Artists that I'm Inspired By FINALE: Akira Toriyama (+ Minoru Maeda)

 This post will also be on my WordPress blog scheduled to post on July 29th since I rarely use my Blogger because as mentioned in one of my posts... botted views mostly coming from Singapore. It might have more words and stuff than this post and some corrections. This post on this blog might not be updated much since I'm rarely using my Blogger.

When my WordPress post drops on Saturday, I will link it here.

https://wimbearn.wordpress.com/2023/07/29/artists-that-im-inspired-by-finale-akira-toriyama-minoru-maeda/

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Now, it's time for the moment you've been waiting for!

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa, Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa, Da-da-da-da-da-da-daa Da-da-da-la-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa, Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa, tssshh Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa-da-da-da-da-daa, Ti-ta-ti-ti-ta-ti-ti-ta-ta-ta-la-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-da-la-ba-ba-ba-ba-da-la-ba-ba-baa, Ti-ta-ti-li-ta-ti-li-ti-taa, Ti-ta-ti-li [gasps] Ti-ta-ti-li-ta-ti-li-ta-ti-li-ta-ti-li-ta-ti-li-ti-ta-ti-ti-ta-ti-ti-taaaaa!

The man... the legend!

Artists that I'm Inspired By: Akira Toriyama

(+ Minoru Maeda)

So you might be asking me, why did I include an animator and character designer for this last part? 

Well, I remember running into a Tumblr blog post that showed different Goku designs from different animators and one of the designs of Goku was drawn by Maeda. He has worked on Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball and according to the wiki, he is known for his rounded designs. And he does a good job emulating Toriyama's style! I'm okay with the sharp designs used in Z and Super but I still miss that bubbly look of OG Dragon Ball or Dr. Slump.

But I will save him for last. I want to cover Toriyama first and break down his works!

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Yes, you already know who Toriyama is. Famous for Dragon Ball Z, character designs in Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger, or Dr. Slump (which isn't that well known or popular in the West, maybe?; you already might know who Arale is due to her cameos in Dragon Ball).

There are so many other works from Toriyama that I am curious about such as Sand Land (I am excited for the upcoming movie!) or Blue Dragon. And I have to discover them all! Well, maybe don't talk about Lady Red because the ending is uh... I won't talk about it. 

I did notice that there seems to be an art shift in his art, I believe? For example, I own a Dragon Quest art book and the artwork does evolve as I go page by page as the games go up. It goes from a lighter watercolor (similar to Ken Sugimori's art) to more detailed, shaded, and modern. I'll show what I'm talking about below. 

(Comparison: DQ 1 artwork to DQ 8 artwork. Source: Tumblr (DQ 1 Image)/CFC)

I will pick some of my favorite Dragon Ball art first. Of course, it's his most popular series, so why not start with it first? 

(Source: Kami Sama Explorer Museum/Flickr)

Found this and I thought of posting here. :)

Note: Some of the below images mostly come from the Character Design References site or Kami Sama Explorer Museum!

Of course, I include Launch! For those who don't know, she's my favorite Dragon Ball character!

If you find any good Toriyama art, let me know!

Next, I will be picking out some Dr. Slump artwork.

Next, I will be picking some of my Dragon Quest favs. 

He also did character designs for one of my favorite Dragon Quest anime: Legend of the Hero Abel!

I saw this Chono Trigger image and I love it!

Finally, I will be picking random works or images from Toriyama! I won't be commenting much or citing my sources since most images come from the above sites.

The original Dragon Ball: Dragon Boy!

That was... a lot of photos! But I just adore Toriyama's style and there are a lot of good Toriyama artworks you can find online! And I mean plenty!

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Now for Minoru Maeda. I already explained who he is, but I will be picking some of my favorite artworks from his and put them down below. I won't have much commentary, but I still adore his rounded designs seen in Dr. Slump or OG Dragon Ball.

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Conclusion - why is my art style inspired by theirs?

For Toriyama: I adore his cartoony look. Any Toriyama anime also does a good job with translating it well especially with expressions! I only like Toriyama's old watercolor art, but I think some of his modern art is pretty good. 

For Maeda: Already said it above!

If I were to say how much of my art style is inspired by theirs, I would say 50-60% maybe.

Thank you so much for reading all of my Artists that I'm Inspired By series! This finale was pretty long, but it's mostly images. I'm doing this series just to share what artists I'm inspired by. If you've seen some of my original art, it might look like some of the artists I mentioned! Again, thank you and take care!

- The End -