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. 
Usually all my stories are reactions to other media I see.
Like I'll see a lot of media with X kinds of characters or themes and then I feel compelled to put my own spin on it with tropes and plot lines that I enjoy, catered exactly to me.
For example, my latest major project Secunda began with seeing a lot of monster x human pairings floating around online, but I thought all the monsters were a bit too nice and the humans were a bit too chaste. So I said to hell with that and wrote my own pairing my own way.
On the rare occasion, some stories come from real-world inspirations. We were driving to a city and the GPS took us on a different route than usual to avoid traffic. I'd never been through this new area and was awed by the scenery. It then inspired a new story idea I'm currently working 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.
Most of my current writings including my web comic are inspired from my dreams -- most of the time my dreams are set in places that i've never been to yet seems familiar and its either I am the main character or the bystander watching the things that happens in that dream unfold. --- and in dreams, most of the uncommon ideas, settings or plot you don't usually think of comes to life. That's why I always write my dreams down and from there I generate a plot out of it combining with some things/elements I'm into in the waking life ^^
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 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.
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.
I wrote an INCREDIBLY ownvoices book about living with anxiety and being low-key stalked as a teenager. (Bonus points for also discovering I was bi at the same time.)
One of the side characters in that book was a fan favorite. Hands down. 100% of readers thought he needed a book of his own.
After talking to a writer friend of mine, my WIP was born. MC personality based on an IRL friend of mine, but the story is completely detached from anything remotely resembling his life!
