Tickle Artists #26: Interview with TicklishPixels

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

I’m TicklishPixels, a 3D tickling and foot fetish artist. I make a lot of video game related art and have lately developed a tendency to design overly elaborate stock systems.

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

These days, I use the free software Blender to produce 3D renders, but it did not start out that way. Initially, I got my footing on Deviantart with pixel art depictions of tickling scenes – that is also where I got my username. Eventually, I made the switch to 3D after watching hours upon hours of YouTube tutorials on Blender. It was not easy, but now I would not have it any other way.

If I started naming every artist that has inspired and continues to inspire me, I fear I would never stop. Of course, there are the pillars of our community like Kusujinn or Bad-Pierrot, as well as 3D artists like snacks3D, Elektratouch, waywardblue or PointLamp, stars of the 2D space like EmpiricalSmut, MostlyFunStuff or PerilChaser… There are many, many more. In a community as vast as this one, it is hard not to get inspired.

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

As with many other artists, some form of a creative drive has always been there. What led me to 3D was my obsessive interest in VFX and CGI as well as the amazing works artists created using software like Blender or SFM. I downloaded Blender, failed to move even the camera and gave up for a week. But once I started learning, it gripped me and never let go.

Strangely, the first conscious memory I have of my tickling fetish is of me watching some random YouTube video as a kid. Just for a second, as a joke, there was a drawing of Zero Suit Samus being held and tickled by green, tentacle-like vines that stirred something in me I could not pin down. From there, it only grew, and I eventually discovered that I was not alone. Thank the internet for better connecting niche communities like ours!

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

While I am not opposed to heavier tickling scenarios, I tend to keep my works on the lighter side for mental health reasons. There is something uniquely fun about impromptu tickling in a casual setting since it highlights the relationship between tickler and lee in a fun way. Still, scenarios involving heavier restraints and tickling can be very exciting to me as well, even if I do not feature them as often.

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 love depicting the reactions of a person to tickling. What do they do with their body? Are they holding in their laughter, laughing in bursts, or are they full-on howling? Are the twitching and twisting involuntarily, tugging at their restraints or shaking themselves in an attempt to fight it off? Every person has a different reaction and finding out what fits them individually is a bit like solving a puzzle.

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

Just like with CGI in movies, the advantage of 3D renders is that they are not bound by the limitations of reality. Not only can we dream up crazy contraptions and scenarios to tickle our characters, but we can put our favorite characters from all forms of media into them. There is no need for expensive equipment, locations or even the laws of physics. The only limit is your imagination.

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

I think there is something to be said about the versatility of tickling. It can be fun, it can be torture and it can be anything in between. Personally, I appreciate it both for its lightheartedness and the fact that it can make for a method of torture that does not actually inflict pain or injury, which keeps things from being too grim, even in a fictional setting.

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

Definitely some of my Life is Strange artwork, they always have a special place in my heart. Specifically, I still love “Tickled in the Dorm” as well as “Best. Party. Ever.”. They were both very fun to create on a technical as well as on a creative level.

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

The biggest goal that I keep circling around is the natural progression of my art into animation. I have begun dabbling in it multiple times now but always got intimidated along the way. Also, I would like to interact with other artists more, doing collabs and such if time permits.

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

I just wish there was less misinformation being thrown around from both sides of the argument so that we could have an actual discussion about AI art and its benefits and drawbacks. Personally, I do not think human art is ever going away. As for how it will affect this particular genre of art, I do not dare to make a prediction. Only time will tell.

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