Tickle Artists #41: Interview with LouPanther

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

Sure! I’m LouPanther, I am a tickling artist, specializing in comic-book style works. I have been at this since the late 1990’s so I’m an OG in the business! I primarily post on DeviantArt these days and have a long-running tickling comic called “Caroline’s in Trouble Again!” that I am most known for.

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

I’m a novelty these days since I still work only in pencil, pen, and paper. I draw and ink using standard art pencils and pens, and use art markers (Prismacolor, Copic, etc.) to color. I then scan and edit with traditional photo editing tools. I have often thought of moving to digital software to create, but I realized a few years ago that by hand-creating my works in this day and age I stick out among other artists. So being old school is actually a plus given the plethora of great tickling artists out there currently.

As for inspirations…from a tickling artist standpoint I must pay homage to the one-and-only BAC. His works were a catalyst for me giving it a try myself back in the day. Overall, hands down my inspirations were comic book artists John Byrne and George Perez. I was a comics fanatic as a kid, and they were the artists I tried to emulate. Throw J. Scott Campbell in there also.

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

My father was an artist, so I think I get the natural talent from him. From there I developed my style from drawing my own comics as a kid. I was always attracted to damsel-in-distress scenes in books and movies so when I hit puberty my work began to reflect my 13-year-old fantasies, which even back then included an interest in bondage and tickling. I had a period from my late teens until my late 20’s where I didn’t draw at all, so I had to re-teach myself how to draw when I first started doing tickling art. These days, I don’t draw anything other than fetish and tickling.

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

I tend to put my OC Caroline through the wringer with all types of tickling scenarios, many of them involving her being tickled by multiple people. I would say my overall favorite scenarios are gang-tickling where one unfortunate ticklee is subjected to the whims of a large, raucous group or in an institutional, experimental setting where multiple people are present and participate in the tickling of the victim.

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 really love to show the intensity and the helplessness of the subject being tickled, so I focus a lot on the power dynamic between the tickler(s) and the ticklee. Situations where the dominants are totally in control and the subject is totally suffering. I also enjoy creating the laughter and frantic facial expressions of the ticklees. Lately I am delving more into foot tickling so creating scenes of beautiful feet being tickled is high on my list right now.

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 think the benefit lies in the ability to better let the imagination run free. I have made tickling videos in the past, and there is always the limit of “can I get this camera angle right?” or “Do I have the right talent?” etc. 

With illustration there is none of that. You are limited only by your imagination. I feel with drawing that I can create any scenario that I want to portray, whereas with images and video that is not always the case, even with a good budget and talent.

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

We’ve all had an experience (good and bad) with tickling at some point in life, so I think the familiarity is a factor. For those of us who consider it a kink or a fetish, I’m pretty sure it traces back to some conscious or subconscious experience in early life. Add to that tickling can be both fun and torturous, terrifying or exciting, consensual or non-consensual, sexual or non-sexual…all of these factors offer a variety of possibilities to explore. But I think it starts, like most fetishes, with some impactful experience early in life.

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

I am most proud of the longevity of my main OC Caroline. I first introduced her on various Yahoo! groups way back in the late 1990s, then the character gained more traction in the early days of the TMF. I have been drawing Caroline in some form or fashion ever since. I have had many people reach out to me over the years and say that “Caroline’s in Trouble Again!” was the first tickling comic they ever saw and was their introduction to tickling art, which I really enjoy hearing. As for my latest works, I would say a 9-page comic story I posted on DA earlier this year – “Tickle-Torture Friday Night” – is probably my current favorite. It really captures the essence of what C.I.T.A. is all about.

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

Just to continue to create interesting, exciting tickling comics that people want to read and enjoy. And hopefully continue to tickle-torture Caroline for another 20 years. 😊

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

As for enriching the tickling art community, I think there is a possibility of that happening long-term if actual artists decide to embrace and adopt the tools to create amazing new works. But right now, I think there is an immediate downside we are experiencing where any and everyone is creating works using prompts and phrases and passing it off as art. We are seeing that battle play out on a larger scale on DeviantArt. Don’t get me wrong, anyone should be able to create in whatever medium they choose, and Generative AI is an available tool. 

But to consider it art in the sense of what digital or pen-and-ink artists do is a bridge too far. Maybe that will change in the future, but we aren’t there yet.

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