What would you say your biggest artistic influences are as far as character design goes?
Also what kinds of plots immediately get you hooked on a story?
Oh god hard to say. Pokémon as a whole for sure. The blocky and simple, athleisure fashion is something that pops um in my work a lot. Ken Sugimori's older work is something that inspires me a lot. I love how small and chunky and effectively simple it is
take is another artist who I became familiar with after seeing her work on Pokémon SWSH. Her work is pretty different from Ken's (very colorful and sleek) but it's still very simple in a way that doesn't feel under-designed. She puts detail in very unique places that really help each character stand out from each other. I aspire to color like this and I also feel like I draw people with similar proportions
Jenn Strickland ( @jennerallydrawing ) isn't a character designer (i think, i know them as a board artist and director) but their character work is everything I wish my work was. Effortlessly expressive and fun but super simple in the best way. I do think their work as a board artist really informs how they design because every design they've done looks so easy and fun to draw (a board artist's dream). The stark black they use is something I use in my own work and it also has a sleek but chunky quality to it that's really satisfying
more old sketches
Awuradwoa Afful's (@/rajieee) work is perfecttt. Simple, blocky, understated but fun. I love how she handles fashion and clothing as well. But most of all, she simplifies black hairstyles in a really nice way! I wish I had this much style
