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Influence Map - Zephyr — Description
The top 14 things that inspire me as an artist. Whether it be in the 'conventional' mediums or with costume design and creation.

A little explanation:

Disney - I definitely grew up watching Disney movies and they definitely inspired me as an artist. For the longest time I wanted to go into character animation because of Disney. That dream was replaced by costume design when I was in high school, but that didn't stop Disney from being a huge inspiration to me. The first costume I ever made was a pirates costume for the premiere of one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

New Movies - this include things such as Marie Antoinette, the Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge and the like. Things with lush costumes and beautiful cinematography. The colour palettes and the costumes have inspired me to create my own representations in both drawings and costumes.

Old Movies - The inspiration I didn't realize was there. When I was in elementary school I drew 'costume designs' from Star Wars(the originals) and the Wizard of Oz, though I didn't realize my love of costumes at the time I did recognize that Halloween was my favourite holiday. If I hadn't grown up watching Gone with the Wind and similar movies, I don't think I would be where I am now.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The fusion of so many Asian cultures allowed me to see where imagination can take me. When I first watched the show I was in school learning Korean and it gave me a kick in the britches to keep working on my art. It had been a while since something outside of Harry Potter had moved me.

Yoshitaka Amano - My best friend in high school adored Amano, and for one of her birthdays, or maybe even Christmas, had received an artbook of his. His art definitely inspired my style, even though it may not be super visible and I am very honoured that I got to meet him a few years ago at a convention.

Alice in Wonderland - There isn't much to explain outside of an indescribable love of the story and all of the spin-offs. It was the first book I remember reading that actually took me to another world for the first time.

Music - Music is one of the only things that can get me to create no matter the reason.

Books - For a long time it was 'read a book, create a drawing' because it was the main input of imagination fuel when I was a kid and a teenager. It isn't as big of a contributor as it used to be, but still a very near a dear source of fuel.

Sailor Moon - My first anime and introduction to the Japanese culture, it introduced me to worlds outside of the Western mindset I had been in. It allowed me to start looking across the world for inspiration and made it so I was stuck with just Europe and America. It allowed me to learn and begin exploring different cultures and appreciate others in the world.

Video games - As a cosplayer, a lot of my costumes come from things like video games. With really creative and over the top costumes I began creating ridiculous things of my own. Sometimes I even get more inspiration from the great stories presented.

Ghibli Studios and Hayao Miyasaki - The movies are beautiful and rich in detail. Detail is my vice, I am pretty sure when it comes to art. The stories are rich and all of the characters are wonderful. Need I say more?

Roccoco - This is the time period that is most influential to me. The clothes of the period are beautiful and made of beautiful fabric with wonderful little details, all done by hand. The paintings are richly detailed scenes that can rival the detail you see in photographs today. And the architecture. Yes.

And my biggest inspiration, Fashion - as a costume designer, the current and past fashions are very influential when it comes to creating what I think certain characters to wear. It also helps me determine the best way to recreate impossible clothing from various anime, video games, and the like.