a♄? on cohost

Okay, so. It was a little hard to figure out what to say. Style has never been intentional for me, or felt like it was something I could control? But this is a list of stuff that feels right.

Or, a chart I guess.

A collage of art I like, discussed in more detail below
_{Note: I edited down the original template for this Influence Map, the full version can be found here on deviantart.}

1. Ishikawa Fumi's art for Genso Suikoden III

(And II, but mostly III)
She was the character designer. I think I love how she handles clothing. The layers, the big solid wrinkles, different fabric textures, details that are often (but not always) grounded in real life sewing. On the image above: Chris (the silver-haired knight) has flat-felled seams on that fabric layer under her armor. It looks good and it's sturdy. I love that.

2. Urasawa Naoki

I'm kind of obsessed with how he draws expressions.
This chosen panel is from the manga Pluto.

But also ... I learned a lot from his TV show (MANBEN), where he interviewed other working manga artists and showed their workflows. He did an episode about himself eventually too.

3. Yuki Nobuteru

I'm mostly thinking of his character design work on Chrono Cross and The Vision of Escaflowne.
Specifically these character + flower illustrations that were used for some of the Vision of Escaflowne VHS releases.

4. Otoyomegatari/Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori

These panels are from a scene where a little boy watches a craftsman carving designs into a wooden door. It's so visually exciting for such a quiet moment.
The manga has a big visual focus on the details of life like baking, textiles, embroidery, carving... It's a treat.

5. Figure Drawing: Design and Invention

By Michael Hampton
My favorite (and most personally useful) book on drawing the human body. The way he breaks down the body into shapes and mechanisms was really useful for me and I used his approach in figure drawing sessions.

6. Amano Yoshitaka

Famous illustrator for Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D, and others.
For all the time I've spent looking at his work I don't think there's a visible influence in mine. But yeah he probably goes on this list.

7. VALLONO

I'm not sure yet what the long term influence will be for me, but, since I got into VALLONO I've been influenced to *try* things that intimidated me before. I'm drawing more environments than I used to and there's been some changes to how I think about color.
(For the unfamiliar , it's a webcomic by @xxdovelin and you can find it here)

8. Carl Larsson

His watercolors of his home and family.
I feel like his style would suit fantasy worldbuilding very well? The rooms are so appealing. He can make me interested in kitchen tiles.

9. The Impressionists

This is a John Singer-Sargent painting, but, uh, really it represents my mom's love of the impressionist movement. I grew up always seeing a lot of this stuff because it's her favorite. I'm not that well-read about them, don't ask me anything. My mom just has a ton of artbooks around and that helped define my taste in art. She would also like me to say she loves Mary Cassatt.

10. Alphonse Mucha

I feel like it's very obvious to fall in love with Mucha, but it can't be helped. The line quality on posters, the gentle rendering on paintings.
But these particular arms rewired part of my brain forever. The complex folds inside the hands. The foreshortening for the elbow. Bodies are cool. close-up of some arms