Tickle Artists #13: Interview with Ijwt Art

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

My name is Ijwt_art, or ijwt-art, or if you’re retro, ijustwant-tickles. I am a relatively new digital artist who creates tickle fetish/BDSM artwork, and I’m a ticklee myself! I have a self insert OC, Pet, for this reason. 

I’m extremely self-critical, but I’m trying my best. I don’t want to take this all *too* seriously. I got a drawing tablet one day, messed around and got naughty thoughts. It all spiraled from there.

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

I’m still figuring it all out, but I have a Wacom tablet with Clip Studio Paint Pro. My lines are pretty thick to draw the eye to certain areas, and I love desaturated colors! I think my artwork is pretty messy, but I’m trying not to be perfect. I also occasionally use the in-built (free to use) 3D models which I adjust to help me out with perspective. Honestly it’s all still a learning process, every drawing I try something different! I still am a complete noob when it comes to rendering and sizing etc, I won’t lie. 

I do have a particular routine when I draw, and sometimes I can sit down and do a drawing from start to finish on the same day. Commissioners are always shocked, and get concerned when I take a few extra days because I’m busy.

I don’t have any specific artists that inspired me but PolarBearNSFW and Redscript77 are among my favorites for sure.

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

Drawing? God no. I used to doodle but I’ve always been very insecure of my abilities, so would scrap everything. I had lots of discarded sketch pads growing up. I used to have a sfw account where I drew up my own fantasy characters. I’m strangely too awkward to do fanart unless commissioned! 

The tickling is another story. I had no memorable moment, no “awakening”, I just… always had the fetish. For my entire life I just had some weird fascination. Any time a scene came on TV I’d turn it off and secretly look up the definition for “tickling” in the dictionary. It only grew stronger and now I swear it gets me off more than sex. Born with weird wiring in the brain perhaps…

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

Intense. Isolated areas. Tight bondage. I honestly wish I could convey the emotion and pure masochism I want into my art. As a lee, I always like to try and self insert, exploring my fantasies and such. The closest I got to it is my piece “Punishment for a Tease”.

I prefer more realistic scenarios which are dark, and I think dialogue is very important to almost bully the lee, which I love. Anything that’s kind of non-con is more my style.

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? 

With my OC, Pet, and her Master, I think it’s a good example to prove I love a good relationship between lee and ler. I love to add dialogue to show a back and forth, and some cruelty of course too. 

I love to cover the mouths of the lee almost every time because I think eyes are better at conveying emotion, and it just looks so helpless. As a lee myself I don’t tend to “laugh” when tickled, and prefer it when laughter turns to desperation from torture; because of that I like to show more sobbing and anguish rather than smiling.

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

I won’t lie, I haven’t watched a video for years. I genuinely dislike hearing the laughter and the noises, call me weird. Pictures and GIFs are more my jam. Illustrations just easily offer a complete freedom of creativity. You can draw anything you like, fantasy, sci-fi, fictional characters, you name it. It goes as far as your imagination

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

Tickling is a strange niche of fetish and kink which can be popular, except I suppose when it’s taken to the extremes of bondage and torture etc. Tickling appears often in the media too, and gives us all that funny little feeling, and that something so silly can be so destructive. I don’t believe it can be “safe for work” as I’ve seen often online, since it’s a fetish, therefore inherently sexual in nature. It’s like it just feels a little naughty, innocent on the surface until you look deeper. If you get it, you get it.

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

Definitely most of which involve Pet, since it’s such a nice way to express myself in my art. My personal favorites are “Hang in There” and “Punishment for a Tease”. She’s starting to get interested with some fanart in the works, which almost gives me a lump in my throat. It always makes me feel good when I get lovely comments too. It’s just silly fun and honestly a way to project my fantasies onto “myself”. It’s the first time in years where I’ve felt I have my place in the community and I have something I can call my own.

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

Hopefully I can make ends meet a little bit, and not let i</at overwhelm me. I tend to have a very long hiatus annually since I struggle with ADHD, but now I’ve gotten diagnosed and getting help, I am determined to not get burnt out! I honestly wish I had more confidence. If I post and I spot a flaw it’s almost like I disown the drawing and put it in the “delete a few months down the line” pile. I have branched into doing my own thing which makes me happy, and I wish to continue to learn and develop!

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

A learning system that cannot, on its own, create, will forever impoverish any artwork. AI is growing fast and it’s honestly scary. (CharacterAI can stay though, I need to talk to my silly little characters to feel sane).

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