hmm i think i really enjoy illustrators, i like elaborate and decorative illustrations that tell a story in some way - but i also really respect comic artists and animators too (and other types of visual art). i find sequential art difficult so i have a lot of respect for what they do. i came from an anime/manga influenced background, so artists like jun mochizuki (pandora hearts), yana toboso (black butler), and katsura hoshino (d.gray-man) left a really strong imprint on me growing up - the gothic victorian aesthetic still makes me weak even now hahaha...

comic artists i like: alex alice, herge, shirahama kamome, ryoko kui, tracy j. butler (lackadaisy).

painters: henri matisse, alphonse mucha, dean cornwell, mead schaeffer, l.c. leyendecker, norman rockwell, sheilah beckhett, earl oliver hurst (he is so underrated!).

online artists: sara kipin, yec_yourz, kingkaiser, sophie li, tulliok, princecanary/ star_bite, apticho, thedustyleaves, yvecz_, mgong520 (maybe light nsfw warning), atie1225 (nsfw warning), sheya chen, asenliyyy.

for online artists i tend to gravitate towards artists who draw their original characters the most, mad respect for drawing ocs and showing them off online (it's not easy!).