What inspired you to write and create your comic/story?

Engram was inspired by my favourite childhood sci-fi, which was written in USSR and had a very distinct utopian flavor to it. The original revolution was helmed in part by idealists who wanted a future for all humankind where everyone was able to achieve their full potential (then they all got executed by Stalin, lol). After Stalin, in the 60's and 70's there was a huge resurgence of that kind of vision for the future, and a lot of the popular sci-fi stories (especially children's popular sci-fi stories) were genuinely kind and hopeful and full of characters who solved their problems through ingenuity and communication rather than violence. I LIKE writing violence, generally, so I wanted to challenge myself to do something else.

I also wanted to just tell a story about a girl and her space ship going on a small private adventure - small scale, small (from a universe's perspective) stakes, so they all kind of combined into Engram.

My other story that I'm currently working on is a polar opposite because it's all about violence, lol. It started out as a frustrated "what-if" when I was watching a tv show I do enjoy, but which features 300 characters - of which there are only 5 women, 3 of whom are just passive victims waiting to be rescued by a dude. So, I wanted to write about a woman of means and noble birth who decides she's gonna take over the galactic empire. There are SO FEW stories of this nature, and if there are, it's usually like... they're victimized and cast out and everything is so horrible and THEN they decide to take charge. I wanted a story where the woman was never victimized. She just... decided she's gonna rule the world, because she's obviously the best-suited for it. And of course it's difficult and deadly and awful, but only because she actively CHOSE to pursue this kind of life. Something more similar to a number of famous female monarchs, who schemed and maneuvered their way into power without ever going through a "rags to riches" narrative. And she partners up with her elderly father's favourite concubine (who is a MASSIVE SCHEMING JERK) to do it, who would normally be the "evil petty woman" antagonist.

Originally this story was going to have a grass-roots republican rebellion/revolution as the other faction, but then I realized that for the average Western reader, they would 100% root for the rebels if I did that, so I made the rebels socialist revolutionaries. And then I realized that I could use that window to explore my own childhood and my own ancestors' history. I'm not... HUGE on my country of birth, but I do remember how proud and emotional the people were, and I realized I could tell something there, something that's honest that I don't normally touch. Something like the story of my great-grandmother, who, until her death, would take all formal photographs in her military uniform laden heavily with medals and honors that she'd been awarded as a WWII surgeon. I hope I can do that kind of pride justice.

It was a whole stupid progression tbh...

First, somebody explained Twilight to me and I was like "JFC you're kidding me"
Next I decided I could write a parody of that
Then I decided I couldn't write a parody of it because I didn't want to watch or read it, but I could write something silly and loosely inspired by it
Then I decided that it would have to be really, REALLY loosely inspired because I'm not all that interested in vampires... like there are kind of still vampires, but kind of not, because [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS]
Then I just threw in some other tropes like mean girls and con artists to make it more entertaining for me to write.

Who knows if the end result will be at all appealing to anybody, but some of the people who read the first incarnation of the story in its original medium seemed to think it was fun and original, so hopefully that holds true.

My stories are inspired by my love for superheroes and mythology. I thought it would be fun to make my own pantheon inspired by a mix of deities from all cultures. So, the gods in my story are somewhat of a reflection of that. Also, at first I wanted to make an original superhero and then realized that was going to be super hard! So, in the end, the hero I created was like... an homage of sorts to the type that I grew up loving: witty, smart, sarcastic, and so on.

For me it was a need for an escape from reality. My friend had been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer that I lost her too, and that entire year was an insane mess (which is probably why my stories keep having one issue after the other appear for the mains characters ). But since then I've found such a passion for writing, and I find a lot of inspiration in songs and art.

For me, it was a huge love for fantasy and sci-fi stories since childhood, be it books, film, TV or animation... I loved escaping into different worlds. (I also wanted to be an astronaut for many years as a child, so my love of the unknown goes back a LONG way.) Over time, my own fantasy universe began to coalesce, with its own lore, species, magic system, characters and so-on. I always knew I had to tell share that world and its stories somehow, at some point in my life.

I thought it would take the form of illustrated novellas because I didn't think I had the artistic chops for a graphic novel. Buuuut, now here I am with a webcomic!

As for more direct inspiration for Blue Star in particular (since it's technically a side-story for Dragonfeathers, which is its MUCH, much larger parent project) shows like Cowboy Bebop, Firefly and Star Trek Next Gen all played a part in inspiring me.

The comic I have been making is actually inspired by a musician named Tori Kudo, and his approach to making music and art. Errors do not need to be eliminated, they can be a part of art, like they are a part of life. One doesn't make art so that others think "this is a good artist," yet sometimes we let that thought seize us and even prevent us from making the things we want to. "What will others think about what I'm making?" Even the best artists are still learning and improving while they work.

I thought it would be funny if there was a goofy looking cat character who embodies this humbleness and optimism, and just makes the stuff he wants even though he's not suited to it. Paws aren't great for making pottery and music. Then I started thinking of other characters I'd like to pair him with. The series is very character driven. Of course, it's also rather poorly drawn at times.

Cartoons, and lots of them. That's the basis to not only my comics/novels, but my brand of work in general. I love stories with funny-looking characters. Ones that appear cute on the outside, but are a little strange... a little weird... and maybe a bit insane. I also love gripping tales of action. The kind that show a hero's rise from humble civilian to a great warrior. Or even ones where an outsider finds their destiny, and learns to better themselves through arduous trials and tribulations. Superman, Batman, Donald Duck, Earthworm Jim, Ed Edd n Eddy, Dr. Seuss, Astrix and Obelix, Buzz Lightyear. Those are just a few of the characters I've looked up to over the years. And much of their style has bled into the work I've made since the 8th grade.

My main inspiration for all art is communication and the instinct to create

My characters were originally ripoff Hetalia OCs, the gist being "what if i made personifications of planets?" but i got too lazy to do research. Now they fight against an oppressive, tyrannical regime and are being used to vent my frustrations in our year of our lord 2021.

Strangely enough, my webcomic plot was based off a dream I had years ago. Yeah I know it sounds weird, but the dream I had that day was crazy so I thought I could turn it into a comic. I also was a fan of the one punch man webcomic. Reading one punch man inspired me to create my own webcomic despite my lack of experience. I wanted to know if im capable of creating an interesting story that didn't follow the traditional route of storytelling. If anyone is interested here is the link below.

I was on a trip to iceland, and the tour guide was telling us about the old stories, and how some people still believe in them. We had stopped at a farm, and I remember thinking "what if the old norse legends were still out there?" I had a daydream about Thor and Sif living in a secluded farmhouse in iceland, on the lava fields, and it kind of bloomed from there.

For me, it was the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. XD I love that series to death (and Greek Myths in general), and coming up with my own plotline. As well as that was my desire to create an original story and not a fanfic for once lol.

I myself also have a preference for horror where we don't know exactly what is coming, and that the creepy stuff is just unknown mostly. When I began writing (and making the mini-comics) for my novel Jade Kingdoms, I took much inspiration of the experience from my own life.

Using that hurt and combining it with the horror I favor, I was able to also look my anxiety in the eye and use my fears as a pre for this story. I hope that my experience may be able to help someone else out there too, without downplaying the fear and pain.

I really just wanted to show a plus-size black gal getting some positive representation in a comic. That and the urge to draw creature people be strong, so here I am haha. I can understand the drive to want to add your spin to a genre you love that has let you down though.

I always like to create comics inspired by Manga/Anime/old Disney comics (See "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck")/Asterix.

I used to create 2 comics back then but I have fallen off many years ago but then after a dream around last year of September, I saw my main lead, Lyza, and sketched her out and loved how she looked. She is fierce and determined and started to craft a story around her. My stories are always about good vs. evil with plenty of fights, violence and many cool things.

This might sound a bit cliche but my biggest inspirations for my comic, TLC were Homestuck and Invader Zim

They were the primary media I watched/ read as a teenager and I started my comic when I was 16. For homestuck I liked the pixely style and thus I use a square brush to ink and shade, and use cell shading with flat colors. That comic is also what got me interested in creating a long term project

As far as Invader zim I likely picked up my thick lines style from them, and it was actually the cataliyst for the creation of my main character Yinyang! She was originally a black&white themed irken OC, then I decided to make her human disguise. I ended up liking that design better but she didn't quite look like a regular human so I decided to give her some powers to match her appearance. After that I wondered what other characters would fit alongside her and then I created a world to interact in. so if it wasn't for Invader zim my main character wouldn't exist!

I really owe it a lot to these two stories to have inspired me to be where I am today. not inly for the reasons listed above but because both inspired me to make fan art and thus helped me rapidly improve my art too so that I was ready to start tacking my comic when I did. I'm now 3 1/2 years in and i can't wait to see what comes!

If you're curious about my comic, check it out here!:

I read comics as a kid, specifically issue spider-man comics. I've always and enjoying drawing, but my comic in particular, The Black Belt Society, was inspired by tv shows I watched as a kid and an art friend I had in high school who really got me into comic making.