Inspiring Artists

We all have our inspirational figures that really fuel us to do what we are passionate about. So I thought I'd post links to a few of my favorite artists.


Todd Lockwood
He's an astounding fantasy artist with an exceptional ability to captivate audiences and pull them into the story of the painting. I absolutely love his lighting as well. He's been a great help as well since I've started school back in 2008 when I first contacted him.

Brian Froud
A wondrous faerie illustrator, he truly takes you to the heart of the faerie realm, and ability to capture features in them is awe-inspiring

Marta Dahlig
Inspired me on how to paint digitally, but her realistic humans are just amazing, the first image I saw done by her in the magazine Imagine FX I thought was a photo, but pulled me into the realm of digital art further.

Raphael Lacoste
I absolutely love environments, but he really takes them to a whole new level as a matte painter, creating new realms that look so real.

James Gurney
Dinosaurs were an obsession of my childhood but I still love the power and amaze of the creatures from long ago. A whole world where people and dinosaurs living together was genius, which he illustrates with such command. A truly great painter, I'm currently reading his recent book Color and Light: A guide for the Realistic Painter there is so much information packed into one book.

Jordu Schell
I only recently found out about his work when he came to The Art Institute of Pittsburgh to do a lecture and demo. His knowledge of human and animal anatomy to create such bizarre to curious creations on canvas or in clay is especially unique.

Bob Rafei
Concept Artist working at Naughty Dog, he led the designs of the Jak and Daxter series with his fun and unique concepts both character and environment. Since Jak and Daxters last game release, he has been working on the Uncharted Series.

Mary Grandpre
Illustrator for the Harry Potter Series, her illustrations have a veery unique style she calls soft geometry. Having much of her work in a wide variety of publications, her pastel style is desired for many freelance projects.

John Manders
A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, his illustrations take on such an energetic cartoony feel, that you can tell his work as soon as you see it. He's created a number of his own childrens stories and illustrated for others.

If you have any you'd like to share, feel free I love discovering new artists works.