Alright, since I haven't said it loud enough in the "Hello, is anybody home?" or in the gallery, I want to issue a challenge to everyone... mods, members, lurkers too! Don't worry! It's not hard (unless you want it to be) and I guarantee you'll like what you've done! Not only that, folks here might even learn a bit about you as an artist too.


Matthew M. Laskowski AKA fox-orion has created the coolest meme ever with this one. It's called an Influence Map.
The idea is a very simple one: you take a 1462 H x 1000 W and divide it into a grid. You then fill those grids with 3x3, 2x2, 2x1 and 1x1 tiles containing images of whatever has inspired you as an artist. Whatever you want... photos, paintings, comics, your art, someone else's art, 3D, vector, whatever... hell, if you wanna go off the grid, go nuts!

I challenge you all to create one

Get it HERE

I really would do like to do more of them, maybe more theme based, like genre inspiration map or movies or characters or comics or writers or places or a combination of all! So do as many as you like however you like but just do it!

Chillyplasma had some interesting variation ideas as well influence non-map and non-influence map.

I've heard a lot of people saying they want too see challenges and group participation is important. Everybody should step up for this one... ONE EVERYBODY CAN DO... NO EXCUSES. Don't make me start calling you all out, one at a time!
Well, as a great man I once knew said... "Hello, is anybody home?"

(Later edit) Huh... whuddayaknow? Turns out lots of folks are home! Posts and comments are up, folks using the shoutbox and even Mods makin' improvements! Cheers everybody! Now make those influence maps! Here's what we got so far:

Here's what we got so far:






Cheers to Starchild, Vash99, Darth Paul, Cattle, Finister, OCP, Daswook, B, Hisstoryman, JMonteiro, MissVee, DrVillain Dark_Wanderer and Machobubba for stepping up to the challenge!
It's getting to be quite a collection! Keep sending 'em in!

to tell u the truth i wouldnt know where to begin

Well Vash, since you have enough skills to put together your own icon, you certainly have enough for this challenge.

First, there's a grid template with instructions for you to work right on top of.
It can be found HERE

Next, you figure out what inspires you... for example, you might choose Trigun, Marvel Superheroines and Aiko as some of your inspirations.

Then you find images that convey those inspirations... a particularly well drawn Scarlet Witch panel, a Trigun screenshot, etc. I used google image search as the quickest way to find the images I wanted.

Lastly, you re-size and crop those images into various tile sizes and paste your image tiles over the grid using your favorite graphics program (I use photoshop). Then you add your name (Vash99) before "Influence Map" at the top. ...and that's all there is to it.

Both Starchild and Myself have done one so far.




Now we each chose our own backgrounds and stylized fonts for the title and text labeling those inspiration images but you don't have to go that far if you don't want to. You can make it complex if you want but it really can be as simple as fill in the grid with your favorite pics.

Come on Vash, step up! Let's see what you got! Looking forward to seeing yours!

Alright Pijon, you've got me. I've already got something of an informal list of influences in a text format floating around somewhere, so it would be a cinch to just translate it into a graphical format like this. So, I'll bite and do one for you so you can see what drives my particular brand of creativity.

Hey Paul! Thanks bud! It's funny... I was going to PM you about this but you beat me to it! You always were one who could be counted on for these challenge type things. Sure, YOU know what your influences are... but I wanna see 'em too!
Really looking forward to seeing your Influence Map!

my first draft is posted

Alright Vash! Well done! I've added a thumbnail of yours to the first post in this forum and left you detailed comments in your gallery. First draft, you say? All right! Keep going! I actually had enough fun that I'm doing another myself.
...Paul's is in too! Good job, bud!

Hmm... I'd have to post my grid in the adult gallery - ha ha

yeah will try to do a better one my next day off

Looks like it will be a while before I can get mine set up. apparently the wife's computer does not like the idea of installing any image editing software..

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Sounds like I'm going to have a new favorite!

Alright, Vash, looking forward to the next one! I just posted my 2nd!

Cattle is most recent to answer the challenge! Well done, man!

It has been added to 1st post in the forum.

DW, Thanks for the help with a spot for the template BTW you've got a legit excuse so you're excused... unless we can keep this running long enough to force ya to go to the library and use their PCs!

WARNING!! mine is in the adult gallery

http://heromorph.com/heromorph2/uploads/photos/12217.jpg

I may be able to use MS paint but I have always been about quality... and ms paint is NOT quality to me... so :P lol

ms paint paint is only quality to ms paint lol

These are quite interesting... I oughta do one.

(I also oughta check this bleepin' site more often...)

yes. yes you should lol

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Very cool! I left you a comment and added yours to the inital post thumbs

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No DW, you have not been SO bad that you need to be tortured with MS Pain(t).

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B! I'm with DW (I believe the 2 yes's indicated one for each statement!). You definitely should come around more... maybe even comment and post once in a while! Your art, like your comments, tends to be detailed, smart and insightful. Yours is definitely an influence map I'd love to see! DO IT! ...please!

OCP has also posted one! Yeah!

Mine's posted. Gotta admit, making it made me feel like a kid again because most of my influences were from my childhood. Thanks!!

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Detailed, smart and insightful? You must have me confused with someone else...

But, yeah, I posted something. Though I think I may have misunderstood the "map" part... Ah, well.

As for posting and art and stuff, erm, that's probably a topic for the other thread.

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Good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor!
BTW, That map is awesome!

Daswook... thank you for stepping up too! Well done! Both yours and B's have been added to the 1st post.