Sunday, 15 December 2013

Discourse - Influences

1. Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Illinois. Disney was an animator and the founder of Walt Disney Productions with his brother Roy E. Disney, which is now known as one of the leading motion picture production companies in the world. He was also known for creating the iconic character Mickey Mouse, and earned 22 Academy Awards during his lifetime for his work.

Disney's movies are an integral part of my childhood and is a huge source of inspiration for me, and I especially appreciate how a lot of his successors strive to aspire to Disney's ideas and inspirations long after he has passed. In the more recent years, they have introduced characters of color as well as 'unconventional heroes' such as Flynn Rider in 'Tangled', who started out as a thief before moving on to play the role of the 'prince' in the story. Growing up, I have a better appreciation of the messages in which my favorite childhood animations try to convey to people.

2. Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese comic artist most noted for his work on Dr Slump and Dragon Ball. He was born in Kiyosu, Aichi, Japan in April 5 1955. His first manga (comic) was Wonder Island, published in Shonen Jump in 1978. He shot to fame with his first hit, Dr Slump, and continued on to create Dragon Ball, now considered a classic in the Japanese comic industry. He is also known as character designer for the Dragon Quest video game series and Chrono Trigger.

Akira Toriyama can be considered a major influence to me, as I grew up reading his comics and watching the animated adaptation of these comics. He is the reason why I became interested in comics and character design, and subsequently, graphic design and animation. He has a very distinct style that people can easily recognize as his, departing from the generic anime style by adopting a more cartoonish look.


3. Tetsuya Nomura

Tetsuya Nomura was born in Kochi prefecture in Japan, on October 10, 1970. He is best known for his work on the Final Fantasy series, as well as the Disney-Square Enix collaborative game Kingdom Hearts. Best known as video game director and character designer, he first gained recognition with his character designs for Final Fantasy VII. While he adopts a predominant anime style, he also integrates a more realistic, Western style, apparent in his designs for Final Fantasy VIII and X.

Tetsuya Nomura is currently my biggest influence, and I aspire to create characters with impressive designs and backstories like many of his characters do.

4. Muse

Muse is an English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, and was formed in 1994. The band consisted of Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard.

Muse has been known to be diverse in their rock music, fusing many other music genres in their work. To date they have released 6 albums so far, and many of the songs are diverse in their fusions, as well as incredibly energetic. I tend to listen to many of the band's songs when I work - they often give off energetic vibes that helps get me going when I work. Furthermore, many of their songs have interesting themes; for example in their 2009 album, The Resistance, most of the songs deal a lot with conspiracy theories and a need for revolution.

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