Tickle Artists #20: Interview with FantasyShaper

1) Do you want to tell us something about yourself and your art?

Hi, I’m FantasyShaper. I’ve been floating around the online tickle community for a couple of decades! Tickling and tickle torture have always been favourite kinks of mine, which I’ve usually expressed through writing. I’ve explored a few different tools for making images in the past, such as digital drawing, 3D posers, etc. Thanks to generative AI, I’ve been able to really have fun making tickle fetish images of a totally new quality.

2) What techniques do you use to draw? Do you have a favorite artist that inspires you?

I’m mostly using Stable Diffusion with a lot of photoshop for inpainting and touch ups.

3) How much was the passion for drawing born in you? And the one for the tickle?

I wouldn’t say I have a passion for drawing; I don’t consider myself to be an “artist” in the traditional sense of the word. Using AI allows me to bring my imagination to life, but I think it’s fundamentally different from what true artists and illustrators do. As for the tickle kink, it’s something I’ve had since adolescence.

4) What are the tickling scenarios that you prefer to draw?

I like scenarios that tell a bit of a story – damsels-in-distress and that type of thing. I really enjoy developing characters; it makes it that much more fun to torment if we get to know them a bit first and bring them to life!

I’m also a big fan of tickling set-ups and tickling anticipation, when a ticklee is vulnerable, waiting for – and dreading! – the tickling about to occur.

5) What are the aspects of tickling that you intend to represent with your art? Example: the laughing, the wriggling, the relationship between tickler and ticklee?

I mostly gravitate towards the domination and objectification themes, including bondage and other related kinks. I mostly focus on non-con or dub-con fantasies.

6) Online there are countless photos and videos of tickling sessions. In your opinion, what do illustrations offer more than images of real scenes?

Well there’s plenty of room to enjoy both types! But with an illustration you can focus on anything you want, highlight anything you want, and really let your imagination run wild. It also allows for idealized representations, which can sometimes be more fun than realism.

7) In your opinion, what makes tickling so interesting for fans of this phenomenon?

I think it’s different for everyone. It’s a form of power exchange like other BDSM kinks and sensory play, and of course it’s inherently tactile and intimate as well.

8) What are your works of which you are most proud?

I think my opinion on that changes day by day. But I really like anything involving the fantasy ticklee characters I’ve created.

9) Do you have any particular artistic goals for the future?

I just want to keep having fun with it, and I hope others enjoy what I put out there!

10) Do you think AIs will end up enriching or impoverishing the art of tickling representations?

Generative AI is controversial and I understand the reasons why. I don’t think using it makes you an artist; to be a visual artist requires a certain skill set, and using prompt-based AI generation is not the same. But, like artistic skill, AI allows people to express themselves and their imagination creatively and visually. AI is here to stay, and we all need to adjust our understanding of what artists and AI do differently, and what they do the same.

All that being said, I think generative AI is good news for fans of tickling, as it will just mean that more imagery is out there to enjoy.

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