Matt's Influences

One of the few memes I'd do, since it's nice and relevant.

I'll go in order from top to bottom, left to right.

Elaine A very talented artist, and a dear friend. I've learned a lot from her, from help with art techniques to life lessons. She's one of the most tolerant, intelligent, and kind people I know, and I've known her for almost my whole stay here at deviantArt. Sometimes I smile at her work, sometimes I get a good laugh, and sometimes I just fall to my knees in awe. I've grown a lot as an artist and as a person thanks to her, and I'm humbled to call her my friend. Sparked something special~

Ken Akamatsu Most notably his work Love Hina, but Negima as well. I remember many years ago, a little right after I started to be more open about anime, I saw Love Hina in the bookstores. I'd always walk by it and steal glances, too awkward to go and pick it up. But I adored his style, and later on when I got to read them, I really enjoyed his characters and the comfortable world he created for them. His stories and backgrounds complemented his characters, making one of the most memorable immersing worlds I've been to. I've always envied and adored his style, and its been the biggest influence on my own style. Even to this day, I look through the comic again now and then just to boost my morale. Sparked style in general and Ego Trigger.

Team Fortress 2 OBVIOUSLY. I play this thing religiously, and I absolutely love the art style. I'm a sucker for animu, but TF2's blend of cartoon and realism blends so perfectly to create it's own greatly appealing style, and it works great with the exaggerated reality of the game itself. I also enjoy weaponry, and TF2 mixes action with skills and classes, which is another love of mine. Sparked Trigger Ego.

Cap-tan This hombre's a true bro. I love his cute style and girls, but what really makes him stand out is that he can maintain this appeal while still being diverse. He loves Fantasy, he loves Military, he loves Shootan, he loves cutesy stuff, he likes sexy stuff. What I admire about him is how he maintains diversity while still keeping everything solid; nothing feels abandoned or neglected. I value an artist's ability to be versatile with his skills, styles, and characters, and Cap-tan is a great example. Sparked creation of TF2-tans.

Toonami This will be a common one for a lot of people. It pretty much speaks for itself, but for me, it was one of my first sources for anime. It was just an overall great program that introduced a lot of great series to me: Tenchi Muyo, Outlaw Star, Dragonball Z, and even Sailor Moon (I secretly loved that show). Sparked varied themes of interest in anime genres.

Icymasamune A loooong time ago, I read a lot of online webcomics. Don't do it anymore (too lazy), but when I did, Poisonwind and Shadowlark Symphony were the ones I really enjoyed the most. Icy's art was an inspiration for me, and I just fell in love with his characters. I shamefully got my cowgirl love from him as well, with his character Meushi. I also later found out that Meushi was actually just a name he came up with, and it technically wasn't the Japanese word for "cow" (that's "ushi"). So he gets all credit for the name. Sparked interest in cowgirls and comics.

Deviantart This is such an obvious one that it's almost easy to forget it or not feel the need to mention it. But dA really has played a huge part in my growth as an artist. It's given me an audience and the ability to communicate with them, as well as a huge community to find other artists and work to draw inspiration from. I know it's a good idea to draw for yourself, but it's also important to remember that art is something that should be shared. It's how we grow, and how we can derive our greatest joy. Sparked motivation to keep drawing.

Comedy Central You have no idea how much Comedy Central I watch, especially with stand ups. I would remember entire routines and re-enact them for friends, or just recall them in my head to laugh to myself. I think I'd just be a boring, sad person if I wasn't able to always smile about something. Also, a lot of the comics on there have influenced my sense of humor, which I consider very important to me. Sparked preference for humor/comedy.

Golden Sun Played this game a lot back in the day. One of the few RPGs I really enjoyed, and helped spark my side interest of fantasy settings. I'm also a sucker for elements, so that played a big factor. Sparked Blue Earth.

Pokemon Probably my first anime, and manga as well (Electric Tale specifically). I traced some panels of it when I was starting out, and I gradually moved up to drawing my own things. The show also really sold me on anime: I'd watch it every Saturday when new eps were out, and also right before I left for school (or was it when I came home?). Also, Misty had a personality that I'd later really enjoy, which carried over to Naru from Love Hina. Sparked anime in general.

3-angled-blue *SIGH* This is more recent compared to the others, but Blue's style just grabbed me INSTANTLY. The way he did his action scenes, quick story-telling, amazing detail while maintaining simplicity... I'm just so damn sad that he's never really seen anymore. He lurks, but doesn't want to show his face anymore I guess. Sparked MS Paint doodles.

Slayers My first "not-kiddie" anime, since I'd only had stuff like Pokemon, Digimon, censored Toonami stuff, etc. I remember getting a gigglefit the first time I saw a boob joke. The series also helped strengthen my love for fantasy, classic characters, and was just a great memorable world overall. Sparked Graphite Eternity.

Kirby One of my starting drawing subjects, which is weird since I didn't have an SNES or Gameboy to play most of his games. I think I really liked how simple he was, yet so versatile. I want to be like that too. Sparked simple doodles.