Who was the very first artist you loved?

[•Lindsay•]

When I was 7 I LOVED Lisa Frank. I bought all her products.

http://www.lisafrank.com/

[Serpian]

John Howe. I got a book called Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-Earth when I was... twelve or something... And it freaking ROCKS. First time I actually stared at artwork for prolonged periods of time.

And John Howe was in it.

[squidmonk3j]

Dave McKean....where i grew up, Art is non-existant. so, w/o comics i'd prob still be in the dark..

[Renegade89]

Todd Mcfarlane was one of the first comic artist i remember, an artist i really loved was Katsuhiro Otomo, i was like 12 the first time i saw Akira, im still a big fan of his movies. Those guys pretty much introduced me to illustration.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd211/jfrolich/akira.jpg

[Farvus]

I wrote it here many times but I can do it again :). Comic artist Grzegorz Rosiński. I still love his art.

few pages from Thorgal - Alinoe
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/8/skan1-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/8/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/8/skan3-640.jpg

few pages from Thorgal - Tantaloc's Eyes
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/11/skan1-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/11/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/11/skan3-640.jpg

few pages from Yans - Last island
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/yans/1/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/yans/1/skan3-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/yans/1/skan4-640.jpg

few pages from La complainte des landes perdues - Sioban
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/skarga_utraconych_ziem/1/skan1-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/skarga_utraconych_ziem/1/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/skarga_utraconych_ziem/1/skan3-640.jpg

EDIT: I added more pages to give you broader view.

[DavePalumbo]

Who was the very first artist you loved?

a gentleman never asks and a lady never tells :P

[jinxtigr]

Easy- Roger Dean. After that, probably Salvador Dali. I've always been more music-centric than image-centric so the first artists I really appreciated were album cover artists. I'm 39, so these were on vinyl records and you could actually see the art at a reasonable size :)

[alti]

great thread.

i'd have to say Australian Surrealist painter James Gleason, i even know the painting that hooked me, "the arrival of implacable gifts" it gets me every time.

-alti

[Kamikazebob]

Frazetta, easily.


No. Wait. Da Vinci. Yeah, Leonardo himself has gotta be it. Followed by Frazetta.

[fukifino]

Larry Elmore. I idolized his paintings and drawings when I was younger. Eventually I started to find them stiff (his paintings...his drawings are actually still quite lovely). I still remember getting his sketchbook signed at Orcon back in like '92. That's still one of my prized art possessions.

[Grief]

this is going to sound like an egotistical and arrogant answer...

myself.

even if my work is anatomically in the shitter and plagued with faults, i love it and thats why i do it.

[Anthis]

R.K.Post.

Got to know his work trough Magic cards. Was very fond of his illustrations and still can't get enough of it, to be honest. Enjoy!

http://www.rkpost.net/magic/aowoe.jpg
http://www.fantasygallery.net/post/art_2.html
http://www.rkpost.net/magic/aohope.jpg
http://www.rkpost.net/magic/leshracsrite.jpg
http://www.fantasygallery.net/post/art_7.html
http://www.rkpost.net/magic/jeska.jpg
http://www.rkpost.net/color/fubar.jpg
http://www.rkpost.net/magic/thornelemental.jpg

I'd post all of it if I could.... Here's a website!

http://www.rkpost.net/

[Renegade89]

This thread needs pictures ;) :lounge:

[FlameDragon]

When I was young I absolutely LOVED Mark Kistler, I remember sitting there watching his TV program on channel 25 and trying to draw along, but being so frustrated. Then around 2001, I used to love seeing the artists in PSM magazine, my favorites were Eri Gaudiamo and Pipin Tobing. I also loved this artist Christine Chong (mayshing), who had a website where she did these cool panels on her life, situations involving existing characters, etc. That was around the beginning of my anime phase.

[Jason Snair]

Norman Rockwell. My grandfather had lots of books on him and I remember being aware of him more so than any other artist at the time. (oh...and Bob Ross and Capt. Bob too.)

[Wake101]

James Christiansen, a local artist who teaches at BYU, sadly I wasn't accepted to go there so I won't be being taught by him next year. Maybe someday...

[Living Rope]

ENKI BILAL was my first crash. I was 12. I used to read Marvel comics a lot before but didn't really care about artists names at the moment.

http://static.flickr.com/120/296835171_48f00f1824_o.jpg

[Odayga]

Chuck Jones :)

[sweetoblivion314]

My late grandfather.

then degas, then Matisse, el greco, davici, michaelangelo and raphael and many other all through my grandfather.

[Flake]

Probably Alan Lee, first introduced to his work via the illustrated Lord of the Rings.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2331/lee1zx3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/6792/lee2ht0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Having grown up a bit more, the first guy I remember making me think "Woah. Just...woah." would be Waterhouse..I still haven't quite recovered from seeing his work at full scale. I realise that many others see him as Victorian cheesiness but I don't much care and he's still in my top 5 ever..

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/9018/water1yx6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8218/water2gg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/6320/32203waterhouseboreassmiy4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9923/williamwaterhouse2id9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Stovieheed]

I grew up playing a game called Warhammer im sure a few people on her know of it , but one of my favourite artists especially his greyscale work is Mark Gibbons i cant seem to find much of his work on the net though. I used to pore over all his work in the rulebooks for the games and in the magazines that supplemented it. Great artist

Ahaha! I found a website for the man himself!

http://www.redknuckle.com/

[Puck]

I grew up playing a game called Warhammer im sure a few people on her know of it , but one of my favourite artists especially his greyscale work is Mark Gibbons i cant seem to find much of his work on the net though. I used to pore over all his work in the rulebooks for the games and in the magazines that supplemented it. Great artist

Yeah, I loved "MG" when i was young - I didn't even know his name, just always saw the MG initials on the works that I liked.

Though my first love was probably Norman Lindsay - who according to his wiki(?) influenced another early fav of mine - the great Frank Frazetta.

[•Lindsay•]

John Howe. I got a book called Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-Earth when I was... twelve or something... And it freaking ROCKS. First time I actually stared at artwork for prolonged periods of time.

And John Howe was in it.Yes I loved John Howe. I have a very worn out copy of A Diversity of Dragons. I never liked any of the Pern stories but the illustrations are great.

It seems like everyone started immediately admiring real artists except me. But I guess Leo Leoni was a real artist.

I think the first painter I liked was Monet. I saw a Monet exhibit, and that's when I learned how much better paintings look in person.

[VulgarDragon]

Alex Ebel. He painted incredibly realistic prehistoric scenes and dinosaurs for a children's encyclopedia.

And of course, I loved Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and Bob McKimson...

[Slash]

I think my first favorite artists were a tossup between Carl Barks, Hergè, Don Rosa, Albert Uderzo and André Franquin.


As i grew a little older people like Buscema, Ernie Chan and Serpieri entered my sphere.


I also got obsessed with Leonardo da Vinci at an early age, but that was because i read about him in a comic. :)


So bascially... Comics saved my life. :hugsmile:

Carl Barks:
276111

Hergè:
276117

Don Rosa:
276119

Albert Underzo:
276122

Franquin:
276123

Chan/Buscema:
276129

Serpieri:
276115

[serhc]

Jin Dadaly (http://www.dadaly.net) (alias :P)

Found out about her before I got toooootally serious about art, and rediscovered her after finding out about the Poo - I'm still in love with her stuff

[Katfayheirti]

I was a big fan of Art Wolfe's animal photographs as a kid.... those and Maurice Sendak's 'Where The Wild Things Are' Illustrations

[Alex Baer]

Stephen Gammell, who illustrated the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" Series... i was fascinated by the spooky atmosphere and bizarre characters/creatures.

Also a local artist named Ed Emberley created some very fun how to draw books for children. i had a bunch of his books when i was really young.

[Dave Kendall]

I was five when my Gran bought me Marvels Tales of the zombie. I was really attracted to the Earl Norem covers. This particular issue was drawn by Alfredo Alcala. I read the original comic to destruction but recently bought it on ebay. The art is still excellent and I love it. It was a very violent story with some really terrible murders but I can always remember it was the first thing I ever read properly. The school books were never the same after reading about the youths head crushed like a brittle egg shell.:)
276120

276121

[•Lindsay•]

I remember Emberley. I liked drawing the birds but then I got a bit annoyed that the book wasn't actually teaching me how to draw. I didn't know he was a "local" artist. I grew up in Massachusetts also.

[Alex Baer]

i believe Emberley lives in Ipswich, and yea i can see what you're saying... his work is obviously just meant for little children... i just remember having a lot of fun trying to work out the drawings when i was 5 or 6.

[Costau D]

I'd have to say Dr.Seuss...Seriously.

http://www.drseussart.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Art-Dr-Seuss/dp/0679434488

And next it was Dali since one of his museums is so close by it had influence when I was younger. I didnt like his later stuff too much though when he started going a little crazy

[artificial_green]

Rien Poortvliet, not for his gnomes but for his amazing sketchbooks, in wich he combines sketches and paintings in a story about animals or a family history for example. Sounds boring, but his drawings and painting are very full of life and character.

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/r/imagenetion-rien-poortvliet.html

[Eric Lofgren]

Frazetta. I can almost recall the moment perfectly the first time I saw this one as a child-

http://ericlofgren.zenutech.com/eric/silver_warrior.jpg

I've had many influences over the years, but nothing has ever had the sheer impact that Frazetta's work has had on me. The only thing that comes remotely close to that same feeling I first had with Frazetta is the first time I ever saw Mignola's comic work.

[Jacob Kobryn]

There were a ton of people I worshiped when I was into miniatures... Eric Johns, Adam Jones, ect. The first 2d artist I ever saw that actually inspired me enough to try to draw was Todd Lockwood. I still feel that way when I see his art.

[sameolesame]

early, as a kid I really was geeked on Eric Larson's pencils for Amazing Spiderman. Him and Frank Miller, yeah those were my favorites. This led into Frazetta and me skipping the McFarlane wagon. From here I started digging older artists... one that really stoodout was Caravaggio; still one of my favorites to this day. This isn't a plug or anything but Phaiden put out a bio on caravaggio that rocked... it's a good 3in vol with great prints inside.

[Digital_Blacksmith]

The first artist i ever loved, eh? It is you..I cannot hide it anymore....I LOVE YOU!!!! *hides in the bushes and stalks*

Alright, gotta burst your bubble now, and be serious. The first artist I ever showed interest in was John Quinn, my uncle who does professional airbrushing and paintjob designs, Robert K White, for he is my cousin and a professional painter who does work with celebrities, and Leonardo DaVinci, for he is the original concept artist who dealt alot with weapons, yet hated war, which is alot like me.

[Call0ps]

wow thats kinda of hard, but my very first is i think Miyazaki Hayao of ghibli studios, grew watching his movies hehe :P at the time i didint knew his name but oh well lol its the art thats matter xD

[ruuhkis]

This one is easy, Marshall Vandruff. Buy watching and studying his works I learned how much fun drawing really is! See his work at
http://www.draw123.com/

[Vhan Juju]

I guess I am a little bit diffrent, I never really picked out a favorite artist, I would just find a picture I liked and sort of hang-onto it.

wow thats kinda of hard, but my very first is i think Miyazaki Hayao of ghibli studios, grew watching his movies hehe at the time i didint knew his name but oh well lol its the art thats matter xD


ABSOLUTLEY DIDDO! Totoro is forever ingraned in my mind for all time! But I kinda wish it wasn't because I'm trying to break myself of my facination with anime...

It was that stuiped scene were they are all danceing with the unbrellas, that inspires my art...a lot actually. STRANGE!

[MiniGoth]

Arthur Rackham is the first artist who's name I associated with the pictures, my parents had a book that I spend hours staring at.

Wendy Pinn(sp?) was the first comic artist who got me addicted to comix(and it was super cool that she was a girl who drew comics).

I think I spent a year or two of my life doing bad ElfQuest fan art.

[JonZ_]

Derek Riggs.

[Hyskoa]

Due to playing cardgames, I liked a lot of work, but I never actively researched the artists. So strictly speaking the first "artist to work" link I made which I had tremendous respect for was Jhonen Vasquez.

276803

The humor was exactly what I was looking for in fact.

[otis]

Bruce Wolfe. Good family friend, and mentor.

http://www.brucewolfe.com/

[VulgarDragon]

I wanted to post some pics that were done by Alex Ebel, in case some people were not familiar with his work:

http://www.geocities.com/nanoduck/ebel-dimetrodon.jpghttp://www.geocities.com/nanoduck/ebel-brachiosaurus.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/nanoduck/ebel-miocene.jpg

They were done way before the time of Photoshop...I suspect he used airbrush to achieve the "smooth" look.

[Art_Addict]

I wrote it here many times but I can do it again :). Comic artist Grzegorz Rosiński. I still love his art.

few pages from Thorgal - Alinoe
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/8/skan1-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/8/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/8/skan3-640.jpg

few pages from Thorgal - Tantaloc's Eyes
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/11/skan1-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/11/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/thorgal/11/skan3-640.jpg

few pages from Yans - Last island
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/yans/1/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/yans/1/skan3-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/yans/1/skan4-640.jpg

few pages from La complainte des landes perdues - Sioban
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/skarga_utraconych_ziem/1/skan1-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/skarga_utraconych_ziem/1/skan2-640.jpg
http://img1.gildia.pl/_n_/komiks/komiksy/skarga_utraconych_ziem/1/skan3-640.jpg

EDIT: I added more pages to give you broader view.


Seconded ! I was like 13 when i got a free comic at the gas station. It was " De boogschutters" in englisch "the archers"? It rocked !
After that i collected them all:
277657

[Hyoscine]

When I was around ten my mom got me a book on M.C. Escher, thinking my colour-blind self would like the greyscale-iness of his stuff. Sixteen years later I don't rate him quite so highly, but I've still got a huge soft spot for the dude. An incredible draughtsman, and really quite a good artist too.

[bcarman]

Just a quick note for wake101. James Christensen was my teacher and I am old. He retired quite a few years ago. He is a great teacher and a great man and his work isn't bad either. Come on up to Boise State and I'll teach you everything he taught me. Well everything I remember.

bill
http://www.boisestate.edu/art/carman

[Cthogua]

My mother, who mostly does animal and plant paintings. She taught me alot of the basics of art and a love for nature that has always influenced me.

After her I would have to say a slew of RPG illustrators. I played alot of paper and dice RPGs back in my teenagerdom, and would sometimes buy books just because of the artwork in them. The paintings of Keith Parkinson on some of the Palladium RPG books were some of the first I remember being enthralled with. Specifically these two. I also think the painting of the Druidess was the first time I ever remember being "turned on" by a piece of artwork....yeah I have a thing for hippy chicks...I married one infact.

[Lone Wolf]

Brian Bolland. This is one my first comic books I read. I loved the story and it opened my imagination to the world of the fantastic.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Camelot_3000_1.jpg

[Vermis]

Rolf Harris. Watching him sketch the Looney Tunes on TV, before and between the actual cartoons, was probably the biggest influence on my interest in art and drawing when I were a nipper. I have to say his more recent painting shows aren't hard to watch, either.

The Shrew: it was probably Alex Ebel who got me interested in dinosaurs, and dinosaur art! I once got a great thick book from a library, full of astounding illustrations, and never saw it again after I left it back. The Brachiosaur in particular jogs that old memory, though I don't know if it's actually from the book, or if he was the illustrator (EDIT: read your previous post more closely. Almost certain).
Have you any more info, or links? I'd love to track down a copy, if it is him.

[Yiako]

Moebius.
279318

[El_Bert]

Don Lawrence

[Ampersand]

Definitely Beatrix Potter (http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm). Still love her art, though I've long outgrown her writing. :D

[chaosrocks]

Dr seuss

of course
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZW8T31QAL._SS400_.jpg

[tatiana]

I fell for John James Audubon, Adrienne Segur, Arthur Rackham, and Beatrix Potter.

As much as I enjoyed learning how to read when I was little, it was those four artists that would make me get out their books over and over again. And still do. I'd say my watercolour illustrations have definitely been infuenced by them as well.

When I was about 4 or 5 (and for quite some time after that), I'd flip through John James Audubon's "Book of Birds" over and over because I was so fascinated by the paintings...I'm surprised sometimes how many birds I can still identify because of doing that. :)

Adrienne Segur was the illustrator for "The Golden Book of Fairy Tales". I discovered that one in 2nd grade and checked it out over and over as well -- or at least until it disappeared from the library. I was heartbroken.

And everybody knows Arthur Rackham and Beatrix Potter. :)

http://pt.uen.org/uploads/photos/37-80_carolina_parrots-web.jpg

[IvkeBG]

That kid from primary school who made me think that drawing ability is a god given talent, because he could draw better than average. It took me 15 years to actually give it a try and see it's not like that.

Other than that, "Alan Ford" creators Max Bunker and Magnus (pseudonims for Luciano Secchi and Roberto Raviola)

[Diphallia]

Luis Royo.

[Diphallia]

SO FUCKING SAD that Keith Parkinson died so early.

[AlexC]

oh yea, gotta agree with that, saw 5 of his paintings at the sydney gallery recently, bootiful!


great thread.

i'd have to say Australian Surrealist painter James Gleason, i even know the painting that hooked me, "the arrival of implacable gifts" it gets me every time.

-alti

[JJ McKool]

this is going to sound like an egotistical and arrogant answer...

myself.

even if my work is anatomically in the shitter and plagued with faults, i love it and thats why i do it.

I'd have to agree with this one, the very first artist I liked was me, that's why I kept at it when I was little.

But beyond myself, Michelangelo, my dad, and maybe Norman Rockwell just because prints of his were everywhere in the doctor's office. I never really loved them, but they give me a nostalgia feeling pretty close to it.

[a cozy hammock]

Tony DiTerlizzi (http://www.diterlizzi.com/). It was his artwork in the Monstrous Manual that caught my attention. His were the only illustrations I felt like copying.

[Blahm]

Where's Waldo, i used to copy wheres waldo book when i was little. Those books are awsome.

[Steph Laberis]

My Mom.

Really.

[S.C. Watson]

My Mom.

Really.

awww...

Reallly. :^^:

[Eric Lofgren]

Tony DiTerlizzi (http://www.diterlizzi.com/). It was his artwork in the Monstrous Manual that caught my attention. His were the only illustrations I felt like copying.

Diterlizzi's definitely good, but as a recent influence, it was Wayne Reynolds, from the same book, that really had an impact on me. I love his unique style and his traditional approach to rendering his subjects.

[Rist]

My self. The second person was probably Alan Lee's sketches.

[Chermilla]

The first artist whos work I saw and it inspired and amazed me was H.R.Giger. I sort of felt as though my work related to his in some ways. There were parts of my own work and styles that I could see mirrored in his. I still love his work today, but I'm not as crazy about him as I used to be! :)

Cx

[Serra]

Brian Froud.

[CCThrom]

Ok, FIRST is Dr Seuss... and George Booth, though I didn't know it then...

Followed by JR Neill...

Uderzo...

Herge...

[smugbug]

I remember I discovered the Renaissance (and Raphael) about the same time my eyes gazed upon the works of Frazetta.

So it's a tossup between Raphael and Frazetta.

[Kfeeras]

well the really really really FIRST was.... tatatataaaaaaaaaa...

Bobby "Bob" Ross.. YEAH

[lalovergel]

Its a shared spot. Leonardo davinci and M.C. Escher for all of their work. John howe, Alan lee and Michael Whelan for their book covers and illustrations.

[algebra]

Andy Helms, Brian O'Malley, Jhonen Vasquez, Hergé for me

[Jasonwclark]

So many to love; Gammel for sure, and Dr. Suess, and Brian Froud... Alan Lee, Frazetta, the Dragonlance Artists, Escher, Dali, all the big names. Plus so many movies, cartoons and comic books, it almost makes my dizzy. Everyone was there in the background, but this guy was still the first one to really fuck with my head. I'll give it to him...

[Alcolix]

Derek Riggs, the Iron maiden-cover artist, I have loved Eddie as long as I loved maiden. Think I was about eight or nine years old when I was hooked :pirate:

[biglu]

definitely "Hex"

he was a graffiti artist who was real big in LA back in the late 80s/ early 90s.

As a kid I grew up seeing a lot of his work first hand. Right up to today, that whole visual experience has had a heavy influence on me

[Kamikazebob]

Kev Walker, Via Wizards of the coast. I can never find any of his stuff on the Internet tho.

[Penumbra]

Frazetta.

[Peter Coene]

N.C. Wyeth. When I was a kid my mom read treasure Island to me out of a copy that was sitting arround when we visited my grandparents in Kansas. I loved those illustrations so much.

[DanielC]

Herge, the thorgal series and some Macfarlane for me too.

[timpaatkins]

Alex Ebel. He painted incredibly realistic prehistoric scenes and dinosaurs for a children's encyclopedia.

And of course, I loved Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and Bob McKimson...

You know, i just had him a my fantasy/scifi illustration prof. last fall at FIT in new york, and we got to see all his originals. Insane details is just an understatement!
He was a lovely guy too, really old and had a bit of a hunch. His wife was there to help him out. He'd never let a class go by without re-explaining the golden mean!

[Nam]

I don't 'love' any artists. The first artists to really influence me were probably Akira Toriyama and Greg Capullo/Todd McFarlane back in middle school.

[ArtZealot]

Well, my dad is a painter so i suppose him.

[Ilaekae]

One of the first artists I was attracted to when I was very small was Paul Klee. He has had an incredible influence on my approach to art to this day...

[Dan!]

Alan Lee, Frazetta (bisley and danzig too) and Masamune Shirow

[CGMonkey]

I was around 7-8 when an older friend which I used to draw with introduced me to H.R Giger (alien specifically) and got hooked.

First time I was in love with a particular artist was Todd McFarlane when I was 12. Good times.

[FlameDragon]

Excellent thread!

Well the first artist I remember liking, as a child, was Mark Kistler. I used to watch his drawing show on TV all the time.

[Katzenminze]

Really inspiring thread!
I guess when I was little I really loved gary larson for his strange humor. I think that formed me somewhat concerning things I like to love about :D
Later on one of my favourites became "gottfried helnwein" (from austria)
www.helnwein.com
I love him for is somewhat controverse content but also for his extremly high developed crafting skills. Stunning.
Deix carricatures are one of my favourites too. We had a really big exhibition of his work where I live and I saw some of the greatest watercolor caricatures so far there :)

[algenpfleger]

Hmm, I'm pretty sure it was Hiroki Endo. I was really into manga a few years ago, and EDEN blew me away back then, because of the awesome atmosphere, you know, virus apocalypse, cyberpunk, biopunk and all that.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Eden_manga_example.jpg

[J Wilson]

Being born in the early 70's and just starting to become aware of art by the late 70's the first artist that I fell in love with was Frazetta, although I didn't really remember the name at the time, just the art. The first artist I could remember the name of was Elmore, and he was the first artist who's style I could recognize even before I saw the familiar signature. I think I love Elmore mostly for the subject matter than the actual paintings, even though the paintings were very cool. It wasn't until I got a book that had both Charles Vess and Bernie Wrightson in it that I really thought "wow, those are fucking amazing!"

[loveandasandwich]

My favorite childrens books when I was younger I used to pretend to read when I didnt know how to yet because the pictures told such a good story by themselves.

I loved The Rainbabies.. illustrated by Jim LaMarche
http://www.childrensbookguild.org/images/melmed_rainbabies.jpg

and Stephen Kelloggs books, specifically Ralphs secret weapon. :D
http://www.mounthopebooks.com/shop_image/product/14040.jpg

[SoufMeng]

Hyung tae kim.
Made me realise the importance of anatomy though his was ...weird sometimes.

[TASmith]

My first love was for sunday comics. I had all the garfield treasuries and copied some of them - back when Jim Davis actually still drew them. I also loved Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Waterson and Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed. Bill was a master story teller and Berkeley's commentary of contemporary politics and culture was genius. Of course all the old books got rained on and mildewy or some such. It sucks you can't find Bloom County in stores anymore.

[SDS71]

The first artist whose work I truly loved was Dr. Seuss. The way he portrayed his worlds and the different characters within them, and the way he put ordinary life into a brightly colored fantasy world, all worked together to make his artwork the most enjoyable part of his books for me. I hardly ever read the writing in his books, because I was too darned busy gawking at the pictures. :)

I think I was four years old when I first started enjoying his books.

[chaosrocks]

arthur Rackham,386763
Edmund dulac,386764
NC Wyeth386765,
Maxfield Parrish. 386766

Golden era of Illustrators

[viag]

jean giraud (moebius) with l incal

http://www.ctrl-c.liu.se/ftp/IMAGES/moebius/moebius-08.gif

and philippe druillet with the lone sloane saga

http://www.stuartngbooks.com/druillet_yragael_urm_cvr.jpg

[Ilaekae]

This will probably start a damn war, but in my humble opinion, Jean Giraud (Moebius) may be the single greatest, most creative line artist of the latter 20th century.

There...I said it out loud. :P

[Naomi Ningishzidda]

Lisa Frank, and Lassen - I discovered them both around the same time. I had plenty of oppurtunity in my life to access art but those were the only artists who really influenced me first.

and continue to do so.

[Pixeltron]

Larry Elmore was the first artist that I remember being interested in and inspired by as a kid.

[Lake]

Oddly, Feng Zhu.

In 8th grade, I got linked to his site (my first exposure to concept art) and BAM! that was it. I was done. I didn't want to do ANYTHING ELSE with my life.

[Candras]

I've never loved anyone really.
It's like music to me, you like certain songs instead of a genre

So I like certain pictures instead of one person, there are really few art pieces that I've ever went wow at.

[kingshaj]

roger dean was the first artist i knew by name (besides my abuela ) i think i was about 8yo
found a book at a yard sale

this takes me back

[s.ketch]

Oddly, Feng Zhu.

In 8th grade, I got linked to his site (my first exposure to concept art) and BAM! that was it. I was done. I didn't want to do ANYTHING ELSE with my life.

Seconded.

The image that started it all for me.

http://www.fengzhudesign.com/char/char_feng_image05.JPG

[alesoun]

Aubrey Beardsley, Marjorie Wallace: the Disney artists

So; I'm predictable....

[Sorknes]

Oh, I totally thought I had answered this thread.

I'm the same as Slash. I got hooked on comics early on. I remember scouring over Carl Barks and Don Rosas Donald Duck stories to look at the details. I also loved Franquin (Viggo, Sprint, Spiralis, and my favourite Idèes Noires) and Albert Uderzo (in particular Asterix, written by Goscinny).

The first painter I loved was Theodor Kittelsen. He made some awsome shit for our fairytales/folkstories. I used to stare at the paintings and drawings for hours. This is what trolls REALLY looks like ;) :

http://folk.ntnu.no/larsmu/bilder/Theodor%20Kittelsen/Theodor_Kittelsen_-_Skogtroll,_1906_(Forest_Troll).jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Trollet_som_grunner_p%C3%A5_hvor_gammelt_det_er.jp g

http://store.vesterheim.org/images/products/jpg/0552-color.jpg

And not so long after came Leonardo da Vinci. Carl Barks and Don Rosa had stories that touched the weirdest topics, and often I would read up on history after reading one of their comic stories. Leonardo was early on, as we had some books about him at home. I was a history freak, loved weird inventions, and realised that he was an awsome painter as well.

Then came all the rest. :)

[sve]

Vladimir Suteev first four
Anatoli Kokorin next two
Eric Bulatov

[Ilaekae]

Sve, these are delightful! About when were they done?

[sve]

Exactly, my dear friend, they are delightful and magnetic too. I skipped so many chores my mom told me to do sitting on floor near heap of books and observing them with almost physical pleasure. Just because of them I had 100% happy childhood.

Publishing year:1965, 1975, 1972, 1971, 1977

More for you, because you share about your religion with me.

Vladimir Panov
Uri Butarin

[Eric Lofgren]

roger dean was the first artist i knew by name (besides my abuela ) i think i was about 8yo
found a book at a yard sale

this takes me back

It was Roger Dean that lead me to my love for Yes. At the beginning I had an appreciation for their music, but I mostly bought their albums for his cover art. Of course, after listening to them as much as I did I became a Yes fanatic. And my love for Dean's work is still as strong as it was back then.

[Eric Lofgren]

and philippe druillet with the lone sloane saga

http://www.stuartngbooks.com/druillet_yragael_urm_cvr.jpg

Oh man, this book is a serious mind frak. I can only imagine what went on in his mind when he worked :)

[RoboBobo]

H.R. Giger. I still love his style to this day. How can you not after watching Alien?

[tomwaits4noman]

As with most here it started with comics,

Mark Bagley and Tood McFarlane stood out but the one that blew me away was Greg Capullo

the looseness of the pencils and detail also his page layouts were very cinematic
EVen when the writing on Spawn wasn't the best there was still a thrill in looking at the art.


The other comic book artist to impress me was Travis Charest


Painting wise Francis Bacon, Da Vinci and Caravaggio, and Banksy for humour, insights and bringing art on to the streets.

[Fjooner]

Carl Barks and Don Rosa from 4 - 10 years of age, or something. ;]

[egerie]

Feng Zhu? Good lord you guys are young... ;)

For me it was Eric Carle and more specifically from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (http://www.amazon.com/Very-Hungry-Caterpillar-Eric-Carle/dp/0241003008/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213037064&sr=1-5). It was art, both scary and wondrous and even had HOLES in the page! OMG 3 dimensions to a book! I was really little and had no idea this book was so huge in the anglophone world until last month.

[Gloominati]

Akira Toriyama. I still love his stuff, simply an amazing artist!

http://membres.lycos.fr/skanlon/pictures/Akira_TORIYAMA/ToriyamaDragonBall2.JPG

http://members.lycos.nl/aniromzzz/hpbimg/023.jpg

And Dr.Slump of course (read from right to left, manga style :P)

http://www.narbonic.com/slump_vampire.jpg

[kingshaj]

This will probably start a damn war, but in my humble opinion, Jean Giraud (Moebius) may be the single greatest, most creative line artist of the latter 20th century.

There...I said it out loud. :P

hell yes he is ..say it loud he is like a visual poet

[Ilaekae]

I still remember a short in the Incal mythos printed in one of the earliest Heavy Metals (Still have it buried in my mess) with a single page showing a gigantic humanoid creature lured to the edge of a narrow stone bridge and holding on with one hand as his claws slowly slip across the stone about to pitch him to his death below in a frenzied pile of little carnivorous critters. The look in that creature's eyes is possibly the single greatest example of absolute despair and inevitability ever captured with pen and ink on paper.

[sve]

That's amazing truth, I'm no where an expert on Moebius art, I saw so little of it because I'm from Russia and we were behind the iron curtain for too long, but I saw examples of his art on this site and they stroked me with this clear, expressive, silent conversation this artist creates with me, his viewer.

Talk about voices in your head.

He is really something. One person told me once that Moebius is an alien. I kind of believe it.
Any chances for you to dig this image up, Ilaekae? or any other good ones. If not, totally understandable.

[Ilaekae]

I have all of the Heavy Metal mags from #1 up to about 3-4 years ago in storage downstairs. Give me some time and I'll post a lot of his stuff, and some others that a few here are probably too young to have seen.

[Kamikazebob]

...What was that about being too young to have seen Heavy metal stuff

*raises hand*


And a Kev Walker
http://www.theartistschoice.org/scans/walker/kevwalkerpaint.jpg

[egerie]

Ilaekae : Anything dating from the 90's by Les Humanoides Associés is pretty much the thing. The crazy stories by Jodorowsky and Moebius is pure creativity.

[Ilaekae]

I just found a file folder with 100+ Moebius images in it. Not the comic I'm looking for, but there are some really rare pieces like prints and paintings you don't usually come across. As soon as I get them cleaned up, I'll post them in the "art that inspires..." thread.

I checked last night and my collection is intact, so as soon as I get some time, I'll scan the better parts of the Heavy Metal mags for posting, and maybe some of the early National Lampoon collection (there's actually some pretty good art scattered throughout some of these...who knew?).

[sve]

Oh, that's would be so very kind of you, Ilaekae, and I will owe you although I already owed you for your educational thread on underpainting. And I don't even know how to pay back for this kindness. With what? 100+ images by Moebius I never saw!
I will be out of town next week, don't think I'm not grateful if you post in this period.
Hugs and kisses.

[arttorney]

Put some stuff up from "Den" too, then. It's a radically different style, but I thought it was also compelling. I wish I still had my Heavy Metals.

The first artist in the broader sense to really intrigue me was James Whale, a director:
388482
The first artist in the sense everybody is using on here was Gustav Dore (They made me read a bunch of the Bible back in the day):
388483

[nonie]

Bill Waterson, James Gurney, Dr Seuss, Herge, Norman Rockwell... I remember Ed Emberly's books, we had them in Minnesota too. Oh and Bob Ross. Loved his show :)

[Shmaba]

Leonardo Da Vinci. I learned a little about him when I was young and loved imagining what his inventions did.