So… What Inspires You?
I was on DeviantArt the other day (Follow me here!), messaging back and forth with one of the kindest people I’ve actually never met (And may I say, I love the support of the DeviantArt community and the welcoming I received!). As a fellow artist, I wanted to know where they got ideas from for their art and asked, “What inspires you?”.
I learned some fun things and wasn’t expecting to be asked that in return, but I’m oh so glad that they asked!
It made me think.
And as I told them, their asking inspired this blog post. :) (Thank you so much again!)
It’s really important to have sources of inspiration and to know how to pull from them. Or, to at least know that you do somehow pull from them. Sources of inspiration for me have come from all over. Cartoons I’ve watched since I was really little, books I’ve read throughout my life, places I’ve seen, things I’ve experienced… there are so many places I’ve gotten ideas from. But, I’m going to try to sum up some of the things that I consider to be big inspirations for my creative work today.
So, without further ado, here are some of the things that have inspired me over the years!
1. Cartoons
Image credit: Link
Ah, cartoons. Saturday morning classics to internet re-runs; they’re great. I’ve always loved cartoons and I can’t exactly explain why. Perhaps it’s the storytelling. Maybe it’s the (typically) more innocent take on life. I’m not quite sure. But, despite being ridiculed for enjoying them (so sad), I’ve stayed true to enjoying them and taking inspiration from them! Here’s a list of some of the cartoons I have loved watching most over the years (the emboldened ones have had the most influence on me):
Sailor Moon
RWBY
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Fairly Odd Parents
The Legend of Korra
Rugrats
Danny Phantom
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Looney Tunes
Brace Face
The Powerpuff Girls
Totally Spies
Kim Possible
X-Men Evolution
Dexter’s Laboratory
All those Disney movie-based shows Like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid
The Busy World of Richard Scarry
Freakazoid!
Tiny Toon Adventures
Beetlejuice
Recess
InuYasha
As Told by Ginger
Jackie Chan Adventures
Hanna Barbera Cartoons (Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Tom and Jerry…)
Static Shock
Inspector Gadget
Yu Yu Hakusho
The Wild Thornberrys
Samurai Jack
The Proud Family
Chalk Zone
The Addams Family
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
My Life as a Teenage Robot
Sabrina: The Animated Series
Code Lyoko
Teen Titans
American Dragon: Jake Long
Winnie the Pooh
Arthur
The Amazing World of Gumball
2. Animated Movies
Image credit: Link
I grew up watching a lot of animated movies. And drawing characters from movies. And sharing the love of those movies with friends at all stages of life!!! Here are some that had the biggest impact on me:
a. Disney Movies
Sleeping Beauty
The Sword in the Stone
Beauty and the Beast
Pocahontas
Mulan
The Emperor’s New Groove
Brave (Disney/Pixar)
Frozen
Big Hero 6
b. Studio Ghibli
Spirited Away
Howl’s Moving Castle
c. Disney Channel Original Movies
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
The Luck of the Irish
Smart House
Halloweentown
d. Little Nemo
3. TV Shows (Live Action)
Image credit: Link
To me, a good TV show teaches you something, tells a really good story (probably why there are so many “creepy” ones), makes you feel something deep, or makes you laugh/warms your heart. Here’s my all-time favorites list:
Historical K-Dramas
Taiwanese Dramas
Chinese Dramas
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
The Nanny
The Ghost Whisperer
I Love Lucy
I Dream of Jeannie
Bewitched
The Brady Bunch
The Addams Family
The Munsters
Sherlock
The Man in the High Castle
America’s Best Dance Crew
So You Think You Can Dance?
4. Live Action Movies
Image credit: Link
Most of these follow the same reasoning as the previous list. Some of them, though, are mostly nostalgic. :)
The Harry Potter movies
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
The Prestige
National Treasure
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Annie
5. History
I love learning from history. The Edo period of Japan, Native American tribal history in North America, European history through the ages… you name it. I take so much inspiration from other time periods and how things worked within certain cultures for fashion illustrations, writing, and more. Whether it’s visiting a museum or getting lost in a historical research loophole (you know, where you start with some historical event and end up on some monarch’s great-great-great-grandchild who did something intriguing and you just have to learn more), I’m game for learning!
Image credit/ illustration creation: @artofchelleelle
Here’s an original ink drawing of a Japanese geisha. I was doing some cultural costuming research and felt this would be great illustration; may have also been the first time I didn’t start with a pencil outline!
6. Books/Literature
Image credit: Link
I love to read. If it wasn’t so impractical for me, I might just want a Beauty and the Beast-size library. SO beautiful. There are also sooooo many books to choose from that I consider inspirational and influential, so I’m just going to give a summarized list of a few of my very favorites (spanning my whole life) that I still have on my bookshelf!
The Bible
Eva Ibbottson’s books (The Secret of Platform 13, Island of the Aunts, Which Witch?)
The Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones
The Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
*Just a side note: The last two books may be a bit disturbing/confusing/sad for younger readers. Also, to understand the context/culture represented in the novels, definitely recommend doing some background studies before reading them.
7. Everyday Life/ Experiences/ Travel
As for other inspirations (if you follow my posts closely), you’ll know that I was a dancer. I didn’t always love it, and ballet was one of the toughest types of dance I took, but I miss those days and took a lot from them.
If you’ve ever taken a dance class, you’ll know that during a lesson you are almost constantly watching yourself in the mirror or others and their movements around you. It’s a pretty weird thing to scrutinize yourself so closely, but you get a pretty good grasp on motion, how the body works, and what a body really looks like when moving. These were my “life drawing” classes.
Image credit: @artofchelleelle
I’ve also been really blessed with the ability to travel a fair amount and see different parts of the world. The architecture, food, people, culture, art, etc. of all of these places has really inspired me! It’s very helpful for me to be fully immersed into situations to understand them and present them to others later, whether via illustration or writing.
A picture from my trip to Venice, Italy. Image credit: @artofchelleelle
Another source of inspiration is my personal life experience. Embarrassing moments, times of great sadness or joy, desires and wishes from all stages of life… since we all have these things, they’re relatable and great sources to pull from. Art and writing are ways to communicate so many different things; where better to take from than what you already know?
Ultimately, I really like things that take me to different worlds or show me something I might not otherwise have experienced. But, inspirations come from all over and everyone has different ways of getting ideas.
If you’re reading this and wouldn’t mind sharing where YOU get inspiration, I would love to hear about it. Always looking to learn new things. :)
Thanks for reading!
Chelle Elle
“Chelle Elle” has been drawing since she was really small. No restaurant napkin was ever safe when crayons were involved! Now, she writes and illustrates characters and other fun ideas to help her dreams and the dreams of others come to life! And yes, she takes commissions and would love to hear from you.
Email her today to learn more about how she can bring your ideas to life at:
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