Tickle Artists #114: Interview with PodFrog

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

Kero! I’m Prince Podsworth Froggingham, or PodFrog for short, but you can call me “Pod.” I am the prince of my art gallery, where I happily draw pictures of popular characters and my original characters (OCs). I have a foot fetish, especially for larger feet, and that’s reflected in the art I draw. My style is very cartoony and enthusiastic. I aim to make people laugh, as well as to cater to those who like feet.

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

I’m influenced by cartoons, so I use wild takes and exaggerated expressions for my pictures. I also like to capture the original “spirit” of the characters I draw. That’s often done by researching the characters’ histories and any previous foot or tickle scenes for references. If they don’t have any previous foot or tickle histories, I make up my own scenarios based on the things I know or have learned about the character.

For example, I based a Tears of the Kingdom-themed picture of Zelda from 2023 on her love of frogs from Breath of the Wild. I took that original cutscene where Zelda was kneeling down and gushing over the frog and turned it into one where my frog persona was tickling and licking Zelda’s soles.

One artist that really inspired me is the great MostlyFunStuff. His art was the first foot art I saw on DA, and it has stuck with me ever since. His artwork is always high-quality, sexy, and true to whatever form of media he pulls from. For example, his Splatoon artwork uses the fonts from the games, and the character dialogue is always in-character. That authenticity is what inspires me to strive to do the same in my art. Other great artists that influence me are InkiCrow, LazyBoyBlue, Bad-Pierrot, DazidentEvil, AvieIsDrawing, and many, many more. The way they draw large feet and expressions have rubbed off on me, and I’m proud to call some of these artists my close friends.

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

I’ve always loved to draw. Since the day I grew my arms and could pick up a pencil, I’ve been doodling. It’s been a life-long passion of mine. I suppose my passion for tickling came as a result of my blossoming foot fetish. When I learned I loved feet, I loved associated activities related to them, including tickling.

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

Some of my favorite scenarios involve the characters I draw being wrapped up by their legs and arms. These can include being wrapped up by tickly vines/plants that lick the ticklee’s feet, ribbons for birthdays or the holiday season that makes the ticklee a gift, and sometimes even the characters’ own tongue if it’s long enough! Also, any scenario that involves the character laughing their head off, preferably with a large mouth and tears pouring out of their eyes, is my bread and butter. I love wild takes like those.

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 like conveying the wild nature of tickling. When you’re ticklish, the feeling of someone going at your feet, stomach, armpits, or wherever you tickle most can drive you wild. All you can do is move around and laugh like crazy. By exaggerating movements and especially facial expressions, that’s how I represent the sensation of tickling. And hopefully by exaggerating those factors, it can generate laughter from people who view my pictures. You could say that I try to “tickle” my viewers with my tickle pictures. Haha!

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

With artwork, you aren’t limited by real-world logic. You don’t have to hire a model. You can draw whomever you want and put them into any ticklish situation you can think of. You want to stick Chun-Li into a giant cake and tickle her by licking frosting off her feet? With art, you can do that, and I just thought of that off the top of my head! Imagination is one of the most powerful tools one can use, and while real tickling is great, there’s no limit with the imagination of tickle pictures.

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

Laughter is a universal language. Everyone around the world understands laughter, and by extension, everyone understands tickling. You can speak English and still enjoy a tickle picture from Japan. You may not know a lick of Italian, but you can still get a kick out of a tickle pic made in Italy. Laughter and tickling is interesting because everyone understands it, and everyone knows that it’s a unique power! After all, the right movements of a feather can make people go into fits of laughter!

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

This year, I made “Echoes of Laughter” to celebrate The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. I’m very happy with how this picture turned out. I think I successfully captured the spirit of the game while blending my own style into that of the game.

I also look back fondly on my first original comic/story, Jess à la Mode. It’s not perfect, but I’m proud of it. It helped flesh out my characters while introducing a few new kooky OCs to my roster. It’s the story/comic I look back to as the standard to beat whenever I think of new stories of future comics.

PodFrog – Digital Artist | DeviantArt

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

Speaking of future comics, my main goal for 2025 is to complete a new comic story, Sandy’s Sandalwood Getaway. It’s a prize I’m making for a friend who won a contest I hosted last summer. We’ve been working hard on fleshing out the character Sandy Slush, so my number one personal mission is to have this completed this year. Other than that, my goals are to continue improving my craft and finding new styles to experiment with.

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

Most of the AI tickle pics I’ve seen look very samey, so I can’t really say that I find it enriching for the future of tickle art. I think that the best kinds of art in general come from true hand-made talent from actual artists. I personally will never use AI in my work because it takes away the fun and satisfaction of doing something myself. Sure it’s easy, but it’s not as fulfilling.

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