Bittersweet Candy Bowl Forums

I love browsing around DeviantArt, Tumblr, and comic shops for the same reason: There's amazing art everywhere. We all have our favorite artists; who are yours? It'd be cool if you link to their work or better, post a picture they've done. The point of this thread is to share your inspirations and get all our creative juices flowing!

Personally, I am in love with Tuyetdinhsinhvat on dA because everything she does has so much emotion to it.

DeathofRats has a lot of interesting concepts. She's a master of watercolor and masking. I love trying to think of concepts like hers; she uses masking fluid in such an interesting manner. I'm really happy she has a bunch of tutorials. X3

And of course, Scott Pilgrim's dynamic art really fascinates me.

Ooh! Now this is an interesting thread idea! Those are some awesome artists you like there, RC. DeathOfRats in particular has some absolutely gorgeous work. It'll be a treat cruising her gallery. <3

As for me, I have way too many favourite artists to list. Like, seriously. I watch over 900 people on dA and my Tumblr dash is always full of arts. And don't even get me started on the massive amount of art books on my desk. I think I have an addiction. :U

That said, though, I'll for sure give a mention to Raymond Swanland. He doesn't have a dA account, but he does a lot of artwork for book covers and trading cards and comics and things like that. Seriously, he is AWESOME. He has a very recognizable styke and I wish I were as awesome as he is.

Raymond Swanland

Here's some of his awesomness:



AND THIS


Then there's all the awesomeness going on in my dA favourites: Insanity-Engine's deviantART Favourites

I can just never get enough art in my life! : D

Okay, for clarification, when you say "artists," does that include writers as well (to me, writing is also an art; to others, maybe not)? I mean, I like art and all but I haven't practiced enough to have true inspiration.

But I know quite a few writers that I just wish I could someday reach the skill of... But I won't say if I'm going off-topic. xD;;

Wow, Rakshiv, that guy's impressive! Your work seems to be much like yours.

Lux, writers too! Although I guess you can't leave much of a sample. ^^; my favorite writers are Markus Zusak and Charles Kingsley. Although I'm reading something by John Steinbech and he's quickly rising. *0* and of course, Nate's prose has always been able to awe me. He's really fantastic. (I wasn't set up for this, I just honestly love his work okay. orz Hope he doesn't scold me.)

True, I can't show them, but let's see... I'll speak of writers whom I kind of take influence from, not just admire (since I love a /lot/ of authors).

Suzanne Collins: Haters gonna hate. Her books were great (that rhymed, wow). I mean, I read all three books of the Hunger Games and watched the movie--mainly just to revisit this lovely trilogy. What I particularly envy about her is the masterful way she executes first person perspective--anyone who has read my work knows that I'm a big fan of it, and she does a great job at making the reader /feel/ like he or she is there.

Eoin Colfer: Well, the Artemis Fowl series is good, but this author also wrote my favorite standalone book ever: Airman. What I like about him most is that, since it focuses mostly on the main character's individual travels... something about it just tells me a lot about a single character learning his way--I can't explain it right. Something about him being in prison and learning his way around is just epic... If I tried to narrow down what specifically I envy about this author, I'd fail. But I do take notes from him.

Angie Sage: Her "Magyk" series is excellent. Although it's geared toward a slightly younger audience, her abilities of description are to die for. There was just this one paragraph that just... clicked for me.

Cinda Williams Chima: Aside from writing two of my favorite series (the "Heir" series and the "Seven Realms" series), this writer does a good job at writing many different perspectives. I especially speak of the latter--how she follows Raisa's and Han's perspective and shows their individual journeys and how they intersect at different points. How she manages to keep two plots going while the rest of the world happens is pretty... amazing. I seriously recommend the Seven Realms series, it's so perfect and amazing and oh my gooooood

I think I just had a writergasm...

Those are the main four that I take inspiration from and just love their works, but of course, there are other authors I love, as well (e.g. J.K. Rowling). Writing and reading--some of the best stuff ever <3

Charles kingsley is actually a nineteenth century author, but his descriptions are absolutely lovely. He's very playful(of course magic is real, aren't grown-ups so silly?) and whimsy. Reading Water Babies was a real pleasure, even if it is written for children.

Sadly, I'm not too familiar with many modern authors, especially since I haven't had a chance to read at all, and I shy away from series) so most of those don't really mean anything to me. However, I really agree that Collin's first person narrative is really well done. It's thw hardest type to do and she pulls it off so well! I usually don't like first person because the narrator tends to be rather personality-lacking, but Katniss actually has dimension. Which rocks.

.. I just realized I've never posted anything I've written. X D

RC!, on 12 April 2012 - 01:26 AM, said:

Conversely, I'm not too familiar with many more old-time authors. Perhaps I shall try some of your suggestions sometimes. But amen to the comment on Collins--it's especially difficult because she writes in the present. But yeah, it's hard to give the narrator personality.

Don't. This forum is too art oriented and unless you're Meowth-level good, you're not gonna get much comments. My topic constantly died so I just gave up and stuck to posting my stuff on fictionpress. xD;;

I don't have too many "artist" or author inspirations, but I do have a lot of musical ones.

The biggest is probably Chuck Shuldiner.


He was the singer, songwriter, spilt-lead guitarist, and founder of the band Death. Some [mistakenly] refer to Death as being the first Death Metal band, but Possessed is generally recognized as having come first (and possibly Morbid Angel?). However, Chuck is considered the Godfather/father of Death Metal. He really defined it with the album, Scream Bloody Gore.

I find him inspirational because not only did he write some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard, but he defied stereotype. He was a great human being and showed the world you could be in a Death Metal band and not be misanthropic. His earlier stuff was really thrashy and evil, but as his career progressed, it started to become more realistic and proggy; soon, it even became inspirational all itself. Here is an example of a song on Death's last album, The Sound of Perseverance. It is really amazing, and one of my favorites (although that entire album was fucking gold):

Bite the Pain.

After releasing The Sound, he wanted a change. So instead of pulling a Metallica and destroying his band, he left and formed a new band, Control Denied. They have two albums. The Fragile Art of Existence was released, but not released under Death because it is more Power/Prog Metal as opposed to Death/Prog Metal. Fantastic album. The second, however, has not been released due to legal reasons. Chuck died over a decade ago, but we [metal fans] are still waiting for When Man and Machine Collide to come out. Apparently, it is supposed to be this year.

Markus Zusak wrote Book Thief which is a lovely novel about two friends in Nazi Germany. It's written from Death's point of view and is absolutely fantastic- I've never read anything quite like it. His style is whitty and fascinating. His other books are great, but Book Thief is his masterpiece.

I would read more popular, modern books if they didn't require so much commitent. It's hard to find a standalone book that's good. The problem with classical authors is that they twnd to be too verbose, like Dickens. Christmas Carol was great, but Tale of Two Cities was a chore. However, if an author can make words sing, make words bend to their will, then I will receive far more pleasure from reading that than I will reading the more plot-based books. I guess that's why I like poetry.

Meowth is good? I can't find a sample. >:c

I hate metal, honestly. It's too grating. It stresses me out, to the point where my heart beats weird. But the story does sound inspiring. I can respect that- a revolutionary in any field deserves appreciation. I like rock but more mellow music suits my taste, like Jason Mraz or Dirty Heads. Or music with energy, but not angry energy, but like enthusiastic energy, like jazz, although it's hard to find artists. Musicals are awesome too! Rent is my absolute favorite, but the soundtrack for Chicago is wonderful. I usually draw with mood music to try to get the right feeling in it, but sadly I still fail. :c

Stop posting these threads in Creative Arts. Creative Arts is meant to be about sharing your art, not relatively generic topics like this.

Moved.

Sorry..

I've only drawn a handful of stuff and submitted them to DA, playing music is my artistic talent so I usually get inspired by other players. Two mainly being Andy Mckee and Pete Thorn, when I discovered these two I was blown away by their music and how they played which only pushed me to constantly practice more and more.

RC!, on 12 April 2012 - 03:56 AM, said:

Well, actually, I can't say that for certain. I just know his thread is the most viewed writing-only thread I've seen on this forum. It helps that a lot of his pieces are BCB-related. Mine are original fiction only (I don't like writing fanfics as a general rule, and if I do then I usually just use the universe, but not the characters).

I mean, as a testament to this--notice that most writing threads get a few posts... then die. I do my best to post in all writing threads just so they'll get an opinion that contains critique (as much as I like it when people say "I like this!" it doesn't help). I guess if your stuff is BCB related then you'll get attention, but otherwise it's probably best to post elsewhere. Or show it to me in a PM, I guess, if you want critique--/shot

ANYWAY:

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Once again, I recommend Airman by Eoin Colfer... although it might be a bit lower audience than you. But seriously, if you're really bored, give it a try~ Anyway, if the books are good enough, it won't feel like a commitment--reading should be enjoyable, and if done right you'll be loving every moment of it (and by "done right" I mean "choosing the right books").

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"Purple prose." That's the writing sin you speak of. It's almost as bad (but not quite as much, in my opinion) as bad grammar. It's when you're overly wordy just for the sake of making your story seem better... and that's so lame. A story should speak for itself. It's nice to use vocab, but don't over-complicate it just to sound sophisticated.

There are two major kinds of stories: those that are plot-oriented and those that are lesson-oriented. The former is often geared towards age 15 and below while the latter is for the other end of the spectrum--although it can reach for all categories. And those that "make words bend to their will," as you put it, often fall in the latter category. Making a room "desolate and depressing" to signal the sorrow of its owner, to use one example. It truly is masterful use of the word, where it does what (in a very rare case) a movie or show or drawing cannot.

Markus Zusak. I have read The Book Thief so many times I could recite passages, it's amazing. I Am The Messenger is pretty good too.

But The Book Thief is just life-changingly perfect.

This post has been edited by Shada: 13 April 2012 - 12:07 AM

Oh, I didn't even see the "meowth-level good" comment. I'm flattered.

Unfortunately, I don't receive many comments anymore. With original works or otherwise. This also applies to reviews on FF.net. And, when I do get reviews on FF, it is usually by one of two people that are watching me.

Overall, I think the popularity of [bcb] fanfictions has just declined. There used to be a somewhat decent base of people reading and writing them, but somewhere between the 9 months of me writing FF -- because of this, I did not notice the shift -- it seems to have shrived up. Less stories, less readers.

i've been inspired by many things in life, but as for art I am inspired as in ACTUALLY influential to me, would be Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin and Hobbess) the guy was brilliant. I remember getting giant collection books of those, and reading them. I swear, I would read those all my life and never grow tired. He's the one that actually got me into drawing basic figures, and stuff. The only other really inspiring person in my life (or well atleast in drawing) would be Luke McKay. the man was perfect in my eyes. His style was comical, it was simple and that was all it needed to be. He's really what got me into reading webcomics, and had inspired me to actually make my own comics.

the last one would be BCB. yes i know that earlier i said that the only inspiring person in my life was Luke McKay, but that was before i went here. I can't say that it hadn't helped me, but i won't say that i liked my time here. My time spent on this community has enhanced my drawing, and writing skills greatly...I won't say that it was inspiring though. to inspire is to INFLUENCE a person to do better, and at first it was never like that. It felt more forced than anything, and it was like being under pressure, and when that happened I never got anywhere. But in the other times when I did improve it wasn't because someone told me. I was influenced by the story, characters, and backgrounds of Bittersweet Candy Bowl to improve. My mind was finally filled with ideas, both comical, and slightly philosophical. In those times I was never in contact with you about it. for instance The Bittersweet Carter Bowl. I never told anyone about it openly until the end , and even then it was only showed to a certain number of people who i felt safe with. so i won't say that the forum, or even Taeshi inspired me, but the bittersweet candy bowl did. (that's not to say i didn't take into account the many things you people have said, and that the things you have told me have helped me. for that i thank you)

I had to look up Luke McKay, since I wasn't familiar with him. His artwork seems rather reminiscent of that of Gibson Twist, who draws the webcomic Pictures of You.

While I don't create art myself, I'm still inspired by the work of many comic artists. Bill Watterson in particular stands out. I always loved the dynamic between Calvin and Hobbes, and later I would come to appreciate his detailed linework and spare scenes. One thing I always admired Watterson for was his uncompromising integrity for the strip. He got his syndicate to allow him to draw the Sunday comics in a half-page format, which gave him the freedom to draw the comic as he wanted. He refused to license any Calvin and Hobbes merchandise other than the books, and he retired from drawing the strip after only ten years, when he was at the top of his game. Plus, it was my love for Calvin and Hobbes that got me into this whole business of discussing comics on the web.

An honourary tip of the hat would have to go to Bill Amend of FoxTrot, who regularly infuses geeky references into his comic. Not too many physics majors end up drawing a nationally-syndicated comic!


(As you might expect, I also enjoy xkcd, a comic written by a physics major who was influenced by Calvin and Hobbes. Everything runs in circles, you see. )

Well, not really an artistic inspiration but, a person that really I find really inspiring is SuitCase. He has always seemed like a very collected person, and has achieved some pretty cool things as well, like being the admin of this website and basically lead the way and making it grow. While Taeshi is actually the artist who writes and draws this awesome comic (and that's a big merit by itself), I believe that it wouldn't have grown the way it did without him.

So yeah, SuitCase and Taeshi make the perfect combo for making this comic a success, and since I can relate to him more, that's the reason he's the one who inspires me, rather than Taeshi.

On the artistic side though, since I don't have much time drawing (It's been somewhat longer than a year, a bit less than two), I haven't had the chance to be influenced by many artists. But still, from the few I've seen, Taeshi and MouseCat have been the most influential. When I saw Taeshi drawing, it just seemed to come out very naturally, it's like... that's what she does, as if drawing was a superpower. MouseCat on the other hand, I just love the aesthethics of his drawings; they look very clean, colorful and cheerful. It looks happy. Finally, Amaya kind of (totally) became my muse, being featured in most of my drawings.

I havent drawn at all in the last few months though, I should pick it back up.

This post has been edited by ZoeStellan: 18 April 2012 - 08:34 AM

Hahah, Zoe, that's flattering to know.

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Artwise it's this guy.


Found his page when I was just starting out. The coloring, the style, the expressions I just want to be that good one day. It's been three years and those drawings of his still make me happy.

This guy too. It's just, I don't know how he draws like that.


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Now I'm a huge fan of these two, so I can't actually give a non-bias critique or explanation on why they're awesome.

I like really obscure historical figures, and one of my favorites is Bayrakdar Mustafa Pasha. Rising through the ranks of the janissaries, he defeated reactionary rebels who'd fought against efforts to reform the Ottoman Empire. I can respect anyone who scores as many kills on conservatives as his guy did. When the reformist sultan Selim III was deposed, his conservative nephew took power; Bayrakdar still swore to protect Selim and the new sultan, Mustafa IV, swore not to kill his uncle or his younger brother. However, Mustafa IV saw a reactionary political shift in the empire's politics and this demand from conservatives led him to order the execution of both to ensure that he could not be replaced. Bayrakdar failed to save Selim III from the traitor, but succeeded in saving the prince from assassins and in securing the palace from rebels. He appointed himself grand vizier for Sultan Mahmud II and was later cornered by reactionary rebels in Istanbul. Knowing he had no way to escape, he ignited several barrels of gunpowder and brought the building down on himself and the rebels. Generally speaking, he was a good man, as close to a liberal as the Ottomans could produce and a total badass.

Piano Cine

Piano Cine is the nickname of a fantastic pianist who is sharing his work on soundcloud. Being a wannabe musicial, his music is really inspiring for me.

As a writer, I have to say that Mark Z. Danielewski, because in all honesty House of Leaves is the best book I've read in my life so far. That and he really knows how to frame a narrative, or rather frame narratives within frame narratives.





As a lyricist Aesop Rock inspires me immensely, his flow is fantastic, and his lyrics make me like, jizz myself constantly.

I've always been in a way self-confident, but Taeshi and SuitCase really inspire and because of their no-nonsense way of thinking I look up to them like crazy; I think they are disadvantaged, but they still managed to succeed.

Sangyup Lee

I am going to say something incredibly soppy and claim, with conviction and certainty on my side, that my answer is you.

Aww, I inspire you. ^_^