The Inspiration
Just what drives our artists to create? We asked them for you.
Expect updates, as we will interview more artists with more questions in time.
AoA: So, what is it that draws you to make your art in the first place?
Zach M.: Just the need to feel free. I like breaking away from reality, just the teachers whose classes I tend to zone out in. Cartoons have been a big part of my life since childhood, I really did grow up on them. That's why I draw the way I do. I intend to keep them a part of my life for as long as possible, and one day, maybe I'll be lucky enough to make my own cartoons.
Alex V.: Music, movies, and superheroes have always inspired me to create my work. Batman (and Spiderman) was the first thing that I could remember drawing constantly. The costumes and the heroes themselves always fascinated me. Horror movies inspire me, as well, to create pretty much anything that offends people. I don't care what they think; I love it.
Sara F.: I guess it's the feelings I get from doing it. For me, art has no basic feeling. Sure, art can make you happy, angry, or bring a tear to your eye. But I believe that if I start with an emotion in mind, it takes away from what others will see in it, or from what I will see in it later. By starting with non-emotion, and therefore lending a gracious amount of ambiguity to each image, each individual can form their own thoughts and feelings about my work without me holding their hand the entire time. I don't want any two people (myself included) to feel the same way about my art.
Kristin H.: It's a good way to ignore people. When something horrible is going on, I can just go hide in a corner somewhere and draw, like I was never even a part of whatever chaotic situation, because I'm in my own little fantasy world when I draw. It's not that I need to escape reality much. It's just that I prefer to. Plus I like to create and tell stories, and rather than having a bunch of kids and lying to them a lot, drawing and making my comics is my only way of doing that.
