Monster Meet-Cute: Q&A with Artist Fantasyspritestudio
L'Art Nouveau Monstrueux
The following profile was made possible in partnership with Monsterotica Book Con.
You can meet artists such as Fantasyspritestudio at this year’s Monsterotica Book Con, which will take place on May 8-10, 2025 in Baltimore, MD.
Meet the Artist: Fantasyspritestudio
The mastermind behind: Fantasy Nouveau -series and illustrator of “a Passion for Potions”.
Quick Monster Bites
First monster crush: Robin Hood (the fox) was one of my first crushes, not sure if he’s monstrous though, but Hexxus from Ferngully was probably the first monster that gave me butterflies!
Describe your art in three emojis: 🌈🍑🫦
Favorite drawing fuel: Just water, mostly. If I make a cappuccino I’ll have to finish it before picking up my pencil, otherwise I won’t be able to drink it hot.
Your soundtrack while working: This is different every day. Miscellaneous playlist or shows that I’ve watched many times before, maybe even hours of nothingness if I forgot to put something on and find myself hyper-focusing.
Team claws, team horns or team tentacles?: Team horn…s
Inside the Artist's Mind
What brought you to Monster Romance?: Wonderful authors who commissioned me to draw their characters. I just had to read about these characters that I got to draw and fell in love with the genre!
What’s the biggest challenge of drawing for monster romance?: The challenge about drawing monster romance is what I love about it; That there are no references available for it and we (the author and I) have to think about how they would look and act together. Lots of behind the scenes brainstorm sessions!
What do you hope authors and readers feel when they take in your work?: “I’d totally hang this spicy illustration in my living room! If only I’d never had any people over…”
What work do you have cooking that makes you excited?: This is the first time I’m doing a Con and I’m having to build an inventory from scratch. It’s very exciting to be able to hold my illustrations in my hands. You’ll see some old favorites come by, some of them reimagined, but there will be fresh new designs as well! Some that I’m not able to show anywhere else. 👀
Behind the Brush
What’s your origin story?
I started my Instagram journey as a crochet designer! Fantasysprites was the name of my crochet account and I created many Sprite patterns. When I started to create crochet kits and wanted to include little extra’s like customized baggies etc I got an iPad to make digital art easier. Having so much more fun drawing than with crochet, I started my art account and got commissioned by fellow creatives to draw their profile pictures. Some of my crochet followers also were indie authors and asked me to draw their characters. Since I drew pretty much exclusively fantasy already, monster romance wasn’t far behind!
What was your first monster romance art piece, and what do you remember most about working on it?
The first indie author that reached out for a monster-romance illustration wrote their first dark romance book about Appalachian cryptids and I got to draw mothman<3 Not only did I draw two beautifully romantic pieces but they returned and asked me to illustrate a very explicit bookmark illustration, as well!
The wildest or most unique request you’ve ever gotten for a commission or favor?
I’ll just mention; “Dalia Davies” IYKYK
Monster mash-up! If you could create your dream monster romance hero, what would they be like?
My dream monster is feral, but knows how to joke around. Bonus points for a tail or extra limbs….and a fancy peen wouldn’t hurt(too much?) either.
If you could hang out with one of the characters you’ve drawn, who would it be and why?
Why choose?
Vampires, Minotaurs, Humans… the list of species is endless: Which is more fun to draw, and why?
All species can be so much fun in their own way! Human’s can have more interesting facial expressions whilst other species make me push certain boundaries. Changing certain parts of anatomy, texture of skin/horns etc. Variety keeps things interesting.
Monster Speed Round!
Favorite monster from pop culture: Jack Skellington
Go-to art tool/software: Ipad/Procreate
Dream collaboration (author or artist): I’m living the dream, baby!
Go-to comfort read: A Passion for Potions-Dalia Davies
Impart on us your wisdom! (Please!)
What’s your secret to capturing the perfect blend of romance and monstrosity in your art?
I don’t know if there’s a secret. I just keep drawing until I like what I see in front of me. I’ll play around with poses, backgrounds and colors until I’m happy with the result.
The most rewarding part of working in the monster romance niche?
The people! I’ve met so many brilliant and creative people online and irl. I’ve laughed and cried with them and even though the stories can be dark, funny or fake… these people are so real and I love them!
Any advice for indie authors commissioning their first piece of book art?
Whatever is holding you back from reaching out, don’t let it stop you! Not only is it super flattering to hear that you like my work, I’d love to chat with you about; your book, interests and whatever you’re looking to get commissioned. Even if I’m not able to help you out in the end, I may know another talented artist who can!
What’s next?
What do you want to plug for folks right now?
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Please read; “A Passion For Potions” by Dalia Davies. It’s sweet, spicy and chock-full of illustrations drawn by me!
Where do you want readers and authors to find you?
I really love Patreon right now www.patreon.com/fantasyspritestudio
Even when you follow me for free, you’re often able to see my pieces in better quality than any other platform. If you do decide to pledge:
From the lowest tier you’ll be able to vote on what I’m drawing next.
Spicy Sprites get all the NSFW pieces and digital downloads of coloring pages and digital downloads of my Fantasy Nouveau pieces.
The highest tier gets sketch requests granted, discounts on commissions and preferred spots on my waitlist!
Housekeeping
For more information about this newsletter’s spice and star system, check out this newsletter’s About Me page.
Thankyou for sharing your journey and not being afraid to express yourself through your beautiful artwork. I hope to follow a similar career path into illustration work (from traditional), and I'm just happy to see that it is possible!