Artistic Influences

My influences are all over the map, but here are a few of the bigger ones:

Gerry Anderson: I grew up with shows like "Thunderbirds" and "Fireball XL-5", but the visual style of his live action shows "UFO', and then "Space:1999" had a particularly strong impression on me.

CARtoons: This magazine was what I first studied when learning how to do chrome, and other reflective surfaces. When I try to do a "cartoony" style, what comes out still owes something to Cartoons cartoonist Nelson Dewey.

Rex Burnett: An artist who's cutaway drawings appeared in HOT HOD magazine in the 1950's, I was impressed by his clean, elegant inking style devoid of any cross hatching.  One of the reasons, along with Russ Manning, that I still have an allergy to cross hatching, even to this day.

Frank Kelly Freas: I discovered Analog magazine int he 70's, and the illustrations within shaped my ideas of what science fiction art should look like, but Freas' art was the one that had the biggest impression on me. I loved his approach to futuristic costume, and his wonderfully expressive faces.

Syd Mead: Probably the biggest influence, I was blown away by his visions of a future that looked utterly alien, but at the same time looked completely plausible. He's the one who really inspired me to take up science fiction and fantasy art.

Wayne Douglas Barlowe: Used his background as a scientific illustrator to that look believable, and at the same time, completely alien.

The Photorealists: Not all modern art is about blobs and squares. Artists like Richard Estes and Chuck Close showed that representational art was still valid, but also managed to put a contemporary spin on it. You can see their influence in illustrators like Sorayama. I still have a bias towards the bright colours, and the shiny surfaces that they favoured.

The Northern Renaissance: Artists like Jan van Eyck and Roger van der Weyden, these are the guys who taught the Italian Renaissance masters how to paint. I was particularly struck by their lush surfaces, and attention to detail.

Jean-Dominique Ingres: This 19th century painter was arguably one of the greatest draughtsmen ever. His view on the importance of drawing, and that true expressiveness in art isn't about being wild, or sloppy, but about having the art skills to say exactly what you want to say, and words I continue to live by.

Jim Burns: His richly textured surfaces, and exotic, yet realistic style was something I studied religiously when I was learning to use an airbrush.

Russ Manning: The artist behind "Magnus: Robot Fighter", he had clean, almost minimalist inking style that I admired very much.

Alberto Vargas: He showed that cheesecake can also be art.

Steve Gallacci: I've been following his work long before I'd ever heard of "furry" fandom, and I still think of him first and foremost as a science fiction artist. He inspired me to start inking with a brush, and the look of Albedo was a big influence when it came to my own attempts at comic art.

Ken Sample: His work in Other Suns was something I studied in my own attempts at making animal people.

Mark Schultz: The artist beind "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" I studied his inking style, as well as Mark Farmer's, when I tried to make my own comics.

Craig Mullins: This is the guy, along with Sophie Klesen, who showed me what really could be done with Photoshop.

Other influences include MAD magazine, Heavy Metal magazine, Chris Foss, John Schoenherr, John Byrne, Masamune Shirow, Yukito Kishiro, James McNeil Whistler, Charles Scheeler.