Maybe you’ve wondered what animals get up to in their free time, and ChilliFox – our designer tip of the month for January – provides us with lots of creative answers to this intriguing question. The creatures in her illustrations have surprisingly human traits, and ChilliFox sheds light on what makes tortoises fly and cats ride giant snails.

Your illustrations show animals, but don’t round up the usual suspects. What draws you to some species more than others?

I pretty much love all animals, so it’s inevitable to depict more unusual animals in my designs. I watch a lot of wildlife documentaries, and nature never ceases to fascinate me. I do have my favourites such as foxes, cats and badgers, though. It’s hard to think of an animal I don’t like. I consider the quirky ones a gift for illustration.

In a previous interview with us you mentioned your own cat as a source of inspiration. Are there any other pets that get your creative juices flowing?

I have two bantam chickens that are possibly even more amusing than the cat. They are fairly simple creatures, and they freely roam in the garden despite not being able to fly. They can run pretty fast if there’s corn on offer, which is like chocolate for them. Unfortunately, they don’t get on with the cat as it avoids them wherever possible.

Your animals seem to enjoy leisure activities just as much as we do. Where are we similar, where are we different?

I don’t think there’s much between us, certainly not as much as we like to think there is. When finding out more about other species, maybe the most exciting thing for us humans is to see ourselves in them.

In traditional fairytales, an animal usually stands for a human characteristic (sly fox, innocent lamb etc.). Do the scenarios that your animals encounter reflect their ‘character’?

I live in the countryside, so I do get to see a fair amount of wildlife in its natural surroundings. That being said, I don’t always follow the conventions for traditional fairytale characteristics. Having an animal encounter a situation you wouldn’t usually expect to find it in can be a lot of fun. I also tend to aim for surreal themes, for example the flying tortoise or the cat riding a giant snail. It all depends on what mood I’m in when I sit down to draw. I’m not always sure what to draw when I get started.

At first glance, your illustrations look like traditional coloured pencil drawings. Which technique and software tools do you use?

I use a tablet to draw straight on the screen. Then I use sketching software (Manga Studio in particular) that produces some very similar results to natural media. I like the comic-book look, and I aim for giving my illustrations a retro feel. I like working on the computer, but mainly for the fact that I don’t always have stacks of paper on the ready! And I like using the ‘ziptone’ effect for colour, and the patterns that were used in old-fashioned comics as I just happen to like this aesthetic quality.

How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

I’m an artist. In my day job, I mainly specialise in illustration. But I also work in 3D, which is great fun. I create graphics for all sorts of purposes like websites, games and books and so on.

You once said that your partner helps you take care of selling with Spreadshirt. Who does what?

It is me who does the drawing, but we come up with ideas together and he is instrumental in getting the designs right. We work together all the time, so our duties blur the line a lot!

What kind of super exciting stuff are you and your partner up to in your spare time?

I don’t do anything anywhere near as exciting as the ChilliFox animals get up to! My partner and I go on hikes (like the ostrich). Admittedly, the bear with the tablet computer is probably closest to my actual day-to-day life!

Your witch cat design won a Germany-wide Spreadshirt Design Contest in 2014. Have you been resting on your laurels or did you enter new and uncharted territory?

I’ve been continuing to add more and more designs. Now I’ve accumulated quite a collection, but there still is a huge to-do-list waiting. We’ve been using the designs on handmade products, so the surreal and quirky ones are a great addition to some of the prettier material. What’s more, I’ve taught myself how to sew. This can be hard and at times frustrating work, but I enjoy the handcraft with materials I have designed myself. As for competitions, I haven’t entered any in the past year since they all happened whenever I was in the middle of a project. I’ll try to make sure I take part again this year!

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed chatting to lady ChilliFox, and we look forward to the new design ideas she’s going to realise in the near future. There are feral times ahead!

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