How Cartoons Influenced Me as an Artist
Some of the fondest memories I have of my childhood involve me watching cartoons.
Shows like Teen Titans, Ben 10, SpongeBob and Code Lyoko took me to a world of imagination. I hold these shows very close to my heart, but none more so than Pokémon.
It was due to the influence of cartoons that I’m the artist I am today.
Pokémon
Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters, is a Japanese media franchise created in 1995 by Satoshi Taijiri.
Creatures known as Pokémon inhabit a fictional world, similar to ours, in which humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, capture them and battle one another for sport. In fact, the slogan for Pokémon in English is “Gotta Catch ’Em All.”
The Pokémon franchise began with two video games for Game Freak’s original Game Boy called Pokémon Red and Green which were published in February of 1996.
Since then, it has been adapted across various media to include toys, a card game and an anime television series which is known as the most successful video game adaptation of all time.
The Pokémon franchise, boasting 90 billion dollars in total revenue, has become the highest grossing media franchise in history.
Growing Up With Pokémon
Growing up, my mother was a single parent. We didn’t always have cable so I couldn’t watch cartoons as much as most kids.
One night, my neighbor gave me my first pack of Pokémon cards and I have been hooked ever since.
Sometimes, my mom would bring me home episodes of Pokémon on VHS so I could watch them. I’d play them over and over again, some nights even falling asleep to them.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been drawing; horses, houses, nature, you name it. But after watching Pokémon and collecting hundreds of cards, I couldn’t stop drawing them.
Mostly, I found myself drawing Ash and his Pokémon, Pikachu, the protagonists of the television series. The pair were easy to draw since they were constantly on the screen.
Before I knew it, everything I was drawing was in cartoon form.
Opening the Door
My obsession with Pokémon got me interested in many of the things I love today, such as video games and anime/manga.
It is through these things that I find my inspiration to draw.
Video Games
I distinctly remember loving Pokémon's television series, so much so that I have made it my goal to collect as much as I can on DVD. Interestingly enough, I was introduced to the video games after obsessing over the show (rather than knowing of the games and then the show, as was the order of release).
The first games I played were Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal on the Game Boy Color.
These and later Pokémon games lead me to Nintendo’s Metroid, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Bros. and more.
I’ve noticed that I prefer to play games that have a cartoon style. My art also tends to reflect this preference.
Anime
My favorite types of movies and shows are ones that are animated. To be honest, I’ve always thought I was someone who just loved Disney movies that much, but that’s not entirely accurate.
There’s just something about animated series that I prefer to everything else.
My only explanation is that the Pokémon anime series, as well as the other shows I mentioned earlier in this post, influenced my preferences when I was younger.
Now, I try hard to replicate the style of anime in my art.
For example, the Inktober prompt on October 8th was “Frail.” I immediately thought of a scene from an anime called My Hero Academia and chose to draw one of the characters.
Concluding Thoughts
Watching cartoons growing up influenced me in a lot of ways. Not only do they encourage me to draw in a specific style but they also give me inspiration.
The things that influence our art are things we enjoy, and the things I still enjoy are cartoons.
They opened me up to a world of imagination and I am forever thankful for them.
Inktober Progress
As promised, I wanted to showcase a little bit of my progress from Inktober so far. Below you will see October 4–7. “Inktober Day 08: Frail" can be found earlier in this post.
