My first childhood exposure to the world of art, comics and stories where they were not just books in a store, and my first community outside of school. It was foundational to come of age with ordinary peers in my generation who were being creative for fun, just like I was.
The model of how I want my career to be. Considered, thoughtful, personal art-making; warm and personable; mostly private and studio-driven yet critically and commercially successful.
Carroll's ambitious, artistic and form-breaking gothic comics influenced the core of how I approach comics as a visual storytelling form, especially in webcomics. My belief in webcomics as a freeing, experimental medium and in the loveliness of flat, stylised art, came from Carroll.
Tess Stone's page design, stylised art, use of typography and bending of the form are the strongest and clearest influences of the way I draw and approach comics as a visual art.
Bold, impactful compositions. Something about the way he planned his illustrations satisfied my brain.
Gorgeous, appealing linework and a quirky, whimsical style. Always a joy to look at his art. His writing is equally delightful.
Gaiman's The Graveyard Book showed me that I too could tell stories that are entirely based on what I love (gothic, literary, gentle). His writing, especially his short stories and children novellas, were influential during my adolescence. I have moved on now, but am still grateful for the internal affirmation his works provided.
The longest and most constant artistic presence. Not a direct influence, but all of his music has been present in the background while I draw and write, in all of the phases of my life. I really love sitting in the audioscape that he carves for himself (the melancholic, sweet, hopeful longing of adult love, mature and sweet) and want to evoke a similar type of space in my work.