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Description
This is my influence map as of 10/8/16. Since I haven't been very productive, I've put this together to try to start me off again.

I have also made an alternate map HERE , but the subjects are the same. It just goes to show how differently the elements can be portrayed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1. Synesthesia/The Ether

The most important "software" my mind has for artistic use is sound-to-color synesthesia, which I developed over time, starting at 16 and ramping up when I was 18. Thanks to this mental imaging, over half of this map is music. Usually it is very abstract, with particular textures depending on the music. I am surprised and impressed whenever visuals seem to be paired well to music, and if it isn't then I tend to find it very jarring...

"The Ether" is an abstraction, think flows and smoke, both real and imagined. The world is pervaded by intricacies of movement and diffusion, and this pulls greatly from my undergrad in chemical engineering.

LINKS:
For examples of someone utilizing their synesthesia for painting: www.melissasmccracken.com/exhi…

Picture source (guiltily Radiohead-related): bit.ly/2dZYpqv

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Aaron Horkey

While less realized in my drawings, Horkey has intense flowing and detailed lineart you have to see to believe.
I have a print of his on my wall, Black Lake: 411posters.com/2014/10/black-l…

LINKS:
Source of image: bit.ly/2dBdLpQ
Examples:
thevacvvm.com/collections/aaro…
omg-horkey.tumblr.com/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3. J. C. Leyendecker

Another less realized influence, I adore the linelessness and dramatic style of Leyendecker. Going lineless is hard for me, so naturally I would be impressed...
There is also much to be said about his usage of composition.
It also really says something that Leyendecker's work went on to inspire the style of Team Fortress 2, which is the next section...

LINKS:
Image source, about midway down: bit.ly/1AXDUBq
Examples:
jcleyendecker.tumblr.com/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4. Team Fortress 2/Mucha

The countless /good/ fanartists of TF2 and the limited subject matter and color palette makes this one of my biggest artistic influences, especially from 16-17 years old. Here I was also able to shoe-in Alphonse Mucha,
a commonly-referenced artist. The restrained mood of his work and the detail to nature is inspiring.

LINKS:
Source of picture: bit.ly/2dy4TiG
A literal style guide for TF2, by Valve: www.valvesoftware.com/publicat…
Another style guide by Valve: www.valvesoftware.com/publicat…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

5. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Preoccupying me for the entirety of being 13, Eva is one of the fundamental pieces of work for the way I think and draw. These days I tend to overlook Eva's influence, but it is absolutely fundamental. The Mass Produced Evas convinced me to learn how to draw wings. The extra eyes and
"divinity" of scenes, particularly in End of Eva, started me off in working on a darker tone.

Eva also has a strong biology-meets-technology slant to it. The computer interfaces, the visceral Evas, LCL... one wonders how I got onto the track of becoming a bioengineer...

LINKS:
Picture source: sachinteng.tumblr.com/post/127…
Very much illustrates the graphic and psychological nature of NGE.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. David Bowie/Brian Eno

While Bowie and Eno worked together to create the albums Low and "Heroes", here I consider them separate forces. The link between these two is that their works are somewhat abstract and vignette-like. Bowie's songs sound to me like illustrative short stories, and sometimes he can really work his voice! My favorite albums include Low, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and Hunky Dory, to name just a few.
I love listening to ambient music in general, but Eno's influence on me comes primarily from four albums he made early on in his career; Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy), Another Green World, and Before and After Science. Colorful, they cover interactions with characters and the environment in an eccentric, haphazard way.

I have endlessly listened to albums from both artists, because I've found that their albums are good "work music" for schoolwork in general. It's not overly plain, but it also doesn't overwhelm me into inaction.

LINKS:
The image is from Adam Buxton's video of the making of Low: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjY…
Album art from Eno's albums: www.printmag.com/article/the-a…
Information about Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy": ultimateclassicrock.com/david-…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

7. How to Destroy Angels

Sometimes looked down as Trent Reznor's "wife's band," this side project of Reznor's with his wife Mariqueen and collaborators Atticus Ross and Rob Sheridan introduced a welcomed femininity to Reznor's sound.
The foreboding, ominous, calamitous tone... I had thought that if I ever made music, then this is what it would sound like. It makes me think of sludgy sparrows and multiplied eyes.

LINKS:
The picture is related to one of their songs, Keep It Together: bit.ly/2dCnoAZ
One of my favorite live videos, of the song We Fade Away: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBn9Yn…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

8. Cells, Life Structures

As a bioengineering student, I would be very remiss to NOT have some sort of straightforward biological influence. Cells are able to talk with one another and form "communities" whilst being diverse in structure and occupation. They are able to change and grow and work in unison...

Picture source (guiltily Radiohead-related): bit.ly/2dCmTXy

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now we are getting to the bigger influences...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

9. SOLID&ETC

This person is a fanartist of the following influence, Hellsing. From ages 14 to 16, she was my greatest stylistic inspiration and the person who I pulled the most from stylistically, even if I hadn't drawn in a way that showed it.
Her intricate swirls and subject matter are difficult to overlook. Most egregiously, the girls-with-hellhounds motif stems from here.

LINKS:
Her newer site: solidandetc.tumblr.com/
Her old site: www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/solid/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

10. Hellsing

There is no place to start on this, and so I won't... Hellsing is such an incredibly fundamental part of my style.
The big eyes, the teeth, the extra eyes, the dark mood... its influence cannot be understated.
Here is, mainly, where I picked up drawing dogs, particularly smoky hellhounds.

Image Source: Rip Van Winkle; Volume 5, Chapter 2, Page 32: www.mangareader.net/hellsing/2…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

11. Boards of Canada

The pastoral and textural, sweeping sounds delves deep into the psyche...

LINKS:

The image is taken from the album cover of Music Has the Right to Children: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Ha…

Pitchfork's review of Music Has the Right to Children: pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8…

Wiki: bocpages.org/wiki/Boards_of_Ca…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuNUL… A lesser known group of tracks, which best showcases Boards of Canada to me
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6R8q… Whitewater - an older song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIY0c_… Mukinabaht, paired with an unusual deer animation

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now we are getting to the suffocatingly large influences...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

12. deadmau5

Joel Zimmerman, aka deadmau5... I stand by him despite all of his cringe-inducing antics. Unspeakably large influence from my formative undergraduate years.

LINKS:
This is Project 56, which is where I think you can experience Joel at his Joeliest: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5OiB…
His infamous twitter account which is sometimes dead, sometimes alive: twitter.com/deadmau5

Painting's origins, by Kevin Llewellyn. Warning: music autoplays on the site... bit.ly/2edZWwc

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

13. Radiohead

Another unspeakably large influence. I think this band changed how my brain works (?!)

Times when Radiohead (particularly Thom Yorke) fucked me up:

Click on the slogan and continue though the pages. archive.radiohead.com/Site4/fi…
More fucking me up: archive.radiohead.com/Site1/ga…

Influential Yorke Interviews:

www.dazeddigital.com/artsandcu…
When I first read this, I didn't know he was interviewing himself. I just thought that the interviewer was conveniently also named Thom. So I became
a bit alarmed when the interviewer Thom began to personally attack Thom near the end. What a trip...

gildedbirds.com/2013/04/29/tho…
One of my favorite Yorke interviews

Image source: www.pinchemoreno.com/fakeplast…
This illustration is made up of many Radiohead song influences.

Description
This is my influence map as of 10/8/16. Since I haven't been very productive, I've put this together to try to start me off again.

I have also made an alternate map HERE , but the subjects are the same. It just goes to show how differently the elements can be portrayed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1. Synesthesia/The Ether

The most important "software" my mind has for artistic use is sound-to-color synesthesia, which I developed over time, starting at 16 and ramping up when I was 18. Thanks to this mental imaging, over half of this map is music. Usually it is very abstract, with particular textures depending on the music. I am surprised and impressed whenever visuals seem to be paired well to music, and if it isn't then I tend to find it very jarring...

"The Ether" is an abstraction, think flows and smoke, both real and imagined. The world is pervaded by intricacies of movement and diffusion, and this pulls greatly from my undergrad in chemical engineering.

LINKS:
For examples of someone utilizing their synesthesia for painting: www.melissasmccracken.com/exhi…

Picture source (guiltily Radiohead-related): bit.ly/2dZYpqv

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Aaron Horkey

While less realized in my drawings, Horkey has intense flowing and detailed lineart you have to see to believe.
I have a print of his on my wall, Black Lake: 411posters.com/2014/10/black-l…

LINKS:
Source of image: bit.ly/2dBdLpQ
Examples:
thevacvvm.com/collections/aaro…
omg-horkey.tumblr.com/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3. J. C. Leyendecker

Another less realized influence, I adore the linelessness and dramatic style of Leyendecker. Going lineless is hard for me, so naturally I would be impressed...
There is also much to be said about his usage of composition.
It also really says something that Leyendecker's work went on to inspire the style of Team Fortress 2, which is the next section...

LINKS:
Image source, about midway down: bit.ly/1AXDUBq
Examples:
jcleyendecker.tumblr.com/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

4. Team Fortress 2/Mucha

The countless /good/ fanartists of TF2 and the limited subject matter and color palette makes this one of my biggest artistic influences, especially from 16-17 years old. Here I was also able to shoe-in Alphonse Mucha,
a commonly-referenced artist. The restrained mood of his work and the detail to nature is inspiring.

LINKS:
Source of picture: bit.ly/2dy4TiG
A literal style guide for TF2, by Valve: www.valvesoftware.com/publicat…
Another style guide by Valve: www.valvesoftware.com/publicat…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

5. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Preoccupying me for the entirety of being 13, Eva is one of the fundamental pieces of work for the way I think and draw. These days I tend to overlook Eva's influence, but it is absolutely fundamental. The Mass Produced Evas convinced me to learn how to draw wings. The extra eyes and
"divinity" of scenes, particularly in End of Eva, started me off in working on a darker tone.

Eva also has a strong biology-meets-technology slant to it. The computer interfaces, the visceral Evas, LCL... one wonders how I got onto the track of becoming a bioengineer...

LINKS:
Picture source: sachinteng.tumblr.com/post/127…
Very much illustrates the graphic and psychological nature of NGE.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. David Bowie/Brian Eno

While Bowie and Eno worked together to create the albums Low and "Heroes", here I consider them separate forces. The link between these two is that their works are somewhat abstract and vignette-like. Bowie's songs sound to me like illustrative short stories, and sometimes he can really work his voice! My favorite albums include Low, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and Hunky Dory, to name just a few.
I love listening to ambient music in general, but Eno's influence on me comes primarily from four albums he made early on in his career; Here Come the Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy), Another Green World, and Before and After Science. Colorful, they cover interactions with characters and the environment in an eccentric, haphazard way.

I have endlessly listened to albums from both artists, because I've found that their albums are good "work music" for schoolwork in general. It's not overly plain, but it also doesn't overwhelm me into inaction.

LINKS:
The image is from Adam Buxton's video of the making of Low: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjY…
Album art from Eno's albums: www.printmag.com/article/the-a…
Information about Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy": ultimateclassicrock.com/david-…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

7. How to Destroy Angels

Sometimes looked down as Trent Reznor's "wife's band," this side project of Reznor's with his wife Mariqueen and collaborators Atticus Ross and Rob Sheridan introduced a welcomed femininity to Reznor's sound.
The foreboding, ominous, calamitous tone... I had thought that if I ever made music, then this is what it would sound like. It makes me think of sludgy sparrows and multiplied eyes.

LINKS:
The picture is related to one of their songs, Keep It Together: bit.ly/2dCnoAZ
One of my favorite live videos, of the song We Fade Away: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBn9Yn…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

8. Cells, Life Structures

As a bioengineering student, I would be very remiss to NOT have some sort of straightforward biological influence. Cells are able to talk with one another and form "communities" whilst being diverse in structure and occupation. They are able to change and grow and work in unison...

Picture source (guiltily Radiohead-related): bit.ly/2dCmTXy

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now we are getting to the bigger influences...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

9. SOLID&ETC

This person is a fanartist of the following influence, Hellsing. From ages 14 to 16, she was my greatest stylistic inspiration and the person who I pulled the most from stylistically, even if I hadn't drawn in a way that showed it.
Her intricate swirls and subject matter are difficult to overlook. Most egregiously, the girls-with-hellhounds motif stems from here.

LINKS:
Her newer site: solidandetc.tumblr.com/
Her old site: www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/solid/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

10. Hellsing

There is no place to start on this, and so I won't... Hellsing is such an incredibly fundamental part of my style.
The big eyes, the teeth, the extra eyes, the dark mood... its influence cannot be understated.
Here is, mainly, where I picked up drawing dogs, particularly smoky hellhounds.

Image Source: Rip Van Winkle; Volume 5, Chapter 2, Page 32: www.mangareader.net/hellsing/2…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

11. Boards of Canada

The pastoral and textural, sweeping sounds delves deep into the psyche...

LINKS:

The image is taken from the album cover of Music Has the Right to Children: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Ha…

Pitchfork's review of Music Has the Right to Children: pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8…

Wiki: bocpages.org/wiki/Boards_of_Ca…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuNUL… A lesser known group of tracks, which best showcases Boards of Canada to me
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6R8q… Whitewater - an older song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIY0c_… Mukinabaht, paired with an unusual deer animation

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Now we are getting to the suffocatingly large influences...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

12. deadmau5

Joel Zimmerman, aka deadmau5... I stand by him despite all of his cringe-inducing antics. Unspeakably large influence from my formative undergraduate years.

LINKS:
This is Project 56, which is where I think you can experience Joel at his Joeliest: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5OiB…
His infamous twitter account which is sometimes dead, sometimes alive: twitter.com/deadmau5

Painting's origins, by Kevin Llewellyn. Warning: music autoplays on the site... bit.ly/2edZWwc

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

13. Radiohead

Another unspeakably large influence. I think this band changed how my brain works (?!)

Times when Radiohead (particularly Thom Yorke) fucked me up:

Click on the slogan and continue though the pages. archive.radiohead.com/Site4/fi…
More fucking me up: archive.radiohead.com/Site1/ga…

Influential Yorke Interviews:

www.dazeddigital.com/artsandcu…
When I first read this, I didn't know he was interviewing himself. I just thought that the interviewer was conveniently also named Thom. So I became
a bit alarmed when the interviewer Thom began to personally attack Thom near the end. What a trip...

gildedbirds.com/2013/04/29/tho…
One of my favorite Yorke interviews

Image source: www.pinchemoreno.com/fakeplast…
This illustration is made up of many Radiohead song influences.