TCC: Thank you for joining us in the Spotlight! How did you get into art and why did you want to become an writer and artist?
Fell Hound: Thank you for having me! When I was a kid I always liked to doodle but never really thought of taking it seriously. Then in my teens I wrote short stories and poetry, but that was also something I felt I struggled with. I don’t know how, but I fooled myself into thinking drawing a story would be easier than writing it, and…here we are! (The truth is both are very difficult skillsets to master).
TCC: What was the first work you completed, where you stepped back and thought, “Yes, y’know what, I can do this for a living!”?
Fell Hound: I think my self published comic zine, Do You Believe in an Afterlife?, was my first work that got any kind of attention. I owe a lot to those folks who took a chance on my comics/prose experiment and encouraged me to do more.
TCC: Which artists/writers inspire you? And they don’t have to be in the medium you work in, either…
Fell Hound: To be honest most of my favourite art comes from fanartists! My biggest inspiration is probably Banished Shadow (@BS_artsss on Twitter). She draws a lot of cinematic badass women and has a comic coming out soon – TALYN – that I’m super excited for. Another one of my inspirations is @Marceline2174 on Twitter. She draws a lot of Mass Effect and Gideon the Ninth fan art that is so unbelievably gorgeous. There’s also LySandra Vuong (@explodikid) who draws COVENANT on Webtoons, and Nesskain who does a lot of Overwatch Art. In terms of writing I absolutely adore Terry Moore. I’d buy every book from him without a thought.
TCC: Can you tell us your greatest fan moment, interacting with a personal hero of yours where you may have gone a little weak at the knees?
Fell Hound: To preface, one of my favourite comic runs was Kelly Sue’s Captain Marvel. Back when I was in college Kelly was in town doing a signing for BITCH PLANET, but I couldn’t go since I had exams that night. A dear friend of mine (bless his heart) actually went to the signing on my behalf, got some comics signed for me, and then put me on a phonecall with her! I almost cried. It was probably one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me, and Kelly Sue was so nice about it.
TCC: What is your favorite fandom? Who is your favorite comic book character/movie/tv character?
Oh boy. My favourite fandoms change like the seasons. I guess the last thing that I was absolutely obsessed with was the She-Ra Netflix series? Seeing an 8ft tall lady kicking butt with a giant sword was great.
TCC: Outside of the ones you create for a living, what characters/stories do you like drawing the most in your spare time?
Fell Hound: Literally any badass lady character haha. I don’t do a lot of fanart anymore but most of it was probably She-Ra and Gideon from GIDEON THE NINTH. Also some Eivor and Kassandra from the Assassin’s Creed games.
TCC: What’s your working routine? Do you work regular set hours and days, keeping certain days free for personal time, or do you find you create any time the muse takes you?
Fell Hound: For the past few years my working routine has mostly been chaos, trying to draw whenever I had the time between dayjob shifts. This year I’ve setup more of a schedule for myself. I do shift work so it’s 12 hour days for when I’m on my set on, then a day off, then a few days for comics, another day off, then back to my dayjob set.
TCC: When you’re creating, what do you use for background noise? Some creators use music or podcasts, some use a TV show that they just can listen to in the background. What do you use?
Fell Hound: Netflix. Lots of Netflix. Also trying to get into audiobooks!
TCC: What was the first comic con that you remember attending? And, indeed, what was the last?
Fell Hound: First was FanExpo back in 2013. Last was FanExpo 2019 right before the pandemic hit.
TCC: What’s your favourite element of a comic convention? And which bits could you easily leave behind?
Fell Hound: I love seeing other people’s cosplays. I used to also cosplay myself which is always fun. And the thrill of just splurging all your money on cool comics/art/knickknacks. I always go with a great group of friends, so we just walk around and have fun. Though I’m not a huge fan of crowds and expensive con food.
TCC: At a convention, when you’re not behind your table or doing the things you have to do at a con, which corner of the show would we find you in?
Fell Hound: I have never actually tabled before! I was planning to in 2020…but the world had other plans. Usually when I’m at a con I just walk around to look at other people’s art.
TCC: With the lack of conventions, a lot of artists are taking commissions online and mailing them out to people – is this something you’re doing?
Fell Hound: I did some commissions here and there (digital ones) but mostly I’ve been focusing on my own comic projects.
TCC: A lot of creatives are also taking to crowdfunding – such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo – to generate income from their work. What’re your thoughts on that?
Fell Hound: I think Kickstarter is a blessing to current indie folks, and am a big fan of it myself. I’ve probably read more Kickstarter comics in the past year than I did store-bought. Comics is such an expensive endeavour, I’m glad crowdfunding has provided a platform for creators not to go flat broke trying to achieve their dreams.
TCC: What projects have you recently finished? What are you working on at the moment, what projects are coming up that you can talk about?
Fell Hound: COMMANDER RAO was my most recent comic, released after my first successful Kickstarter Campaign. I’m working on a new coming-of-age graphic novel right now that takes place in the same universe, and is sort of a spinoff/prequel to Commander Rao. Also been doing a lot of anthology work and have a cool one-shot lined up I can’t talk about quite yet…hopefully soon!
TCC: How do you stay connected with fans? Do you use a mailing list or newsletters, are you active on social media?
Fell Hound: I’m mainly active on twitter, but I also have an Instagram. You can find me on Twitter @FellHound_ or Instagram @fell.hound.
TCC: Where can people see an example of your art online and find out about your rates?
Fell Hound: My portfolio is here at https://fell-hound.artstation.com/! Rates are available by contacting me via email.
TCC: Thanks Fell Hound, for your time!
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