The Influences

Ariel was obsessed with Disney and For Better or For Worse – all she wanted to do was draw comics. She explained in an interview, that if “you see the thing you love and you want to do it” then why not go for it and nothing gave her more pleasure than reading comics. 

As a teenager her influences varied from film especially “Natural Born Killers” to comic strips, such a Calvin and Hobbes and For Better or For Worse.  She mentions how comics are just the best way her brain works. Her and her sister used to spend the most of their time drawing and telling stories to each other. Eventually she started writing down the story at the tops of paper in speech bubbles, creating some of her first comic panel sketches. 

Her earliest and most significant influence was Disney.  It was something about the exaggerated emotion and movement of the characters in the early Disney films that perfectly captured how she felt “like seeing emotions dancing in front of you.” The early films were inspirational to her as well with the wonderful painted backgrounds and imaginative illustrations. Schrag loved the idea of this universe. Another influence that was extremely important to her was the comic strip For Better or For Worse. She loved the realness of it. How honest and true it really was. That as she grew up, the characters grew up too. She went through the ups and downs with them from elementary school all the way to high school and anything in between. Johnston the cartoonist of these books is highly inspirational to her own work. 

click here for a detailed interview on Ariel's school days, influences, and books

-Cassandra Tatarnic