Inspirational Links

Everyone always asks artists about their inspiration; where does it come from, who inspires them, why do they create the way they do. Some of these questions will continually go unanswered, many will receive a pretentious artist’s explanation and only a few may come down to the very specific reason why. Each artist that I have met has been inspired and motivated quite differently but there is one consistent factor, and that’s the unquenchable desire to create.

As a web designer and illustrator I am constantly searching for inspiration to help keep my creative juices flowing. I often spend countless hours combing thru magazines, books, and websites dedicated to the showcasing of successful and often painfully talented individuals. In the last few years I have noticed a tremendous increase in the quality of my work based the regular digestion of these materials. By no means am I suggesting to copy original work for financial gain, however I am asking that young artists and designers learn from the masters and integrate their vision with what they have learned.

Below are just a few samples that provide inspiration to me and hopefully they will add a little warmth to your cold and cloudy minds.

Smashing Mag
A blog dedicated to showcasing and educating web designers. With almost daily updates, they offer a ridiculous amount of material to inspire even the most successful. Their tagline is “We smash you with the information that will make your life easier, really.” I couldn’t agree more and yes, your head should hurt after spend a few minutes there.

FWA
If you are a web designer, then The Favorite Website Awards site will be the best and worst decision you’ll ever make. Aside from being an extremely well designed site, The FWA showcases the best of the best in web experiences. It is not for the faint of heart and should come with some Tums. Every time I view this showcase, I reconsider my career.

Drawn!
For the illustrator, this blog features some great articles and images of talented animators, and illustrators. Updated regularly, it will be hard not to find something that will inspire your next masterpiece.

Allen Spiegel Fine Arts
ASFA is the agency that represents some of the biggest names in the illustration field today. This page showcases some gifted artists and I, myself frequent it quite often. Some notable individuals include: Kent Williams, Phil Hale and Dave McKean. 

Post by matt on 02/19
Artwork • Business • Web • (0) Comments •