So all the super awesome artists on deviantART are doing this meme, and the rest of us sheepish nerdy masses must follow! I had a lot of fun making this. It probably says a lot about me…eep! And Woah, I started out by picking actual artists, but then it ended up mostly being stuff I like, which probably really does inspire me. I did post my top 5 dA favs at the bottom…
[link] to the original meme by

1) Disney
I love Disney! Great characters! Greater villains! I grew up watching every animated feature over and over again. Psst, I still do… Disney is probably why I started drawing in the first place! And why I wanted to work in the Animation Industry!

2) Nickelodeon
Dude, I watched sooo much television as a kid and I watched sooooo much Nickelodeon… Rugrats, Hey Arnold, AAaah! Real Monsters, Angry Beavers, Doug, Spongebob, etc. I love the originality that cartoons had back in the 90s! I’d love to create characters like the ones they had back then. Netflix recently added a bunch of these shows to their instant play feature. So far, I have re-watched the first three seasons of AAaah! Real Monsters and Hey Arnold! At some point, I’ll have to revisit the rest…

3) The Simpsons
I’ve been watching this forever. We’re about the same age! The reruns have always been on, and the first ten seasons are fantastic! There isn’t a character I don’t like...

4) Scream and Horror Movies in General…
I went through a major slasher phase starting around 4th Grade and starting with Scream. I was so obsessed with the series. I even dreamt of making my own horror movies when I grew up. They probably were more fun back then, because they were scary. I’m almost completely desensitized now… At least Scream was funny, and I’m excited for Scream 4! The last movie to give me a good scare was The Crazies.

5) Sailor Moon S
Don’t ever let anyone make fun of what makes you a nerd. Kill them. Season “S” of Sailor Moon was incredible! Sure it’s dumb and repetitive, but…um… I don’t even remember how I wound up watching this show, but I had to be in front of a tv every weekday afternoon at 3pm or be prepared to tape it… I have this season on VHS and watched it again about a year or so ago. I still find it funny. The Outer Sailors are still mysterious. The villains are still ridiculous and hilarious. AND I think it’s a pretty dark and interesting arc in the series…STILL!

6) South Park
Something else I started watching at a young age…

7) Batman: The Animated Series
Bruce Timm is mainly responsible for any interest I’ve had in Super Heroes. The design and storytelling done in his Batman series is the best! Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are the best voice actors. They fit the characters better than anyone else. My favorite Batman movie is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. So good!

8) Pokemon
I didn’t like Pokemon the first time it was popular. I liked pokemon around 7th grade and it was my secret shame. I was playing the original Pokemon Gold and Silver…and Crystal! I think I’ll always find it funnier than…compelling. It’s kind of silly. They could do so much to EVOLVE the series…they just won’t! It fills my nerd need to collect and conquer…even though you’ll never really win. That’s how they getcha!

9) Final Fantasy
One of the first games I played on the Playstation 2 was Final Fantasy X. It was my first RPG and it changed my life! The depth of the story and the gameplay were unlike anything I’d experienced before. I became an avid gamer afterward. I also felt encouraged to be an artist, because video games suddenly seemed like a great avenue for designing and storytelling. I wanted to make games.

10) InuYasha
Most of the anime shows that I watched, I watched by accident… One night I was up late, and there was nothing on, so I watched InuYasha. I was hooked and I kept watching. I think this show had the best dubbing ever. They made them very funny and endearing to me. Did they ever get Naraku? LOL I’ve seen all but the final Chapter or whatever it’s called…

11) Adult Swim
I spent my teen years getting only 5 hours of sleep a night so I could watch Adult Swim! After InuYasha, I started seeing everything else they had. I got into Family Guy and Futurama! BUT the special shows were Mission Hill, The Oblongs, and Home Movies! These shows are probably why I’m so sarcastic and cynical and vulgar and dark…

12) Kill Bill
OMG Kill Bill… Style and Action and Gore! Oh my! What else is there to say about this one? It was cool! AND now every other movie since has been about assassins…

13) Dark Elf Trilogy
I don’t read enough, but after playing Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, I became interested in Dark Elves aka Drow. R. A. Salvatore is the guy to go to for reading on dark elves. His Dark Elf Trilogy is pretty good, but I enjoy reading about his villains more than his heroic leads. It’s been tough trying to get through all his Drizzt books. I actually prefer his spinoffs with Jarlaxle and Artemis more…and the War of the Spider Queen series that he didn’t write, but had something to do with… ? lol

14) KotOR II
I played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords before the original, so I had nothing to compare it to. AND after playing the original, I prefer this one. It’s the story and the characters that I prefer. I loved being in the role of an exiled jedi who is pulled back into the Jedi conflict. AND I love Kreia! She’s probably my favorite character ever! She’s this old decrepit fallen Jedi Master who guides you the whole way. She’s strict and makes you really THINK carefully about your choices in the game. There’s a twist, but I won’t ruin it. Play. It.

15) World of Warcraft
Oh god…MMOs! I’ve played Everquest, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, City of Heroes, but none of them are as good as World of Warcraft. The toon art and the gameplay in WoW are pretty much tops. Blizzard really has some great artists working on their games! I’ve quit and then returned a few times since it came out. I’m currently addicted.

16) Shadow of the Colossus
This game is so beautiful. The Colossi are well designed and the gameplay is like no other. It’s such a huge departure from what you would normally expect from video games. It serves as a great reminder to always TRY and think out of the box.

17) Faces of Africa
After learning that most artists draw inspiration from research and referencing other cultures, I thought I should too. I find Africa, India, and the Middle East are most inspiring to me artistically. You don’t always see it in my stuff. Faces of Africa is an incredible photography book on African culture.

18) Mass Effect
My most recent love. I bought an XBOX 360 to play this. Money well spent! Like Kotor this series has great storylines, art direction, and is fun to play. Garrus is my favorite character in the game.

My favorite artists on dA…