Tickle Artists #28: Interview with TheHunter1338

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

People have known me by the name “TheHunter” since early 2014 on DeviantArt. I draw scenes of random as well as well known girls in various distressing ticklish situations. I have been on and off in the past couple years, taking my biggest break between 2016-2020, but somehow I keep coming back with more original art for people to enjoy.

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

I have started my creative journey with digital art and will always stick to that. It all started with a simple, yet effective Wacom tablet and evolved to an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil, which I still use these days. I use the well known art software Procreate for all my artwork. My favorite artist from the early days of DA was definitely CeeAyeBee, he heavily inspired me to start working on my own stuff. The-Flying-Hamster, Pabuluz and of course PawFeather also had great influence.

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

It’s hard to explain, but I’m sure it’s similar to most other tickle enthusiasts and artists. The easy answer is it has always been a part of my life. I didn’t really draw anything until 2014, but I’ve always enjoyed bare feet, tickling and bondage ever since I was very young. Somehow I decided to start drawing scenarios in 2014 (after discovering the other tickling art online), in order to visualize my own fantasies and desires and make them more alive.

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

I definitely have a thing for the “girl next door”. In my book, an ideal tickling scenario or artwork has a good story, so a reason why a victim is treated the way she is, as well as a certain hint of innocence. I love casual/everyday bondage with tickling, especially on girls that are usually not confronted with the topic at all. Additionally, elements like inescapable restraints or seemingly hopeless challenges to get the tickling to stop add the cherry on top.

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?

When I start a piece, it always starts with the tiny fragment of an idea I have. This can be the way a certain expression looks in my mind. Or the pose of a ticklee when they’re tickled a certain way. It can also be the scene or setting of something I’ve wanted to see, like a medieval dungeon or a highly sophisticated Sci-Fi interrogation room, or simply a character of a famous movie, show or game that needs a special treatment. It always starts from this one thing and the rest kind of develops around it. Consequently, the artwork will be about that one thing that started the idea. More often than not, my artwork is about the ticklish reaction of the victim, so the expression of hopelessness, distress and peril in their eyes – as well as the body struggling against restraints.

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

Artwork allows us to make scenes that can’t be done with real people and cameras. This is a great advantage, because you have literally no limits on what you want to create – everything is possible with little effort. I also believe that drawings have a different effect on the viewer, they feel more fun, playful and often allow me to add that hint of innocence to the works, due to the lack of realism.

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

It’s a combination primarily of the well-known appreciation of (female) body features, such as bellies, cute faces/hairstyles, legs and obviously feet, secondarily of the reactions tickling evokes in their victims. I can’t explain the science behind it (I think nobody really can?), but we all love to see laughter on the faces of people we like.

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

While I can’t put my finger on an absolute favorite, I do have a few I like more than others, mostly due to coloring techniques that just worked out, or expressions / anatomy that pleases my eyes.

My recent one I did after a 2 year break turned out better than expected, I believe it’s technically well done, I really like the overall looks of it.

From my older works, I really like this one, because it features all the innocence and goofiness I try to show in all my work.

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

I do want to speed up my workflow, I am constantly trying to do that when working on art. With that, I hope to achieve a more dynamic, less stiff/static visual on my pieces. Doing art is a constant learning curve and I accepted that there is no peak, I am always trying to learn.

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

While I haven’t looked into the topic too much, I have noticed an increase in AI generated tickling artwork on DeviantArt. I do feel like it can be great inspiration for some (I have used AI generated images for reference before), but it should be clearly visible and declared that there is no actual artist behind it when posting it online.

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