Fictional Romance and Inspiration (Part 1)

Read some introspective thoughts on the media that shaped my art and see the process of making part 1 of a new fan-art.

Fictional Romance #

A little over a month ago, I watched this video by Daryl Talks Games on Youtube about What Artificial Romance Does to People.

The video talks the attraction and emotions people develop for fictional characters, and how a particular video game explores this psycological phenomenom. It might sound odd, but it is neither uncommon nor even unnatural to feel something for a fictional character. I would argue that is the point of any media or artwork; to make you feel something. There are those whom their pyscologies take their attractions to an extreme, but loving a character based on their physical description or their actions within the chosen media is something likely everyone has experienced.

If I asked, “Who is your favorite character and why?”, I would bet the answer would be something along the lines of, “So-and-so, because they’re cool/heroic/villinous/graceful/misunderstood/insert-any-adjective-here.” We all connect with certain character types, not always romantically, but with admiration, respect, or through a sense of shared experience. The characters I find myself attracted to are almost always the type that don’t have physical strength, but instead emotional or intellectual strength (Disney-princess types, or the quiet type with a hidden skill). I love a badass woman with a sword that rides a dragon, but I just can’t relate to that, even in a fantasy setting. Give me the Zelda’s and Link’s, a Legolas, Eowen, Ariel, Belle, or Usagi- the ones who might be outshined by another, or have clear faults, but is no less important or strong in their own way.

You might also be able to recognize a time you had a crush on a fictional character in a movie or show, a book (hello “book boyfriends”), a musician, or an actor. The person or relationship might be fictional, but the emotions they make us feel are totally valid.

While Daryl Talks Games focused on romance specifically generated through dating sims and video games, it left me thinking for weeks about the fictional worlds that I have loved; not romantically, but those that have left a lasting impression and influenced my own fantasy worlds and art.

I have focused so much on making original artwork recently, saving the fandom stuff for warm-up sketches and doodles, that I started to feel a lost sense of whimsy with my artwork. So, while reminiscing about the series and characters that shaped my art and style, I went ahead and made a full piece of fan-art, and it has been the most fun I’ve had with my art so far this year.

Sketch progress (digital): #

An Inexhaustive List of Inspirtation #

In chronological order, here is a list of the media that has significantly affected not just my art, but my personal image and (in some ways), life choices;

• Disney Renaissance Movies (Little Mermaid, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc.)
• Pokemon Red & Blue (and Yellow)
• The Legend of Zelda (Ocarina of Time and every game after)
• The Lord of the Rings (the movies, then the books)
• Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, CLAMP (anime/manga)
• Romanace and Fantasy novels and artists on social media

Line art and coloring (digital): #

Shaping Style #

I can draw a straight line between each of those inpsirations and the way they affected my art and life.

• Disney movies was the birth of my interest in drawing, animation, and fantasy stories. I would copy Mickey Mouse and Goofy from images and rewatch the movies just to hear and see the characters I loved the most.

• Pokemon pulled me toward original ideas and whimsical creatures (not just dragons and unicorns). Drawing pokemon trainers and creating my own team was perhaps the first time I drew from memory and copied an art style to make something of my own.

• The Legend of Zelda pulled me into “high fantasy” worlds, which was quickly enhanced with the Lord of the Rings. I became obsessed with fantasy races and creating characters to fit into the worlds that grew in my imagination. With the help of art classes in school, I learned more about art concepts and practicing anatomy and perspecive and storytelling.

• I was convinced I was going to be an animator and fantasy artist before I discovered anime, manga, and Japanese culture and that threw life down a left path. Stories like Inuyasha drew me to historical fantasy. The art style of CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and later Tsubasa Resevoir Chronical, specifically) was a huge inspirtation nd my art shifted to an anime-inspired style.

There was a huge break from art at this point in my life, even though it remained a constant in my mind. I still devoured media and made fanart, but I wasn’t growing or developing my style at that time.

• In recent years, I returned to reading and embracing the worlds in my imagination. I’ve taken my artwork more seriously as a professional and returned to studying and pushing my skills, taking inspiration from the artists I find and follow on social media. This has pushed my artwork to what it is now; a blend of semi-realistic styles with fantasy elements.

While I won’t admit to falling in love with a particular character from any of the listed inspirtations (even though I definitely had a crush on a fictional character from one or two of them), I can say that I “fell in love” with the storytelling and the art styles, and that is what ultimately changed my drawing style.

Even now, I get comments on how my drawings look like a disney chatacter, or “those anime characters you like” and those comments aren’t wrong. It’s because I take inspirtation from those art styles and they come out in the art work.

(What does it mean then when people say “that character looks like you” then? 😏)

Paint, cut, assemble (traditional): #

Part 1 Completed #

It took two weeks to sketch, plan, paint and cut all the pieces for this artwork. Seeing all the pieces cut and laid out is one of my favorite parts of the process. Looking at them makes me think of a puzzle, that when put together, makes something that brings a smile to my face and a sense of pride that I did it! I made all these pieces and now I get to build the characters. So fun!

Ready for Assembly #

TLDR #

• Falling in love with a fictional character is normal
• So is falling in love with a story or artstyle, and that’s where my art style comes from
• I love when the peices are ready to be put together!

Since health of myself and my dogs took precedent, the fanart was not complete by the deadline for this blog post. So a part 2 will be coming! I will show the rest of the process of putting toegther this fanart and continue discussing how romance (both the fictional kind and the real) inspires and motivates my artwork.

Find more of my work, sneak peeks, and updates on my socials:

• @emis.sketchbook
• Bluesky/Cara @emisketchbook