Inspiration

Here are some of the artists who have influenced my body of work (in its final, resolved form) for this show the most:

Charles Burns:
The first comic I ever read by Burns was Black Hole, which is all about high school drama and creepy alien STDs. I love his slick, precise style of inking and all of the weird creepy stuff he throws into his comics (which I really need to read more of...)

Sophie Campbell:

I fell in love with Campbell's series Wet Moon way back in high school. It was the perfect combination of slice of life and weirdo small town/Twins Peaks style horror. Plus her art is gorgeous! Now she's been working on mainly licensed comics (and kicking butt at them) but I hope she returns to indie comics one day.

Bernie Wrightson:

Wrightson is the only artist here whose work I haven't read. He got his start doing horror comics but eventually left to pursue illustration (also because he wanted his work to remain in black and white but his publishers would wreck his lifework with color). I found a poster of one of his illustrations from Frankenstein and I was hooked! What amazing composition and inking. I really ought to track down a copy of Frankenstein with his work in it...

(the fateful image itself!)

Art tips and an awesome game!

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got for making art was to have something playing in the background, whether it be music, a podcast, or a silly tv show that you aren't too attached to. I find it helps me know how long I've been working, lets me pace myself well (aka I don't get caught up working on a single corner of a picture for hours), and makes you feel like you have some company if you're working alone! Plus it's a bit easier for me to get in "the zone" when I have music to distract part of my brain. I don't always have music playing and in fact it can sometimes be a distraction but most of the time I love working to it.

One of my favorite things to listen to while I work is let's plays! They don't take up a lot of your attention like a television show might and it's like listening to a podcast but with visuals. And I get to review potential games before I buy them!

The Wolf Among Us is the game I was watching most recently and it looks so cool! The story is really good and it's so beautiful! I may have to study its art style for some future inspiration...

This is the let's play I've been watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkLPqO4B7FI&index=1&list=PL9TOK99LnYFeg1D-Xs1-qOgpASkXLv2Lv

So close and yet so far

I feel like I'm about 95% done with my works for the big show but I still have some minor adjustments to make...