Tickle artists #133: Interview with Lucid Eye Arts

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

Hello! My name is Lucid. I’ve been working in digital illustration for around 8 years now. In terms of kink-focused art, I’ve been posting for about 3 years. My intent, starting out, was to have a balance between painting both popular and obscure characters to fill in the gaps of representation, and to provide another space for people to find community in their more fringe interests.

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

I start every piece by picking a character to focus on, doing some research to figure out the best pose, creating a rough sketch to plan the layout, and then moving from there. Sometimes I’ll start with linework and then fill in with colors and visual effects. Other times, I’ll use something of a sculpting method, establishing values first and then adding details after. My technique tends to morph quite a bit over time. I try not to restrict myself to a single style or method, otherwise it takes me forever to complete a piece.

A favourite artist is a bit difficult. I’ll say, regarding illustration, Peter Mohrbacher is a huge inspiration. For tickling-focused art, so many of them are impressive. ‘PawFeather’ and ‘zp92’ are the artists that inspired me to start my LucidEyeArts account years ago. Currently, I’d say I’m still learning a lot from ‘benj24’ and ‘sleepygimp’.

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

Art has been my activity of choice since I was a kid. I had a fairly intense STEM focus during my formative years, so it never really occurred to me to consider illustration as a career. Thus, it stayed a hobby – I was always sketching and trying to learn new styles. Constantly trying to improve, whether it was tracing anime or hitting up art museums.

My interest in tickling goes back a ways, too, but it wasn’t until college that I saw its potential as an art form. Life got a little complicated, and I started exploring more fringe means of stress relief. That’s when I realized I could combine my art with kink. I originally planned to explore a wider range of kinks, starting with tickling. But the positive response to the tickling art has been so strong that I’ve mainly focused there. I may still branch out, if there’s interest.

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

I tend to focus on combinations of tickling as torture with bondage and/or a variety of tools being used. I actually prefer drawing men being tickled, but I’ve received more feedback on the women-focused pieces.

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 to highlight the movement of the lee in my art. I think there’s a lot of versatility in showing the ticklee’s reaction, be that a more subtle, resistance-coded laugh or a resolve-broken victim. I rarely end up painting the tickler, unless there’s a story-specific reason.

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 have a great deal of respect for artists who create from real-life sessions. However, illustrations offer a unique advantage: the ability to translate ideas that are impossible or unsafe to explore in reality. In a tickling session, for example, consent and safety are paramount, and there are clear boundaries that should never be crossed. In the realm of illustration, though, we’re working within the world of fantasy. Session durations can be extended, fantastical elements like monsters can be incorporated, and imaginative tools can be crafted. Unlike the financial and time constraints of real-life sessions, fictional characters are free from those limitations. Illustrators can also bend the rules of reality, exploring extreme poses, flexibility, and other physical possibilities. Lastly, while cosplayers are a fantastic element to reality productions, being able to see your favourite characters in a particular situation can be impactful for the audience in a way not quite achievable by actors/actresses.

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

There are a couple of angles to address this question from. On one hand, tickling can come off as quite a benign, sensual activity, eliciting laughter, which we commonly consider a positive reaction. On the other hand, there’s a power-exchange side that raises the stakes. The lee being overpowered by a potentially humiliating tactic holds a certain attraction for some tickling-enjoyers. When the sadism world combines with the tickling, it opens a sort of Pandora’s Box of interactions. Because it’s such a versatile means of interaction, both in the social aspect as well as what regions of the body people might enjoy tickling or watching being tickled, fans have a massive playground to explore.

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

I’m most proud of the short comic I worked on with ‘Yamazaki11’ on DeviantArt. We started some worldbuilding with Forbidden: Lost Gifts, and although it’s been a slow start, the comic I drew for Episode 1 turned out better than I expected. Hopefully we’re able to keep progressing on it.

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

Yes! As mentioned before, I do want to continue working on the Forbidden comic, but I also want to start expanding my own world. I have some original characters I’ve been developing slowly. I’m hoping that if enough traction is gained on my account, I’ll be able to spend more time expanding those characters and writing their stories. Second, I want to branch out into furry art. It’s been on my mind for a while, and I’ve done a few pieces, but not enough to identify as a verified furry artist. Lastly, it would be amazing if I were able to be an artist full time. That’s been my dream for as long as I can remember, and with enough time and effort, I believe we can do it. I have so many ideas I want to present to the world but I can only do so much with a full time job and school.

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

I am a staunch opponent of generative imagery. It isn’t art, so I won’t call it that. In my view, it amounts to theft. Artists like myself dedicate years to honing our skills. It requires a level of commitment and passion that AI prompts simply cannot comprehend. There’s a unique level of care and intention that an algorithm can never replicate. Generative image models function by scraping and repurposing the work of real artists, regurgitating it on demand. It’s deeply insulting to those of us who invest so much time and effort into our craft. I understand the desire to create custom artwork, but the path to achieving that lies in picking up a pencil and a sheet of paper and practicing until your vision comes to life. If you admire an artist’s style, the ethical approach is to commission them. Anything else, frankly, is unacceptable.

AI has the potential to be an amazing tool for a multitude of topics like medicine, mathematical computation, and communication. There’s a path where it makes life significantly easier for the average consumer such that they have time to focus on the important things, such as creativity. What it should never be used for is the reduction of humanity. The human experience is the foundation of art in its many forms (visual, literature, etc.). Each piece is an extension of the artist themselves, in whatever way that manifests. Generative images aren’t capable of achieving that, and it only makes life exponentially harder when consumers overlook the person behind the product. As a community, we can overcome this.

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