I‘ve ment to do this post for a while so here it is:
So we all got different things that inspires us.
Inspiration is such a powerful tool we use to create, and we all get it from something.
It could be a pretty picture, a quote, movie, even a person could be inspiring.
Today Ill start by writing a bit about things that inspires me.
In my case since I was a little kid my main inspiration for everything I created was music.
I am far from a musical genious.
I don’t play any instruments and nor do I have a super pretty singing voice, but music has some sort of affect on me that nothing else has.
Alot of people are affected this way, and for creating art is a very helpful tool to set the mood of something.
As far as I’m concerned music is possibly one of the most magnificent phenomenas in our world. Unlike art, music isnt setting a example of things. Art is visual and very direct in how it brings out its messages, though there is still certain art styles that makes you think and imagine the message yourself.
With music it can also be direct, but often the music can be visual.
Whenever I listen to music that inspires me, I get to a point where the music actually creates a very visual world and things that happens are often connected to the mood and settings the song has. For this I use all sorts of music, I love melodic electronica as well as classical pieces and old pop.
I always wanted to do a comic where music is one of the main influence of the story or art, and since Extinct was already a very strange concept based on a strange dream I decided to make it into a concept based on ideas I get as I move along.
I make playlists for everything I do, both for personal use and also for comics and arcs I am doing. If I am doing a romantic scene I put on a song which reflects what happens in the scene, or maybe which I can relate to what is going on.
My musical taste has not that much to do with it, when finding music for Extinct I just put together alot of different genres and songs which fit the settings, it was sort of a cool way to discover new music and not listen to the ‘song’ but the mood it can bring.
I discovered alot of indie music, as well as visually I use Electric Light Orchestra as a source for ideas because of the sleazy 80’s science fiction influenced albums and sound they got on alot of their songs.
Especially the album Time has a already storyline about a man being abducted by a strange creature which takes him into the future (2oth century!) where as all he wants to do is go back to his girlfriend. Very similiar with Laras situation just that she can’t really go back! As for the rest of the music they will all play a part through out the comic as Lara has a device with her which plays songs from our time period, which puts in some of our modern reality into the future reality of the comics settings!
As a unrelated note, music is also perfect when studying! I do better when I listen to movie soundtracks with no vocal than I do in silence.
Inspirational movies for me is often the animated ones. I got a certain love for drawing and art and despite loving real-life set movies as well there’s something that appeals more to me with cartoons.
Despite this I do love genres which plays on the fantasy/science fiction aspect, like the Alien series which is one of the most science fiction movies I can think about.
Some of my favorite animation movies comes from Studio Ghibli, which im sure alot of other people can agree with!
The movies is so perfectly obscure and visually breathtaking and the stories are always a bit odd, which is what makes them so perfect. The blend with reality and fantasy is so tastefully put together and the art is out of this world.
As much as I absolutely adore Howl’s moving castle as well as Spirited away, my absolute favorite movie of all the things they’ve created is a movie which was considered the start of Studio Ghibli: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
It was made in the early 80’s as a post apocolyptic science fiction and while it doesn’t have the modern animation and the sounds are cheesy 80’s anime effects, it has some of the most interesting material i’ve seen in any of their other movies.
I absolutely love everything about it, there is so many awesome looking creatures, the scenery is like taken out of a dream and its just plain awesome!
I think the settings is actually more interesting than the storyline itself! It also features awesome looking alien bugs and giants in the dessert. I will admit Extinct is super influenced by it, but I try my best not to let it take over!
Princess Monoke is a movie i’m yet to see, but visually it looks amazing too!
I will say that there is also some things from games that’s inspirational, especially in science fiction. Overwatch is new and I’ve not tried it but it has some pretty cool concept art, as well as I will say Borderlands has some influence on me.
And not to mention World of Warcraft.
I’m not a big gamer and I rather sit around watch people play than play myself.
Borderlands has a interesting setting and I love the art style which is sort of an animated mix which can at times look a bit like a comic!
I know a few who get inspirational dreams.
Not everyone is capeable of remembering their dreams, i consider myself lucky to have a pretty good memory of them (while everything else just vanish in the matter of seconds. Unfair.).
Whenever I have a strange dream I write down the idea, because you never know when you might need it! Especially is this a cool thing for art. Seeing how one of my comics was based on a dream it is possible to create things with it.
I recently had a dream about some strange spectral shadowlike creatures which was caught walking among some ancient ruins. The fun part was that whenever you walked into it you got transported into another time.
Things like this is very cool ideas to use for later when creating stories which is supposed to be a bit obscure. I also wrote a story of a girl who entered a castle which literally ate people by sucking them into vents and through doors. Maybe Rose Red inspired me for that, I don’t know. I’m yet to find a place to put that in a comic, though!
Of course not everything is a good idea. I remember being chased by a giant goat cheese with legs when I was around 8. Depends of what you’re writing about I guess!
A tip I got from watching a video once about concept art was to look through books. There is alot of great stuff you can find in books which is not put up on the internet!
This might fade a bit more into referance than inspiration, but one of his tips was to keep track of what’s a referance and what’s inspiration.
The library has so many interesting books you can use, if you’re creating a world for a comic, for art, or even writing, you can use informative childrens books about things like the middle age or whatever you decide to have as a setting.
It shows in details what sort of weapons they used, what they wore, and the background details you can develope further into your story or use as a base.
I borrowed tons of books from the library when I started out doing a sci fi because I wanted to learn more about the universe, about space ships… Even weapons!
I also watched discovery channel while drawing as well as got alot of books on animals.
Its a highly underrated treasurechest. Going to markets where they sell old used books is also a great idea to create a exciting ref/inspo library!
As a last thing to add: Locations can inspire!
I work the best on the bus, ironically. Maybe because of the music i listen to!
What’s your main inspiration, and location? Do share!
