An interview with the kinky illustrator DIABOLICALGRIN.
MasterMarc: Hi Diabolicalgrin. Nice to have you here with us. It seems that you really like to draw kinky motives. Can you tell us, why fetish guys are so interesting to draw?
Diabolicalgrin: Hello, thanks for having me. It’s an honor to be interviewed, it’s my first one so please be gentle.
As to your question: I have a wide variety of drawing interests but I always find that when I’m drawing something just for me or when I take prompts that the most intriguing ideas come from drawing kink situations. It also allows me to become acquainted with newer kinks that I wasn’t aware I’d be interested in to begin with. For instance, chastity. I never really thought about it, but I filled a prompt requesting a chastity device and now that seems to be one of my go to kinks when drawing.
From an artistic perspective, learning how to draw and color things like leather, latex, and metal is a fun learning experience. Getting them to look right can be a challenge, but when you can it’s rewarding, not to mention sexy.
MasterMarc: Chastity is really one of the big fetish and there are many diffrent motivations why people like to be in chastity. Can you tell us, what makes chastity so interesting for you, so that you draw it often?
Diabolicalgrin: Beyond just looking aesthetically pleasing, I think my new found appreciation of chastity is founded in the entire fantasy behind it. It’s the idea of giving some part of yourself completely over to someone else that is equally parts terrifying and liberating that intrigues me. I imagine the whole sexual frustration and and needing release can be quite the mind fuck, which is why I tend to draw it often.
MasterMarc: I have talked with several kinky illustrators and there are some who says that to draw shiny rubber isn’t easy. What are your experiences with rubber and what are other difficulties and challenges you have when you’re drawing kinky motives?
Diabolicalgrin: I haven’t had any personal experiences with rubber in real life (yet) but I’ve always found myself attracted to guys in skin tight clothing such as rubber, neoprene, leather, and spandex. Out of those, rubber– particularly shinier rubber– is my absolute imagery kink, I love the way it creates a second skin while still leaving enough to the imagination
Like those other artists told you, drawing and coloring rubber can be quite an extensive process. Rubber clings to the skin, so you have to draw it as though it is directly part of the physique you are drawing.
Polished rubber tends to be very shiny, so you have to incorporate highlights of much different intensities in all around your subject than you would if your subjects were wearing something like denim or cotton. But rubber is also very reflective like metal; so not only are you dealing with direct light sources, but you are having to reflect the colors from other parts of the nearby rubber and body, the immediate surroundings, objects off camera, other light sources, etc. I usually use a lot of Photoshop layers when I make my art, but when I draw a rubber suit, I use even more than normal just because of all the nuances involved.
MasterMarc: Can you tell us how do you find your motives and can you describe the process of your work?
Diabolicalgrin: I am primarily a fandom based artist, so I participate in kink memes, challenges, and whatnot all the time. Some of my work stems from user prompts that I think sound interesting to tackle visually. Other things like the Cap and Bucky in leather gear pieces, I did so without a prompt just because I really liked the idea of seeing Steve Rogers in a leather harness and a jock. From there it’s a matter of finding reference pictures, sketching, refining, inking, and coloring using Photoshop, Paint Tool Sai, or good ol’ pencils and paper.
MasterMarc: How much time does it need to finish an illustration? A lot of kinky have most a neutral background but for you the backgrounds seem to be important. Can you tell us why you like backgrounds and how have they to be?
Diabolicalgrin: Oh god, I am a really slow artist, so it takes me anywhere from ten to forty hours on any given piece, depending on the complexity. I tend to get wrapped up in the smallest details, especially color choices– I can spend hours changing shirt colors over and over before deciding.
As for backgrounds, it’s funny to me that you mention them. I actually hate doing backgrounds and try as hard as I can to avoid them. But sometimes the piece doesn’t quite feel complete without them, so I force myself to do one. For instance, without the flag background the Captain America piece just kind of looks like Chris Evans as a leather dad to me. Not that I have any problem with that, but the flag behind him helps solidify what my original intention was.
MasterMarc: Which are your favourite three art works and can you tell us why?
Diabolicalgrin: That’s a tough one but if I have to choose:
Trust: There is a whole lot going on in this piece, but I think I tied it all together fairly well. I really tried to show the truth behind a bdsm relationship; to me it isn’t about the pain or the equipment, to me it is all about the trust between the two men. I also really liked the dichotomy of the tattooed and pierced sub and the clean cut dom.
Skin Tight Shopping Spree: This one I had the most fun with and it was the first time I felt like I truly got rubber right.
Pack Animal: I don’t think this one is my best by any means, but it was the first one where I finally started to come into my own style. It is also the first real piece that I started to express my own kinks that I had never be open about before. Sure, I’d done plenty of porn drawings before, but for the most part is was just blowjobs, handjobs, and varying degrees of intercourse; but I had only dabbled in a little bit of kinkier artwork before this one. With this one, there was a lot more freedom on my part, plus you can’t go wrong with a puppy muzzle and a puppy plug tail.
MasterMarc: Do you still have some kinky motives in your head you haven’t drawn till now? What are this images showing and what are the difficulties you have with it?
Diabolicalgrin: I have plenty of more kinky ideas in my head! I’m currently working on an Iron Man piece to go along with the Cap and Bucky BDSM pieces, from there I will work my way through the rest of the Avengers line up as a series. I definitely want to do some more with puppy play, maybe some sounding, tentacles, fisting, and so many other things. I’m always looking for new kinks to explore.
I wouldn’t say I have many difficulties doing it other than time management and having other art commitments such as commissions.
MasterMarc: That sounds like interesting illustrations. I hope you will share it with us here on sadOsam when you have finished them. Btw: Where can people see and get your artworks?
Diabolicalgrin: My NSFW art blog can be found at http://diabolicalgrin.tumblr.com/ and I have a Society6 page for prints and whatnot at https://society6.com/dephigravity.
MasterMarc: Thank you, it was great to talk to you, Diabolicalgrin. I wish you all the best for your future and I hope we continue our talk in the future.
