Uhh...?
SYAC - Mistakes by *TomPreston on deviantART
Okay. Sigh.
What frustrates me about popular artists who post this kind of shit is that they'll get hundreds of comments that reply with artists trying to backtrack themselves in order to feel justified about the way they draw. "I like anime, but I've been trying to draw more Western influence." NO. KNOCK. IT. OFF.
You're not wrong for drawing whatever YOU want to draw. More power to you, little artist, if you love Naruto and want to grow up to draw action packed comics. Good for you! What we older artists should be encouraging is not "HEY. DON'T DRAW FROM ANIME. WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU" but rather "Thats good, but let me help you in your journey to become a better artist by showing you this..."
Encourage younger artists, but do NOT tear them down about their first influences. There is NOTHING to be ashamed about - even if your teacher's opinion about (anime, cartoons, whatever) is not your own opinion.
I can not tell you enough how much Kyle helped me with my art, and guess what? He never once said, "Angela, you must stop drawing from this. Be ashamed of these influences". But maybe thats because Kyle, much like myself, likes anime. HOWEVER, while he often encouraged my art, he also taught me to go out there and learn from life.
If there is ONE THING that I want to do for kids when I become an art teacher, is make sure they know that, its okay if you like Sailor Moon - the key is that while you're learning from that, you can also learn from different sources. That is what art is about. Thats why my art is a mismash of various things and somehow ends up being a mix of Walt Kelly and Jeff Smith's love child. Thats why I love artists like jenwang.net/ because her style is influenced by anime.
Now I'm done.