Monster Meet-Cute: Q&A with Artist Rouge Fox
Making Monster Romance Book Art that Sticks
The following profile was made possible in partnership with Monsterotica Book Con.
You can meet artists such as Rouge Fox at this year’s Monsterotica Book Con, which will take place on May 8-10, 2025 in Baltimore, MD.
Meet the Artist: Rouge Fox
The mastermind behind: The Cult of Squish sticker
Quick Monster Bites
First monster crush: Not super monstrous but Captain Amelia from Treasure Planet
Describe your art in three emojis: ✨🧁☕
Favorite drawing fuel: I really love both tea and coffee, but I drink a lot of caffeine free Gamersupps while working
Your soundtrack while working: spotify describes it as "dark cabaret" but with a lot of Tom Cardy thrown in
Team claws, team horns or team tentacles?: Team Tentacles!
Inside the Artist's Mind
What brought you to Monster Romance?
I have always loved monsters, Beauty and the Beast was my favorite movie growing up and I read a lot of fantasy romance with elves and vampires before stumbling onto Opal Reyne's A Soul to Keep and realized there was a whole genre of actual monsters getting smooched
What’s the biggest challenge of drawing for monster romance?
Even naked, monstrous characters are very detailed. There's fins, tentacles with suckers, fur, all kinds of different textures and intricacies that you have to get right or it looks messy. It's important to me that a giant half sea snake man with fins is still gorgeous in his own way, and that can be tricky to pull off.
What do you hope authors and readers feel when they take in your work?
I want people to giggle a little at my stickers. One of the reasons I'm so passionate about making stickers right now is because I need little joys, and I hope the things that make me laugh make someone else smile too
What work do you have cooking that makes you excited?
BUTTONS. Oh my god I'm gonna have so many button pins at Monsterotica. I have fun sayings and bookish merit badges and self care reminders, it's gonna be great. I can't wait to show them off.
Behind the Brush
What’s your origin story?
I started my freelance art career in D&D discords just by word of mouth, drawing kobolds, dragons, and bunny girls. I love how creative and unique people are with their D&D characters! Once I discovered monster romance as a genre I dove into any discord or fb group I could to find other fans and my fanart was what sparked interest in commissions. I started out doing super cute chibis for DJ Russo and then did big illustrations and even book covers.
What was your first monster romance art piece, and what do you remember most about working on it?
I consider the Moonlit Waltz illustration I did for Lizzie Strong to be my masterpiece currently, there's just so much going on in it that I'm incredibly proud I was able to pull off. It's also got everything I personally love, characters from a book I'm obsessed with, tentacles, and a plus size body being unapologetically sexy.
The wildest or most unique request you’ve ever gotten for a commission or favor?
I think the most unique request was, summed up, "The gooey skeleton monster from Ferngully but hot?" haha
Monster mash-up! If you could create your dream monster romance hero, what would they be like?
I would love a vampire lady that can turn into a cloud of bats, and also a giant eldritch nightmare creature
If you could hang out with one of the characters you’ve drawn, who would it be and why?
I would love to hang out with Dalia Grayskull, I just think she'd be a wonderful friend
Vampires, Minotaurs, Humans… the list of species is endless: Which is more fun to draw, and why?
I love anything with scales and tentacles because it's a fun challenge and I love the shimmer and sparkle I can add to them
Monster Speed Round!
Favorite monster from pop culture: Vampires
Go-to art tool/software: Clip Studio Paint
Dream collaboration (author or artist): Too many to decide on a specific one, but one thing I've dreamed of is having a collaborative relationship with an author where I can help design the characters and do tons and tons of art for them
Go-to comfort read: I'm in Love with Mothman by Paige Lavoie
Impart on us your wisdom! (Please!)
What’s your secret to capturing the perfect blend of romance and monstrosity in your art?
I think there's a balance between sexy traits from humans like long gorgeous hair and chiseled jaws, and the interesting elements of the monstrous. Snakes can be beautiful in their own way, jellyfish and octopus can be ethereally beautiful, but those critters are also kinda scary.
The most rewarding part of working in the monster romance niche?
I really love the unique spin on monsters every author brings to the table. Is he an orc but he's super sweet and has really cool unique tattoos and piercings? Is she a mothwoman but based off of super colorful moths? I love that I've drawn like 4 different water based monsters and they're all completely different in terms of vibe and references.
Any advice for indie authors commissioning their first piece of book art?
I find it's really helpful to make mood boards if you can't draw yourself. The colors you want, the vibes you're wanting to evoke, the monsters or creatures you're inspired by. Stick figure drawings can also be helpful when it comes to the poses and scene you're envisioning. Being as communicative as you can with your artist is the best way to get art as close to what you're envisioning as possible.
What’s next?
What do you want to plug for folks right now?
If you like my stickers please consider joining my Patreon Sticker Club! You get 1-3 stickers per month and get to vote on the theme every month!
Where do you want readers and authors to find you?
www.patreon.com/rougefoxartrougefoxart.etsy.com
Housekeeping
For more information about this newsletter’s spice and star system, check out this newsletter’s About Me page.