I love Miyazaki too! Studio Ghibli movies are a huge source of inspiration for me. Same with Disney cartoons. As for artists, I love Jan Brett’s illustrated children’s books since they focus on animals and folklore/fairy tales. The Secret Garden has been my favorite film and book since I was a child, and it’s certainly influenced how I feel about the magic of nature. I’m sure I have more, but those are the ones I draw from the most 😊
Thank you for sharing! Disney cartoons are a huge inspo for me too, especially the "renaissance" era (70s-80s). I recently found a great art book about that period: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1452178704. As I say this I'm realizing I could have a whole separate list of inspirations for illustration specifically, animation, fables/folklores... Making this short list was harder than I thought! But a high level creative list is a useful thing to keep in mind.
I'm definitely going to check out Secret Garden! Thanks for mentioning it, I haven't read it before. Do you have a recommended edition?
I’ll be looking up a lot of books you referenced to see if my library has them! As for The Secret Garden, my favorite edition is: David R. Godine Publishers; Boston; 1987 (illustrated by Graham Rust). It’s an out of print copy, but biblio.com, Abe books, or better world books should have some copies. If you have an iPhone, there’s a free audio version on Apple Books narrated by Karen Gillan that’s excellent 😊 I did a post a few months back about my collection:
Found it on Abe! And thank you for sharing your post—what a lovely tribute to editions! I've been buying a lot more physical books over the past couple of years, and old used copies have become my favorite. The little blast-from-the-past notes inside from one person to another are priceless.
P.S. I really like that green leather cover in the first photo of your post! Looks lovely.
I love Miyazaki too! Studio Ghibli movies are a huge source of inspiration for me. Same with Disney cartoons. As for artists, I love Jan Brett’s illustrated children’s books since they focus on animals and folklore/fairy tales. The Secret Garden has been my favorite film and book since I was a child, and it’s certainly influenced how I feel about the magic of nature. I’m sure I have more, but those are the ones I draw from the most 😊
Thank you for sharing! Disney cartoons are a huge inspo for me too, especially the "renaissance" era (70s-80s). I recently found a great art book about that period: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1452178704. As I say this I'm realizing I could have a whole separate list of inspirations for illustration specifically, animation, fables/folklores... Making this short list was harder than I thought! But a high level creative list is a useful thing to keep in mind.
I'm definitely going to check out Secret Garden! Thanks for mentioning it, I haven't read it before. Do you have a recommended edition?
I’ll be looking up a lot of books you referenced to see if my library has them! As for The Secret Garden, my favorite edition is: David R. Godine Publishers; Boston; 1987 (illustrated by Graham Rust). It’s an out of print copy, but biblio.com, Abe books, or better world books should have some copies. If you have an iPhone, there’s a free audio version on Apple Books narrated by Karen Gillan that’s excellent 😊 I did a post a few months back about my collection:
https://theheartofstorytelling.substack.com/p/my-love-for-the-secret-garden
Found it on Abe! And thank you for sharing your post—what a lovely tribute to editions! I've been buying a lot more physical books over the past couple of years, and old used copies have become my favorite. The little blast-from-the-past notes inside from one person to another are priceless.
P.S. I really like that green leather cover in the first photo of your post! Looks lovely.