's turning into a DIFFERENT topic. Let's just stick with influences and put the sharp objects away, hmm?

Kohdok
For example, you can probably look at the art from Dragon Quest [en.wikipedia.org] and say "Holy crap! It looks like the art from Dragon Ball Z [en.wikipedia.org]!" That's because it's by the same artist: Akira Toriyama. You just need to immerse yourself a little more to see the differences.

Then again, I could probably never tell the difference between John Byrne or Alex Ross...

Gee, I um...never HEARD of Dragon Quest. Then again, that's WHY I asked about ANIME influences. So that we all could have a constructive discussion about it. Have you ever heard of John Byrne or Alex Ross? Ever seen their work? If so, YOU'D know the difference.

wyldflowa
You haven't seen enough manga/anime mate. I could say exactly the same about Fuyumi Soryo or Masashi Kishimoto or Kubo Tite or Miwa Ueda or CLAMP for that matter... I could recognise their artwork in a glance without anyone telling me who the artist was. The styles of Japanese art are just as diverse as western art~ It's not really a subject of debate at all - if you took the time to have a good look at some different manga artists you will see it doesn't all look the same at all!


I think my biggest artistic influence is those beautiful Korean ball-joint dolls: http://www.dreamofdoll.com/ http://www.eluts.com/ ... mmm mmmm... my god I want one... so so so pretty. I immediately started emulating those big almond-shaped eyes, drawing in the tear ducts, very petite noses, small mouths~ at a similar sort of time I discovered the work of Kouyu Shurei...

Thanks for answering my question. Now THAT'S forum talk.

Now see, she understood that I haven't seen enough MANGA/ANIME short of Speed Racer (Well, I've seen much more than that) - But seriously...She identified a case in point and listed trademarks of a particular influence which she uses in her own art and also who has inspired her as an artist.

Now, to the ANIME or even AMERICAN art fans...let's add to that discussion on distinguishing trademarks that we use in our art.

Forgive me if I sounded harsh, I was making a bit of an observation and found a connection I found mildly humorous. I should have highlighted that I was being sarcastic a little more. (Curse bland text and its inability to convey expression!)

As for influences, I have countless from various mangas. I read a lot and if I find a tweak that I like, such as how this artist does the half-closed eye look or how this other artist does a nervous smile, I tend to copy it. I don't know if I could name all of the people who influenced my art aside from the aforementioned author. I guess copying here and there is my nature, as I can copy the art styles of others pretty easily.

My biggest influence is Dan Kim. He does a few comics but specifically his work with tomoyo42's room and nana's everyday life are what do it for me. His ability to take that which is pure and good and turn it into that which is truly horrible (and I mean worst thing you can legaly see horrible) appeals to the internet soldier in me.

gigafelz
My biggest influence is Dan Kim. He does a few comics but specifically his work with tomoyo42's room and nana's everyday life are what do it for me. His ability to take that which is pure and good and turn it into that which is truly horrible (and I mean worst thing you can legaly see horrible) appeals to the internet soldier in me.

Gotta tell ya - I'm getting quite an education! Went to the CLONE MAGNA site and was blown away by the art and some of the stories. Particularly tomoyo42's room. One thing I like about MAGNA is the way eyes are done...and profile sketches.

Great stuff! Keep it coming!

If you don't want a harsh response, don't make ridiculous statements like 'it all looks the same'.

I know of a number of American comics artists, hence why if you look at my list of influences, half the artists are Japanese manga artists, the other half are American comics artists. I also like artists who have a foot in both camps like Takeshi Miyazawa, who's done work on 'Runaways' and 'Spider-man Loves Mary Jane', and Bryan Lee O'Malley, creator of 'Scott Pilgrim', who mixes influences so much that his work doesn't look like either, and is kind of both. I read American comics AND Manga, and it irritates me when fans of either make general statements, dissing the other as 'all the same' and 'all rubbish'. To me, it's all comics. I read both, yet I choose to draw in a manga style, and why do you think that is? It's because I like the manga style, for many reasons, particularly the fact that it gives me great freedom for involving the reader in emotion and action.

On the surface, as I said, it's KIND OF like 'skinny people with big eyes and small noses'. But it goes way deeper than that. Not all manga styles even use big eyes. Just look at the incredibly epic 'Akira' with it's gritty art and ugly characters, or 'Great Teacher Onizuka', another manga without huge eyes. Kia Asamiya, who has worked recently on 'Uncanny X-men', and also made classic manga like 'Silent Moebius' draws characters with HUGE noses, and it's still manga. I use manga because it brought a wealth of techniques to the west, like:
Aspect to aspect panel changes to evoke mood.
Speed lines in backgrounds rather than on the character to give the impression of being in the action moving with the character.
Merging between the real and the metaphorical in the same panel to show emotion.
Heightened emotion through extreme, exaggerated or simplified facial expression.

Recently, American comics have been taking on a lot of these ideas. Just check out 'Ultimate Spider-Man', that uses manga style techniques for action a lot without drawing in a particularly manga style.

Obviously, I could have cut this short by simply showing three examples.

The following comics are all manga, just a tiny handful of manga comics on DD.
My comic:
http://www.drunkduck.com/FanDanGo/

Rainbow Carousel:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Rainbow_Carousel/index.php

Legend of Terrar:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Legend_of_Terrar/

Nemution Jewel:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Nemution_Jewel/index.php

That's barely a glimpse, and hopefully even a manga n00basaurus should be able to see, these are really different comics.

Frank Miller, Jack Kirby, Steve Dillon, Garth Ennis, Michael Avon Oeming, Mike Mignola, Eric Powell.

I tried to ape Mignola's inking style when I first saw his stuff. I failed horribly but ended up developing my failure into my current style, so it worked out okay.

As far as lineart goes, I've been drawing pretty much the same way since I was in 7th grade. I would call my style "Half-Assed Anime". It kinda looks like anime, but is so simplistic you just have to dismiss it. To be honest, I have a hard time pointing out direct influences on my work- I'm way too lazy to ape other styles, so I just use mine.

Writing is a different story, however. My writing is heavily influenced by other webcomics, which unfortunately, isn't a flag for quality. It's got a dash of Penny Arcade, a dose of Questionable Content, a bit of Perry Bible Fellowship, and recently, a teaspoon of Slackerz. (LAMFAO was mostly inspired by KC Green and DD's own Zesty Relations- it was created on a whim.)

My biggest influences artistically are mostly pop artists or lowbrow artists, shag and kid robot for example, also many more who i dont know the name of that I've seen while thumbing through Juxtapoz.

Dave Sim is the biggest by far.

I'd say Micheal Turner and J Scott Campbell are some of my favorites, thought my style seems to be a 12-year old's version of both of them combined.

Kohdok

blntmaker
Also, maybe this a topic for a different forum but, is it safe to say that ANIME art or even MAGNA art cannot be identified immediately by who did what? It all seems to look the same. For instance, I could look at John Byrne without knowing John Byrne did it and RIGHT AWAY say...Ooooh John Byrne - Same with Alex Ross (Any Alex Ross fans?)

Now that sounds like a topic for debate.

You sound like one of those people who says "Asians all look the same" with that quote. Like was said before, it just takes some time, but you can identify the styles eventually.

For example, you can probably look at the art from Dragon Quest [en.wikipedia.org] and say "Holy crap! It looks like the art from Dragon Ball Z [en.wikipedia.org]!" That's because it's by the same artist: Akira Toriyama. You just need to immerse yourself a little more to see the differences.

Then again, I could probably never tell the difference between John Byrne or Alex Ross...

I think the point he is trying to make is that if you DONT take the time, they all look so close to each other that the average person who hasn't read any of the books doesnt see very much diversity. I certainly don't. Even when westerners make manga it looks the same to me. Same exact style with very few variables. In other words, if you took four panels from manga comics and showed them to someone who doesn't know manga at all and said "this was drawn by the same guy." they're more apt to look at it and say, "Yeah, it looks like it." but if you took a panel from Arkham Asylum, The dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, and Venom(the batman book venom) you'll be more hard pressed to convince even the most unknowing person they were drawn by the same person, and if you do, they'll say something about how versatile that person is.