Inspiration Map_ Bancroft

I like the idea of these "Influence Maps" because we artists are a passionate bunch. We get all weepy eyed when we think about those artistic heroes that influenced us and got us so hooked into this strange love relationship.

I had a hard time with this because there are so many. At the same time, some were obvious stand outs that I HAD to have in there. The hardest part was drawing a line between "influence" and "fan of" artists. I stuck with the definition of influence being people that I learned from and/or got me hooked in my formitive years. So, I tried to concentrate on my youth through college primarily. That's why Adam Hughes, Bruce Timm, and a few other obvious loves of mine are not there. They came later.
You'll notice there are inspirations from all of my artistic loves: animation, comic strips, illustration, and comic books. That's my speech on how I got to this. Old school baby!

Here's the list (and they are not in order):
1- Gil Kane
2- Bill Peet
3- Glen Keane
4- Paul Cocker Jr. (and Rankin-Bass since he did all their designs)
5- Bill Waterson
6-Charles Shulz (the first and mightiest!)
7- Sergio Aragones
8- Don Martin
9- Norman Rockwell
10- Tom K. Ryan (I'm still not sure why, but I love Tumbleweeds!)
11- John Byrne (Best comic artist. Ever.)
12- Mark Henn (my friend and mentor for many years!)
13- Hank Ketchum (best comic strip artist. Ever.)
14- Milt Kahl (Best animator of all time)