I've been influenced by these things and artists in my struggle to get better at this.
Leiji Matsumoto- For the awesome worlds created
Rukunetsu- Humor and all out style that's his and his ALONE. Makes cool beats too!
Hyung Tae Kim- Man, that guy can color! Before character design I heard he made music for games.
Ninja Turtles- These guys were my gateway to an imagination. No...NO! NOT BOOKS- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Science Fiction- An awesome genre I think. Mutants, Aliens, Talking cats deja-vu explained because we actually are slaves to a giant computer with glitches, you name it!
Westerns- Heroes and villains, and a strong sense of justice! Guns-a-blazing, train robberies, and sometimes mariachis!
Steam-Punkulance- The future and the past all rolled into one story. Holographic projections from archaic looking gizmos and gadgets! SEPIA TONE-- huh? what?
Fantasy/Nature- Is there a wall of rocks behind that waterfall, or is that just how it seems? There could be a world behind it, complete with animals extinct long ago, races of people you've never seen (and have never seen you), colors that aren't on our spectrum.
Tite Kubo- Over all, Bleach is just awesome. That's it.
Bengus/Capcom- The character designs are among the most original in the world! Often imitated, but never duplicated!
Namco- Pacman. Tekken. Soul Calibur. And I'm a hard core Virtua Fighter Fan! (Yes, it it possible to be both a Tekken and VF fan)
Blasianonna- Creates characters left and right, ones that, time and time again, have invited me to imagine the worlds they live in!
Sonic/Mario- Two characters that have had a long standing rivalry and they've never met! (That is, until recently) A hedgehog that runs at the speed of sound, that fights an egg-shaped mad scientist, and lives a world with a FLOATING ISLAND. A plumber that dates a princess, fights a giant fire breathing snapping turtle-lizard and lives in...a mushroom kingdom. COME ON! SEGA and NENTENDO - for the sheer creativity!
These are just some of the things/artists that have influenced me. There's also God, history, books, history books, the Bible and maybe YOU as well.
Sorry for being so late, but man, I'm flattered! And you, sir, create a multitude of characters yourself! It's always nice to see where people have received their inspiration and influences from.