Fairy Tail is rife with homage characters. They're not...quite there, but it doesn't take a lot of effort to see where Mashima was referencing. The guild itself is full of them if you look carefully. When Lucy first enters the guild hall in the second episode and the part where Erza dispenses discipline when she comes back are both full of lookalikes and similarities amidst the regular weirdos.

There are characters later on in the series (I won't spoil them here, PM me if you've read the series and want to know) who's styles I'm positive are a direct homage to particular mangaka.