For me, no one really inspired me to draw at first other than a classmate I might’ve had a tiny bit of crush on in like 7th grade. He drew and I wanted to make friends with him via drawing anime because I also liked watching it (this was back when you were the capital W Weird Kid if you enjoyed watching anime), which did kind of work.
Funnily enough we never talked after graduating elementary school, but I kept drawing anyway because I enjoyed the process of it. Nowadays I don’t really watch much anime anymore, opting to read mangas instead, and I’m not really trying to recreate that style either.
During elementary and high school, I did seek out YT videos made by other artists, and the one in my early days who inspired me the most was DrawingWiffWaffles, because I drew traditionally only (couldn’t afford a drawing tablet for a while).
But current inspirations for me include, that came to mind immediately are (I wish I could include even more people but then I’m going to be here for at least a day, or more…):
J.C. Leyendecker for how he painted fabric and I think men are always depicted with a great amount of love and care in his works, despite those having had to be “ads” for the Saturday Evening Post.
Mike Mignola. The first time I stumbled upon a Hellboy comic in my local bookshop I had to buy it, the graphic (?) style appeals to me greatly, and I never saw someone shade/imply form with pure black before that moment.
Kei Urana, creator of Gachiakuta for how energetic their style comes across in the manga, and how they aren’t afraid to make characters look “weird” in certain story points for comedic effect. Foreshortening is also used a lot by them, which I’m always in awe at.
One more mangaka is Ryoko Kui, the creator of Dungeon Meshi for the world building and character design and, writing.
Yuming Li, the way they use colors always makes my jaw drop.
Speaking of colors, I really like Chris Hong’s approach to using colored pencils when it comes to traditional art.
One more person who I’ve come across recently and I really like is AmILobter on YouTube. Their videos are really well edited, and I really like their art style. I’m also a self-taught artist and their skill level inspires me to keep on studying art in my free time.
Reading back through this I kinda realized that I also have the same “problem” of my tastes being in a constant state of change, like the last person before me lol.