Speaking of inspirations, what better subject to talk about than that of European comic artists? There has not been a single stronger influence in my style than that of people like Cyril Pedrosa, Pierre Alary, Aurélie Blard-Quintard, and Valérie Vernay to name just a few. Their fluid style really swept me off my feet and got me to loosen up my own drawings quite a bit. Within the last couple years, my art has really blossomed into something wonderful and unique.
Examples, you say? Well, sure!
To start off, this is Cyril Pedrosa's style up above. This is a page from his mesmerizing story titled "Three Shadows". Graceful lines, full of detail, and an attention to form. One of the things I have tried hard to mimic is the grace and fluidity of Pedrosa's line art. Wonderful.
Up there is Pierre Alary. He used to work for Disney as an animator. Neat, huh? Looking at the lines, you can tell he's had quite some practice. Beautiful character art.
Introducing the cute and charming work of Aurélie Blard-Quintard! She, along with msr. Pedrosa and Alary, draws comics as well. If you are curious, this is her own blog where you can see a bunch of her own art : http://aurelieblardquintard.blogspot.com/
Here's a little Valérie Vernay. Her characters are just so organic, I love it. She primarily draws children's comics, but I have seen her collab with people on more adult themed bande dessinée's. Either way, I found out about her long after a trip to Europe, where I could have gotten her books more cheaply. Oh, well.So, those are just a few of my own inspirations. My drawings used to be tight, stiff, and just plain BORING! Oh, woe!
I can't completely say that European comics were the one and only catalyst to my new and improved style. To be honest, I was lying when I said it was only European comics. Truly, what started me down this path in a more subtle way, was Cycladic art and sculpture.
Sculpture was my real foundation...for drawing? Why, yes!
You can learn a lot when you let yourself explore other mediums. Cycladic art, shown here:
It got me to explore other styles that were drastically different from my own. If it hadn't been for Cycladic sculpture, I probably would still be drawing anime. This makes me sad. Not that there is anything wrong with anime. I can respect it for what it is. I watch anime from time to time. But for what I wanted to do, it just didn't seem right. So here I am. And there you are. And here is a sandwich in front of me with my name on it.-ciao ciao (yum)
