what inspires your artwork? all of your pieces are always so... i don't even know how to describe it lol. very expressive and shapely, everything flows so nicely, i'm obsessed with how distinct every character you draw/design looks. i could encounter them all in the street, they look like real people, its great! has there been any artist/media/movement etc that you can point at and say "this inspired me/i try to incorporate elements like this into my work"?
Thank you so much for the compliment and the insightful question!
Right now, I've been most inspired by Japanese graphic art styles like Shibuya Punk and Superflat Pop. Like PaRappa or Panty & Stocking or Jet Set. I've been really attracted to the bold thick lines and flat bright colors, and it's felt really natural to my own neurotic desires for cleanliness and simplicity in art (I hate painting and rendering) while really improving my line confidence and shape language. I think drawing art, especially illustrations, in my previous anime/Disney inspired style gave me a lot of insecurity because I was always doubting myself and thinking I could do better. I've been really enjoying exploring this style with my new sona characters. It feels nice to be proud of a drawing while you're drawing it, even if it doesn't appeal to my followers much.
When it comes to character design, I think over the course of doing GG20s, I've seen a lot of people's human interpretations of the ponies and have come to really dislike boring, safe people designs. I joked a while ago that every time I see a skinny human Applejack with big boobs, I make mine a little fatter. It's true. That's not to say these designs are bad, but I want to move in the opposite direction from them.
Here's a sneak peak of an illustration redraw that's shows a lot of my progress and improvements over this past year (and is the reason I haven't been posting).
