An Interview with hybridmink

By Kasaix • 4 years ago

Kasaix: Hello Doujin Army! I came across a really talented artist just today, and had to message him for an interview. His work is great! The girls look amazing, either clothed or not. The lighting and shading is perfect. He has Ayane and Kasumi from DOA together, which is an instant win in my book. Ivy and Taki from Soul Calibur too. He also has his own characters from a series called Dominion of Heroes, which I’m really curious about.

But we’re definitely getting ahead of ourselves. Thanks for taking the time to hang out hybridmink. How’s it going?

hybridmink: Hey Kasaix, thanks for getting in touch.

I'm actually working on a Dominion scene as we speak haha

Kasaix: Nice! Brunhilde looks amazing, as a knight or demon. As much as I want to dive into that series, and damn does it look great, there's an order to things. Let’s start at the top, could you tell me how you first got into art?

hybridmink: Sure thing

There isn't really a time that I remember where I wasn't drawing, but I think I really got into drawing with Kirby Superstar fanart for the Super Nintendo. I mostly drew male superhero type characters up until high school and didn't actually have confidence in drawing women until after college. So...kind of all over the place, but you could say that I was always inspired by Japanese art in some form.

Kasaix: I've found that artists have kept up with art from their younger years, which I really like to see. I hope to keep up with my hobbies as I get older.

Did you go to an art school, or are you all self taught?

hybridmink: I went to school for 3D animation, but didn't actually get in for my artwork. I happened to have good grades so I was accepted on that into the gen ed program. Since this was the school I wanted to go to, I decided to take all of the art classes available to me and build a new portfolio off of that. Luckily this work was good enough and I was accepted! During college I found that I enjoyed figure drawing and illustration much more than 3D modeling and animation. So once I graduated, I really didn't pursue that career at all. As far as I'm concerned, I'm self taught with a bit of help from some classes here and there.

I can site a few artists with amazing tutorials that really helped shape my work today, but overall it's been an iterative process of just drawing every single day and finding areas to improve or try new things.

Kasaix: You chose 2D over 3D. I'm sure we can all understand that preference. What are your favorite characters and themes to draw?

hybridmink: I mostly gravitate towards fighting game characters. They tend to have great designs with explosive personalities, but very little story to them. This lack of story gives me more freedom when drawing them. It's a little hard to describe, but basically I like cool/sexy characters.

Kasaix: Nice. I like those types too. A girl who can kick ass and look sexy doing it. Now let's dive into Dominion of Heroes. What's it about, besides cool and sexy girls having both human and demon forms?

hybridmink: Well I wanted to beef up my patreon a bit but I always have a hard time with what most artists do as a NSFW reward. They draw a cool pinup, but then tweak it to be a sexy nude one. I'd rather go one way or another. I also really like designing characters. So I went with an original series of characters designed specifically for hentai. Every month I get input from patrons on how she should look and go from there...

The basic premise is kept loose because I think everyone would like to read into the scenarios a little differently. The protagonist is a demon with the ability to seduce others with a "demon seal", placed around the crotch (as these things often are). He is seducing these female warriors to join his side and eventually this army could lead to...something.

As for their demon forms, they transform once they've orgasmed enough times and are fully consenting to join him. This releases the seal and the energy stored inside changes their appearance a bit, including their breast size. It's pretty ridiculous, but I think some people are into it. haha

Kasaix: I'm definitely into it. Great job. How long does it typically take you to finish a project?

hybridmink: well i think the actual art for 2 pinups and 2.5 scenes ends up being about 2 weeks time

the current character is an angel so drawing these huge wings 4 times is taking forever!

Kasaix: Eesh. I don't think I'd have the patience, so I admire yours. What do you feel is your best picture yet, and why?

hybridmink: do you mean in terms of NSFW, Dominion, or just overall?

Kasaix: Overall

Or you can choose one between those categories. Either would work.

hybridmink: Well it's hard to say, but overall I really like how the mood, coloring, lineart, and anatomy came together with this Leona piece

Kasaix: That looks amazing! I love it.

hybridmink: ive spent much more time on much larger images, but this one turned out good AND it was fun to work on

thanks!

Kasaix: Is there a project you'd really like to work on in the future?

hybridmink: Well I started a 2D action game a few years back and I'd love to finish it some day. However my art is so much better than it was back then so I might have to start over!

As for dream projects, I'd love to work on a fully hand drawn Kirby game. I'm sure that comes as no surprise huh?

(hybridmink: that samus gif was featured on 9gag, but they gave no credit! oh well)

Kasaix: That sounds awesome. Nintendo might want to have some words though. They are super strict.

What setup do you use to draw?

hybridmink: Yeah I might not link them to my deviantart for the application...

I drawn on a Cintiq 22HD and the programs I use are Painttool SAI and Photoshop

Kasaix: Nice setup. Where does your username come from?

hybridmink: way back in the days of Dreamcast IRC chat, I had to pick a username. So of course I was inspired by an N64 game I'd read about in a magazine and never actually played called "Hybrid Heaven." The "Mink" part comes from a character I dressed up as when hanging out with friends a couple times. He was also a character in my college web comic. When I decided to make a deviantart account 10 years ago, I just combined them.

Mink is a human hard boiled detective mind you, not an actual mink.

Kasaix: That's nice. I understand you're busy, so let’s wrap it up here for now. Do you have any final words to all your fans?

hybridmink: Hmm, well they can check me out on twitch almost every night. I like talking to artists of all levels, or just people that want to chill while I'm drawing. Everyone's support allows me to keep doing what I love so it means a lot to me.