On March 8, it was announced that Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, Sand Land, and character designer for Dragon Quest, had passed away. He died on March 1 due to acute subdural hematoma, and the world mourns his death.

At 68, Toriyama was able to influence the world unlike any other. Some attribute the entirety of Shounen anime/manga to him. Many artists share how they’ve been impacted by his work, and how it has been their main drive to continue pursuing their dreams.

Digital artist Alexander Richards (@alexwithaz on Instagram) said “Akira Toriyama’s art was the perfect mix of Japanese action manga like Fist of the North Star with the cartoony sensibility and expression of American Saturday morning cartoons. His art was less about technique and correctness but more so style when it came to the drawings themselves, for me personally his simplification and abstraction of his subjects was the perfect way for me to begin to understand proportions and shape language.”

Moving past the death of an inspiration is challenging, but often the words of the deceased will keep us moving forward. Toriyama said, “Rather than deliberately trying to draw something, use something you yourself like and want to draw, and I think the characters that come out of that will really have their own individuality.” Toriyama stood by individual creativity and would want everyone to follow his leisurely lifestyle.