shinragod Influence Map

Following up this MEME created by and recently filled out by my good friend I decided to map out my biggest influences when it comes to writing, character design, and settings.

I noticed one side is completely video games; the other side from TV shows. Well both require a lot of planning since a video game series and a TV series go through copious amounts of design and scripting. So it's only natural I selected these for my main influential sources.

To start with let's check out the first side: what video games have influenced me the most?

How about we start with the BIGGEST influence on the entire MEME. The one taking up 3x3 squares. This is is of course what I still consider "the Greatest Game ever Created." There's always something special about re-exploring every niche of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I admire the detail put into it's sprites, it's backgrounds, and above all its soundtrack. The music and heavily detailed backgrounds and monsters are still influencing my character designs and stories to this day. For those who know my characters: there would be no Lady Malmsteen had I never played this game. Ever since I been making OCs and stories this game has been a mainstay influence. And it will never cease to be my top one.
But then there's the second most influential game I played: Final Fantasy VII. Introducing me to the world of RPGs (though Super Mario RPG was the first one I played but back then Mario was merely side scrolling for me so I didn't get it at first.) it also introduced me to a new form of plot and character development. I have played every major FF title for the record and I STILL consider this my favorite. (Even more so than VI which was great: but it lacked something special VII seemed to have. One being consistency and well thought out designs.) The characters have interesting background stories and the biggest element for me was this: the main bad guy you were after was not the major problem. Once fighting the Shin-Ra electric company you soon discover that an even bigger threat looms on the horizon. Leading to another influence neighboring this 2x2 shot of the FF VII cast. Sephiroth may be considered overrated by some; but the idea of being the true threat and being connected to the main hero of the story set an archetype for future villains I would work with. Not to mention he has an aura, design and personality that demands fear and respect. His appearance really did scream "top soldier." And let's not forget his final boss theme 'One Winged Angel'; where it shows in order to make a bad guy appear even more menacing, there has to be a choir in his theme.
Above him Solid Snake; another influential character from The Metal Gear solid series. While after IV I decided I no longer was a fan; the original PSX classic still remains one of my top influences. A gruff badass thrown into a whirlwind of conspiracy and betrayal. Again like FF VII he goes beyond the original objective and lands into an even more complicated and dangerous mess. That's drama I like.
The top three pictures of this half feature where I get my main influences for character design from. The first being Guilty Gear. It's not just the off-the-wall designs of the characters; but their rock and heavy metal theme songs. Both elements I take when designing characters. To the right of it is Sly Cooper; where it has gone through numerous styles; the current one being my favorite. It still inspires anthro related designs to this day from Sly himself to Inspector Carmelita Fox. As does another anthro based game; the original Crash Bandicoot games from the PSX era: when Charles Zembelias was the conceptual artist. I chose this sketch of Crash and Rexy as drawn by Charles himself to combine two influences in one. ;D I am not the Crash fan I once was: but the originals introduced me to the fandom making process so many other artists are accustomed to these days. Zembelias is still an influence on me; making a stylized but also bad ass design for both friend and foe alike.

And now to the right side where influences from TV really help me out. Yes: it's all related to animation (except one source.) A majority of it revolves around character development and writing skills I developed from these sources. But among them is how I draw stylized characters And that mainly comes from the top 2x2 square in the upper right hand corner: Butch Hartman. Here he is with a costumed Dudley Puppy from another current source I refer to: TUFF Puppy. While his shows aren't exactly ground breaking and tend to be formulaic; it's his character designs I am most inspired by. Simplicity is the best way to go about a character in terms of design if you wish to become an animator. And Butch's retro styled and minimalist designs have influenced me to do the same. He has three shows under his belt; all of which suffer one form of abuse after another from the bureaucratic numb nuts at Nickelodeon. Still; his designs remain a steadfast resource I look at when creating memorable characters with solid yet minimal design.
Now let's get to how I write humor. There are three sources for this. So let's look at the 2x1 which still has me writing clever quips to this day. Mystery Science Theater 3000 I notice can be somewhat stale upon repeated viewings. But nevertheless the way they wrote their observational humor and gave personality to both the human and robot puppet hosts also showed they really had great variety to their show. I think it still remains influential to most comedy writers or writers in general. The humor is still spot on; although a lot of their references have become seriously outdated. They exist still in rifftrax which is still a riot. And I also credit their voices to give personality to the robots. So while they are a bit dated; this still remains my main source of humor.
As do two other animated shows: South Park and The Simpsons. I will say this: The Simpsons hasn't been that funny these past view years and it already seems to have worn out its welcome after some 26 plus seasons. It'll be a historic day when the show eventually ends; being one of the most successful and longest running syndicated shows in the history of television. But it was Seasons 1 through 10 that truly had its shining moments. The ones I highly recommend for getting their best moments is seasons 3-8. Here you will find a gold mine of humor and laughs that still remain relevant to this day. Those seasons alone still inspire those who wish to create characters. I guess the only drawback is that we seem to get it all from one character: Homer Simpson. Homer is the epitome of a character whose boundaries are limitless and no matter how many top ten character lists of this show are made: he always is at number 1. For good reason; he's one of the most versatile characters ever created. On the far end of the spectrum is the hardest character to write for: Marge Simpson. In fact "greenhorn" writers were given the task to write 'Marge Episodes' to prove their worth. Still other side characters like Mr. Burns, Krusty the Clown and Ralph Wiggum are written equally as well.
So while 'The Simpsons' was a show that had its quality decline as it progressed; South Park is a series that improved greatly as it progressed. If you look at the oldest episodes you probably would wonder how this show managed to last so long with its low quality animation and very minimal humor. As it progressed however; the animation got better as did the humor. The humor may not reach people at first; but it clearly has no bars hold. And yet it still plays more conservatively and respectfully than a show that has a "f**k it" attitude like Family Guy. South Park clearly has a message in their episodes. And its written to such a degree where its both funny and improving on the characters. Like the Simpsons it has its memorable funny fat character: in this case Eric Cartman. Like Homer he is versatile; from being an ego maniac no one likes to being a surprisingly functional leader. And there's Kenny. While he suffered from the same "OMG They Killed Kenny" gag for more than we cared; they eventually gave him a personality and surprisingly rich back story. (as was seen in the Mysterian episodes.) South Park tackles every subject imaginable in a creative and funny matter. among my favorite and most influential episodes was when they fantasized being anime ninjas and when they were determined to beat another dork at WoW. And for flat animation; it's another fine example of how minimal design sometimes works well if a character is written very well.

So I mentioned how Butch Hartman was a key influence in minimal design to be effective. Let's look at another cartoonist who worked both in minimal design and minimal storytelling to make effective work. I am referring to Genndy Tartagovsky and his magnum opus Samurai Jack. Some might say his original Clone Wars series was where he truly signed: indeed. But Samurai Jack offers quite a bit more in his work than any of his other ones. Most of the episodes have little to no dialogue, but are artistically drawn to such detail and perfection that dialogue is sometimes not needed to build a character. It's a setting more often than not. And Genndy wanted to make sure that the worlds Jack explored where epic in their own right without relying too much on the dialogue. In fact most of the dialogue belongs to Jack's nemesis: Aku. Yet another influential bad guy. Someone who is full of himself and on top of the world. But could easily get his ass kicked if Jack finally was able to truly finish him off. He is pure evil and yet he also is somewhat humorous. Another thing I like about Jack is that every episode somehow was influenced by pre existing works Genndy was a fan of. From Star Wars to westerns. From Kurosawa to Conan. Whatever influenced Genndy he somehow made it fit into the world he created. Which is why I still consider this his most influential work. no matter the setting he used unrelated resources to create it. I still consider him the George Lucas of animation: and I mean that in a positive "non-JarJar Binks-CrystalSkull" way. ;D
So for the last two influences I had to choose amongst many animes I have seen. And if there is two animes I would pick to describe how I write a group of oddball characters; and how they interact with each other and the world: it would be One Piece and Yu Yu Hakusho. One Piece has a large cast that work like a family unit. Somehow they drive each other crazy and even hit each other; but they work well and our an unstoppable force with different personalities and specific oddities. They meet and go against colorful characters and beyond impossible odds. They have travelled to far away places that would one would deem too hard to get to: from the top of the sky to the bottom of the ocean. Through each hardship they have endured. More so are some of thew characters' tragic back stories and how they shaped them: specifically Nami, Chopper, Robin and Brooke's back stories. By working together they've overcome it and moved on to greater things. If there's one thing I think makes characters stronger is that they don't always agree with one another; and most likely drive each other crazy with their own personalities. Which leads me to talk about Yu yu Hakusho.
Yu Yu Hakusho's main foursome regards four archtypes I still apply to character groups.
Yusuke - The mischievous punk with total lack of respect towards authority but evolves through training and personal experience. (Namely dying at the very beginning of the series.)
Kuwabara - Brash but lovable loser who never gets a break; but you will applaud for him when he finally has his moments to shine and you can tell underneath his stupidity is a heart of gold.
Kurama - The calm and collected intellectual who rarely says anything; but his good looks and charisma makes him very popular. (Particularly amongst girls.)
Hiei - The tough bad ass loner who prefers to be "unapproachable" and "isolated." this is namely due to his past and his own personal problems. He is definitely not the most open person to share them.
These are the four archtypes I choose from when making a cast of characters who get on each others' nerves in their own right.

Well that's it. I hope this map gives you some idea how I design characters and write for them. I hope this whole thing shows my thought process and how it works. ;D