Interview: Olga ' ASU Rocks' Andriyenko
Olga Andriyenko is a character designer, illustrator, and comic artist. She is currently focusing on storytelling by working for animation studios and is also creating her own comics, published through Patreon. The focus on relatable humor, body-positivity, and honesty about mental health struggles has helped her create various viral hits and grow a prominent fanbase.
Olga Andriyenko is a character designer, illustrator, and comic artist born in Ukraine and currently living in Hamburg, Germany. She has published numerous comic books, created characters loved by thousands of people, and art-directed award-winning games. She is currently focusing on storytelling by working for animation studios and is also creating her own comics which are published through her Patreon account. The focus on relatable humor, body-positivity, and honesty about mental health struggles has helped her create various viral hits and grow a prominent fanbase.
When you were asked to join the book, how long did it take you to make a decision about the project?
I actually did not think about it longer than a second! I have always appreciated good artwork with sexual content and I always had some level of it in my personal art. It was never as explicit as #hardcover before, but I was always curious to make that step. I think sex is an important aspect of human life experience and I want it to be explored more deeply and diversely through art, without shame and censorship. So when I heard about the project I instantly hoped that it would inspire more artists from different backgrounds to contribute to this topic. I want more people to see that there is so much more than "just porn".
With that hope in mind, do you think that continuing on that path personally will help too? Do you intend to implement more explicit work into your personal art?
Definitely! I enjoyed participating, especially digging in my mind what exactly it is I want to see more of in sexual art. It's easy to draw something sexy and sometimes it's perfectly fine to do just that. But I want to figure out a way to get more emotion into that because to me sex is a deeply emotional topic. So I guess I have to continue exploring explicit art until I get there.
It's easy to draw something sexy and sometimes it's perfectly fine to do just that.
In that regard, how important is it you to depict women with a „healthy and realistic“ body image? From your past publications, it seems to be a topic very close to your heart.
As many of us I have struggled a lot trying to accept my body, it was especially bad when I was younger. How could I think my body was okay, or even "beautiful", when there was absolutely no positive depictions of anything resembling my body type? I feel like it got much better these days with the rising popularity of "plus-size" models and social media allowing more diverse people to be visible. And to me it is important that my art is part of the positive wave. Being at peace with your body is important for enjoying your sexuality as well, so I want to create more sexy art that gives perfectly imperfect people permission to feel sexy.
Stylized characters can have more of what society calls "imperfections".
You recently made the step into becoming a freelancer. How big of a role will erotic art play in putting out content on your Patreon?
It is a significant part for sure. I am on Patreon for about 2 years already, but only since going freelance, I am investing serious time and effort into it. It is also my sexy art "safe space" now, so yes erotic art is a significant part of it. I am actually making a quarterly physical art zine that is Patreon exclusive and full of artworks from sexy to sexual. There is even a sexy comic inside. By making it an exclusive physical reward it feels a bit like a dirty little secret and I like it very much.
I can't deny that #hardcover has inspired me to explore more sexual art. And my Patrons seem to enjoy it as well.
Facebook or Twitter for posting art?
I post on both for more exposure, but I definitely enjoy twitter more. There seems to be more genuine interaction and I feel like I am seeing more of the content I want to see in my timeline. Facebook is a mess to scroll through. Also despite recent fears, Twitter still seems not to ban sexual content (yet), so for erotic artists, it is definitely better.
I can't deny that #hardcover has inspired me to explore more
sexual art.
Who are your favorite artists when it comes to erotic art?
That's a hard one! (hard, hehe) The more I dive into this topic, the more awesome artists I discover, so I will probably forget someone great. I love how @futomomomoe and @nessfwkain on Twitter paint human bodies, they are absolutely yummy! @Mirkand creates some seriously sexy and adorable female characters and draws them in situations that are both erotic and funny/relatable. @adolieday and @mrmtaccia on Instagram never fail to make me giggle and I like @loputyn's witchy erotica. On Patreon, I enjoy Winton Kidd's and Irene Koh's content, as well as Peoh Michie's cute lesbians. I could go on and on...
Interview: Abigail Larson
Abigail’s greatest inspirations are fairytales, folklore and ghost stories. The works of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, the Brothers Grimm, and many classic gothic works of fiction, such as Dracula and Frankenstein have always stirred her imagination. She brought these inspirations to #hardcover and #hardcover2, which will launch on the 4th of May 2020 on Kickstarter.
Abigail Larson’s greatest inspirations are fairytales, folklore and ghost stories. She brought these to #hardcover and #hardcover2, which will launch on the 4th of May 2020 on Kickstarter. Her illustrations have been featured in various publications including ImagineFX, Clip Studio, Spectrum Fantastic Art, Art Fundamentals, The Graphic Canon of Children’s Literature, Rue Morgue, and Digital Artist. She’s worked with DC/Vertigo, DC kids, Universal, IDW, Titan Comics, Pelican Books, SYFY, and Sideshow Collectibles.
So glad to have the chance to ask you a couple of questions. You didn’t hesitate much when you were asked to join the first book. Have you worked on any adult publications before? Or were asked about an erotic commission?
I think because I started my career wanting to get into children's illustration, no one really thought to hire me to do anything with adult themes. I've done a few kid’s books in the past, but now that I've delved more into gaming and comics, my style has changed a little, and I've started doing darker and more adult-oriented projects. I haven't done much in the way of published erotica, but for example, I got to draw several erotic scenes in the Sandman Universe comic "The Dreaming", which was fun. I'm a big sucker for romance, but since I'm generally hired more for typical fantasy/gothic illustrations, I leave the exploration of sensual themes to my personal work instead.
A book is more intimate and seems more appropriate for this genre.
Do you then believe that this one-time exploration for #hardcover will have an influence on the future (personal) works of yours?
I think so. It already has, in a way. So much of my personal work has a sensual quality to it, and now that I've produced erotic art that's published and available it's opened that door to a new genre. I'm sure I'll keep pursuing it.
How do you feel about the limitations that are given to express this quality to the public?
On one hand, it's definitely frustrating that sexuality in artwork is still considered perverse or shameful, and so much so that it's virtually impossible to share erotic artwork on social media. I certainly don't find sex shameful, and as an illustrator, I really enjoy composing figures in a moment of intimacy. It's like drawing a dance scene. There's a strong connection and intense emotional expression between the characters which makes for a really interesting challenge, creatively. On the other hand, intimacy and sexuality are very private and personal expressions, so I can understand wanting to keep that imagery from public spaces. It's why I think a publication like Hardcover is the right response. Artists are free to create their work, it has a home in the publication, and the viewer can enjoy it privately, as opposed to a gallery setting, for example. A book is more intimate and seems more appropriate for this genre.
I think it's ridiculous that the human body is so heavily censored on social media.
So you feel like a book can be a more effective way to bring this content to a specific target audience. But what about the depictions of naked women in art that is, let’s say, from the renaissance? More and more images have been taken off social media because they show plain nudity, and it seems to be something that keeps artists puzzled and sometimes angry.
Nudity is another story! I think it's ridiculous that the human body is so heavily censored on social media. Museums are full of celebrated works of art that depict nude figures, and they're wonderful! There's nothing shameful about the human body, I personally think it should be celebrated. It is frustrating to see great classical works removed completely from social media as if they're "offensive" to viewers. But leaving the door to nudity open to the public leads to other issues. For example, where does one draw the line with dick pics?! It's just human anatomy, it falls into the nudity category - no big deal, right? So, it's the way it's presented that causes issues. How do we determine what's erotic art, and what's porn? Sites like Tumblr, Facebook, and Instagram use programs to remove "inappropriate" images, rather than having a human look at each image and determine if it's a beautiful work of art or porn. It all gets canned, and you have to appeal it if you're an artist who was wrongfully flagged. Depictions of sexual acts are another issue - I do understand the need to have a separate space for that imagery, otherwise, peoples' feeds would be full of porn spam mixed in with actual erotic artwork. But to judge a piece of erotic art on whether or not it merits being available on a social media platform still requires someone to vet it. And even then, by using their platform, you agree to abide by their policies, so the risk remains of whether or not certain works of art would be allowed.
And regardless of how much I enjoy seeing erotic art and wish that nudity was not so heavily censored, I do try to be respectful of people out there who are uncomfortable with it. Many people write off erotic art as porn and tuck it away into that category as if it's just unsavory and dirty and should be hidden. I don't agree with that mentality, but I respect their opinions. So, I do think that having annual publications or a specific gallery for this kind of artwork works best for now. Personally, I like that there's a sort of exclusivity to #hardcover, and that it's so well-curated. Anyone can find pornographic art online, but this book gives working professionals an outlet to create work in a genre that's somewhat maligned as vulgar, and elevate it to something really beautiful.
We've adapted to make these platforms work for us, but they do eventually end up feeling restrictive.
There have been calls for new platforms because of that issue and there are plenty who actually started these already. Do you think their minor success can be traced back to the fact that the existing social media platforms are too successful already and people rather accept a compromise? If so, why do you think artists fall in that category too?
For artists, using social media is a necessity because we use it to market our work and connect with potential employers and fellow artists. So I do think many artists do just end up conforming to the rules of current social media giants just to stay connected to everyone else. No one really wants to jump ship unless enough of the people in their online community is doing it. Another issue with taking a chance on a new platform means trying to figure out and navigate new algorithms and build an audience. Even if there's a new platform developed specifically for artists, it'd be artists interacting with artists, but we need a wide range of people to share our work with. So wherever we end up posting our work needs to be accessible to everyone. Personally, I'm frustrated with Facebook (and Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook) for various reasons, which is why I'm on twitter more often, but it's not really designed for artists. We've adapted to make these platforms work for us, but they do eventually end up feeling restrictive.
How would your perfect social media site look like then? No restrictions and no ads?
My perfect social media site would be an imagery-heavy feed (like Instagram or Tumblr), and an interactive re-sharing system (like reblogging/retweeting) so people can easily fill their own feeds with things they enjoy. I love twitter because of the kinds of accounts I can follow and the ability to reach a wide audience, but I'd also like to see a platform that gives users the ability to not allow comments if they don't want them, and not show likes. I know for many artists active on social media, there's a lot of pressure to post popular content for an audience and get tons of likes, rather than just having fun and experimenting with their craft, so getting rid of that tally on each post would be a good thing, I think.
Who are your favorite artists when it comes to erotic art?
I really love the ink works of Apollonia Saintclair and the really dark stuff from Kerbcrawlerghost (Cristóbal López). There are a few "classical" artists whose erotic stuff I like too, like Martin van Maële and Gerda Wegener.
