Have you ever wondered what makes Byron Byron? (Probably not, but just play along.) Here are some of the major influences in the design of my flagship character, along with the characters that helped shape my sense of humor and world view. From top, rotating clockwise, we have...

KIT CLOUDKICKER
The plucky sidekick from TaleSpin had the most influence on Byron's design, although the two characters didn't look that much alike at first. As I improved my technique and Byron grew more detailed, he more closely resembled Kit, although he'll always be chubbier! And oh yeah, with more bladder control issues.

BUDDY THE BARBIC
A minor character from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, introduced late in the series. He was a member of a warrior tribe, but instead of raising hell with the rest of the Barbics, he stayed behind to play music and mack on Sunny Gummi. So his personality wasn't anything like Byron's, but he's got the same patch of dark fur over one eye.

NIBBLES/TUFFY
Ah, you never forget your first! Nibbles (or is it Tuffy?) was my favorite character from the early Tom and Jerry cartoons... you know, before Gene Deitch ruined the franchise with those awful Eastern European episodes. His extreme cuteness kept me from rooting for Tom in the episodes where he was a guest star.

WILDLIFE
Any furry artists just starting out should take this advice to heart... more than anything else, you should base your characters on their real life counterparts. You'll notice details about the animals which you can express in your own style, rather than borrowing those cues from other artists. Plus, it'll give you a chance to enjoy nature in its full splendor.

DC ANIMATED UNIVERSE
Batman, Superman, Justice League, Batman Beyond... they're all animated classics, and I watch at least one episode of one of these shows every day. Warner Bros. still makes superhero cartoons, but they're divorced from the continuity of the DCAU and are rarely ever as good. (Under the Red Hood wasn't too shabby, though!)

ARCHIE COMICS
When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time reading... especially comics, and especially Archie Comics. Sure, they're kind of corny, but I dig Dan DeCarlo's art style, and the series does a fantastic job of keeping pace with the times. The series started in the early 1940s, but comics from the 1980s reflected the trends of that decade with total clarity.

LOONEY TUNES
The quality of Looney Tunes episodes is wildly inconsistent thanks to different directors, art styles, and some unfortunate decisions made by Warner Bros. during its Seven Arts years. However, in its best moments, Looney Tunes gave the world comedy that has no equal. The creativity of the sight gags and the depth of expression in gestures still amaze over a half decade later.

CONAN O'BRIEN
The man was responsible for the best episodes of The Simpsons, as well as a trio of gutbustingly funny talk shows. He was at the top of his game on Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1996 to 1999, creating surreal characters like Pimpbot 5000 and conducting phony interviews with cartoonish portrayals of Bob Dole ("Doooooole!") and Bill Clinton ("Neeeehaw!"). Just watch this and try not to laugh, I dare you!

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BENTLEY BEAR
Bentley's a rare treat as one of the only bear protagonists in a video game. I also really liked the visual style of the game and its promotional art, which had a very sharp-edged polygonal look years before video games actually used polygons.

BABY TUGS
The headstrong male half of the Care Bear Cubs, and probably my favorite member of the team (although Bright Heart Raccoon's not far behind). He's especially cute in the Nelvana series, since all the characters look adorable in that style and he's not so eager to grow up.