August Q&A (Patreon)

What art technique has been the most challenging for you to master?

I'm not sure I can say I've mastered anything, and I could wax poetic about how art is a process of lifelong learning and how mastery is overrated, it's the journey - not the destination, etc. BUT... watercolors. Fuck watercolors. Watercolor artists are magicians and should only be approached with respect, fear, and an offering of clean water (they drank their paint water and are trying to not show it). 

Is art your full-time job?

It's about to be! I'm slowly transitioning out of my day job and will be full-time come December. I'll have a few sex coaching clients on the side but art will be my focus for the first half of 2024. 

How do you research kinks for your art and fics?

I have a masters degree in marriage and family therapy with an emphasis in human sexuality (yes, I can say I have a Masters of Sex) and have spent the past few years working as a sex therapist, which is just a fancy way of saying I'm a big ol' sex nerd. 

But never discount good ol' fashioned sluttery! I draw most of my inspiration from clinical research, my own experiences, and friends. I'm lucky to live in a place with a strong kink community and to have friends that will talk about sex. "So how's your clit?" and "So what was the last thing in your ass?" are great openers for a friend date btw. 

Also, lots of porn. I hope nobody ever finds my laptop. X-art, Girl on the Net, catieosaurus, and Oh Joy Sex Toy are some of my favorite sources for education and inspiration. 

How did you first get into the HP fandom?

I started reading HP fanfic back when I was 14, full of angst, and given too much access to the internet. Right before the pandemic, I had a crush on a girl that loves fanfic so I started drawing. Yep, this all started to impress a girl. Is there any better motivation? 

If you could be the promo artist for any franchise, what would it be?

Star Trek is my a lifelong hyperfixation. 

What program do you use to make your art? 

Procreate. I've been pretty impressed with its capabilities. For graphic design or anything with text, I usually finish in Indesign. 

What advice do you have for beginner artists?

1. DRAW. Draw (almost) everyday and draw what you see, not what you think you see. If something isn't looking right, it's probably because you're drawing what you think should be there, not what's actually there. When I'm struggling with a face, I flip it upside to trick my brain into not recognizing it as a face (we have a whole area of our brains dedicated to "is that a face?" Creatively named the fusiform face area, and it'll fuck you right up with its trickery.). Focus on the actual shapes. This will also keep all your characters from looking the same. Remember: everything is just shapes. If you can draw a wobbly line, circle, square, and triangle, you can draw anything. 

2. Use a f*cking reference! IDK when twitter got a stick up its ass about using references but no art teacher worth their salt will let you turn in a project without showing references. In private lessons, one of the first question I ask is "Where's your reference?" Learning to choose good references is a skill worth building. 

3. Art is made in community. Talk to people, show them your art, take lessons, ask for critique. Artists need community. 

4. CUSTOMIZE YOUR BRUSHES! It's the first thing I have students do in private lessons. Make your tools work for you. 

What art style is your least favorite?

Realism/ photorealism. It's so boring. It's hard and boring. Who wants that? 

What books have you done the cover art for?

Luxuria, Superbia, and Gula by Colette Rhodes 

Starshine, and "Misfit" by Alethea Faust 

A Truth Universally Acknowledged and A Defiant Devotion by E.B. Neal

A few more to come soon! 

Do you have a favorite character to draw?

Demons/ aliens/ monsters with cool skin textures and markings. I get to experiment with new colors and brushes!

For fandom, it's Harry. I don't even have to pretend to think about it. I love his palette and, let's face it, I'm just such a sucker for a short twink. 

I want to know what fanfic you'd yeet off the planet. 😅

I should say Debt of Time or Manacled just for the chaos but it's very definitively Forever Knight by delivermefromeve. Yeet it off the planet. Into the sun. FUCK THAT FIC (and not in the fun way). It's a massive, well written fic in which Hermione is turned into a vampire during HBP, leaves Harry to finish the war alone, and returns 5 years later as a fully fledged vampire. She has a brilliant arc about being groomed for power within vampire society. It's a story about powerful women building communities and kicking ass. It all looks like it'll lead up to Hermione overthrowing the oppressive systems around her and making the world better with Harry at her side. Except FOURTY-FOUR CHAPTERS LATER, Hermione throws away all that political power and community to marry Harry, perpetuate those oppressive systems and not overthrow them, and have biological children that nearly kill her. She's an undead vampire with an adoptive kid but still must have bio children because that's a happy ending, right? Not changing the world, not fixing anything, just getting married and having biological children because fuck the adoptive ones. 

It's been a year and I'm STILL ANGRY. YEET IT. 

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Ideally, next month the Q&A will be in text and audio format, but I'm a luddite so let's see how that technology works out for me...

Submit questions for next month HERE!