What inspires you?

[FishNChips]

Illustrators, writers, poets, musicians, whatever you may be, what is it that inspires you? What is it that you like to use to give you ideas, or give you a feeling that you use to create something?

Personally, I'm sometimes inspired by some other art, especially songs and poems. For the rest, it's often my own experiences, emotions, or something that I read about online or in the paper. They're usually a twisted and/or exaggerated version of those. I often use my own characters as inspiration. My characters are all a small part of me that has been emphasised, added to, twisted, exaggerated, and otherwise built upon to create a complex personality which I also use as my inspiration.

However, a lot of the inspiration I've recieved, I've never really acted upon, shame on me, but that's irrelevant. *goes to read Art and Fear*

It's also worth me saying that the book Art and Fear is a great inspiration for those who are looking to grow as an artist, no matter the kind of art they're into.

What about the rest of you?

[ZeroTime]

Jesus Christ inspires me, can I get an AMEN?!?!

[Kazekai]

Video games and anime. Boy am I original.

[Pony King]

I don't think music inspires me to draw ever. That said, music does help me draw and there is rarely an occasion where I'm drawing and not listening to music.

I find books (which I don't read enough of) and paintings/drawings from other artist inspire me. This past year I did an image which was inspired off of the "Lost Years of Merlin", book series I read as a kid.

[Eminoxic]

Love inspires me! Which is why I haven't been inspired in years

[Ibuuyk]

Inspiring things inspire me, but laziness eats it all :3

[AtomiKamikaze]

PIXIV. All I gotta do is go on there, look at the stuff my comrades in Japan draw, and then strive to be better if not as good.

[Lee]

I get inspired by... A lot of stuff.

Music, sometimes, although it's not so much of an inspiration to me as it is a way for me to 'boost up' my creativity during the process.

Most of my ideas, though, come from really strange sources. I'll be reading a history book or sitting in class where the professor will say like, literally a sentence or two that just gets my mind going, or I'll have a random and REALLY GREAT thought pop up in my head while walking down the street, or I'll have a dream that's a bit less surreal and a bit more linear than my normal ones which I remember beyond just a few minutes.

Actually, dreams are definitely my biggest source of inspiration. Some of my best ideas have been generated from that starting point in my twisted little mind.

[Kazekai]

I get ideas from dreams, too.

Oh, and vidja game music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzL-fXvHr6Q

[Tiger]

I get a lot of inspiration form just looking at the world around me. Clouds are very helpful, I love to look at their shapes and such and every once in a while I see a cloud that gives me some kind of idea. Sometimes I am inspired by my pets, how they act and look. Music helps, though it's more helpful in focusing on one thing rather than actually making me think of something new.