"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"
The Main Cast of the upcoming web comic HOME
Its that time of year again, time to break out the carving tools a and cut up a pumpkin. (followed by baking delicious pumpkin flavored treats) So here is my delightfully creepy jack-o-lantern. The blood is made from mixing rubber cement with food coloring, it looks great, kinda like chunky blood, which looks perfect coming out of his mouth. Happy Halloween everyone!
I finally got around to doing this! It was very fun and definitely a journey of self discovery. The list is not in any real order, but their size does reflect their amount of influence.
if you are interested here are some explanations as to who/what all these are.
And you can find the original template here: http://fox-orian.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2vx881
1. Alfonse Mucha: One of my biggest influences, the beautiful design/illustration mix has contributed to everything in my art, from the way I draw people, (especially beautiful women) to my philosophy on mixing the genres of illustration and graphic design.
2. Tara McPherson: Subject matter and style. Her creepy, slightly macabre, and yet very playful and cute style just makes me all warm inside. :D
3. Patrick Nagel: Ever since I was a kid I had a thing for Nagel's style, and not because his illustrations showed up in Playboy. The 1980's fashion, Art Nouveau influences, and graphic design/illustration mix make Nagel a more modern Mucha and, of course a huge influence.
4. Frank Lloyd Wright: When I was 4-9 years old I wanted to be an architect. During these years my number one influence was Frank Lloyd Wright. Although my focus has shifted away from all the wonderful math of architecture, I still love to draw fantastical buildings and such, and Wright still influences such drawings.
5. Charles Vess: A somewhat recent influence, Vess brought a nice take on digital painting and fantasy style to my work.
6. Pyramid Head: Really most of the Silent Hill world here, but out of it all Pyramid Head stands tall. The phycological horror that pulls from primal fears hiding in the back of your mind is what fuels the world of Silent Hill. It is this horror that inspires the thoughts of what else the darkness may be hiding, and in turn the need to render it in glorious detail, bringing the fear out of the dark to see just how horrible it really is. I just love it. :D As far as the dreaded Pyramid Head, 75% of me is terrified of him… and 25% wants to be him.
7. Alien-like Se creatures: Especially jellyfish. EVerything about them is wondrous, and through them many grand ideas have taken shape over the years.
8. H.P. Lovecraft: Horror, Insanity, etc. As it is said, there is a fine line between genius and insanity, this holds true in all of my artwork, I am never sure if I am brilliant or just crazy. Lovecraft's stories nail that essence perfectly.
9. Sandman: All of Neil Gaiman's work is wonderful and influential to me in many ways, but none as much as Sandman. I strive in my own story-telling adventures to pour as much detail and life into my characters and worlds.
10. The Knife: I choose the Knife here because they are the most recent influential source of music, but really lots more electronic music falls here. When I am stuck on something I pop on Pandora and listen to the trance inducing bips and boops of the modern electronic station. If i'm not stuck I still turn it on and just zone out, draw, and see what comes of it., always a great experience.
11. Blizzard Entertainment: Although I often hate to admit how much I play it, the Warcraft universe is one of my favorite fantasy settings. I draw so much inspiration from the world, characters, and story that I feel like I know the lore as well as the creators (a little sad, i know).
12. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, Deep Character Development, AND Giant Robots. What's not to love here? Definitely one of the biggest animation influences on my work. All of the above (robots the least) have factored into my work in great amounts over the years, and the remake of the series recently has once again rekindled that inspiration. (on a side note, Evangelion 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, is quite possible the greatest animated feature I have ever seen.)
13. Loish: Since I discovered her work a few years ago it has influence nearly every single piece I have done since in one way or another. She is like Mucha on acid if he had access to Photoshop, a great combination. I only hope to be as skilled one day.
