Artist Interview - Hiatsz

Hello and welcome back to Sheepish Dreams, giving you a dose of NSFW art inspiration! Today, we're continuing our interview series, where we talk with an incredible NSFW artist who inspires us with their art and attitude.

Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing the fantastic Hiatsz!

Q. Firstly, thank you so much for agreeing to speak with us here on Sheepish Dreams! Tell our readers a little about yourself and what programs you use for illustration.

A: Thank you so much for inviting me to participate! So… what should I say about myself? My name is Hiane, I’m from Brasil, and I absolutely love drawing. It’s easily my biggest passion, along with games, of course. I’m a huge nerd, so I’m always thinking about ideas like that to draw.

As for programs, I use Photoshop for illustration and PureRef to organize my references.

Q. When did you start drawing, and what inspired you to take it up?

A: I’ve been drawing for about five years now, and I’ve been working professionally as an illustrator for around three years. What originally inspired me was that, at the time, I was writing a book and decided to learn how to draw so I could illustrate it myself, bring my characters to life, and really give the story a visual identity.

In the end, I never actually finished that project [laughs], which is a bit of a shame. But someday, when I feel confident enough in my technical skills, I do plan to illustrate that book and continue that dream I had when I first started drawing.

Q. Why did you choose to draw NSFW — was it something you always wanted to do, or did it happen along the way?

A:  I entered the NSFW scene at the end of 2024, mainly because I wanted a change of pace. Before that, I worked mostly with RPG and card game commissions. I’ve always loved drawing all kinds of things, and I’ve been passionate about comics and manga for as long as I can remember, so I thought, Why not draw my favorite characters having fun? [laughs]

Of course, I also considered the financial side. Even without advertising anywhere that I did NSFW, I kept receiving NSFW commission requests, so I realized there was an opportunity there. I started researching Patreon, donations, and similar platforms, and decided to create a Twitter account specifically for that kind of work.

I honestly didn’t expect to grow this much in just one year. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped me reach almost 20k followers in such a short time. That support gives me a lot of motivation to keep creating more NSFW art. I don’t know if this is something I’ll do forever, but right now, it’s what I enjoy drawing the most.

Q. We really love your artwork — it’s a huge inspiration for us! One of our favorite recent pieces is your take on the “Frieren angle challenge” with this piece. Your art style is very sculpted, with a distinct oil-pastel style; walk us through your process from blank canvas to finished piece.

A: I’m really happy that you enjoy my work! My process used to be very chaotic. I always liked experimenting, so before settling into this style, every piece came out differently. Sometimes I started with color blobs, sometimes with lineart, sometimes everything on a single layer [laughs].

Nowadays, my process is a bit more solid. I start with a very large brush and loose strokes to create the first sketch, without worrying too much about anatomy or small details. My main focus is on finding the best camera angle and strong gesture so the drawing doesn’t feel stiff.

After that, I lightly erase the sketch until it’s low opacity, then redraw with more precise lines, fixing anatomy and adding details. Next, I block in the base colors, separate hair lines, body lines, and background elements, and then merge everything together.

From there, I use a multiply brush to work on light, shadow, and volume, and finally move into rendering, which is the most time-consuming part and honestly my least favorite [laughs]. To finish, I usually add color adjustments to make everything warmer and more vibrant, plus a bit of noise.

Q. Doing “strip challenges” like your Hatsune Miku challenge involves lots of “alts/variants,” which you also advertise on your Patreon — your recent Christmas Uraraka post has a whopping seventeen alternates. For many NSFW artists, finding ways to monetize art is a difficult challenge; what’s your experience been like with creating and managing that many variants for every piece?

A: I won’t lie… making that many variants is exhausting [laughs]. It definitely feels like double the work for each piece. But I want to give something extra to the people who support my work.

Even if someone subscribes just to support me, I feel they deserve something in return, and this is my way of thanking them.

I also organize folders with each alt, sketches, and PSD files, and send everything to Tier 2.0 supporters and above. If it weren’t for the alts, I think I could produce art more frequently, since making a single image is much faster.

In the future, I might alternate between quicker pieces without alts, like the Frieren one, and more polished works with multiple variants, to keep a good balance between quality and consistency.

Q: You also have a Throne, which we usually see for cosplayers and models. Seriously, why so much Trento chocolate? Does anyone buy you the chocolate? Do you want a Trento sponsorship? We have so many questions.

A: I absolutely love Trento chocolate. Once I bought a box that lasted me six months [laughs]. It’s my favorite chocolate, I love having one after lunch as dessert. I’m honestly addicted. So far, no one has bought me chocolate yet, but I would love a Trento sponsorship. I’d draw whatever they want for years in exchange for chocolate [laugh]. And yes, I’m accepting New Year’s gifts on Throne, guys.

Q: What advice would you give yourself (or a new NSFW artist) just getting into NSFW art? Are there things you'd do differently?

A: My main advice would be: draw what you truly enjoy. I know that sounds cliché, but I see a lot of beginners focusing only on commissions or social media likes. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it can be very frustrating at the start and even make people give up on drawing altogether.

So focus on what genuinely makes you happy and study your fundamentals a lot. Fundamentals are the key to improvement. Honestly, I don’t think I would do anything differently. I like how things are going so far. I’ve studied a lot over the years and feel that my drawing and painting have improved significantly. I’ve had frustrating moments and even thought about quitting, but the fun moments were always stronger. Just draw. It’s really worth it.

Q: At the time of writing, you’re at nearly 20,000 followers on Twitter/X (congrats!), with fewer (as to be expected) on BlueSky. Like many NSFW artists, we’re tiredly supporting both platforms. How are you coping with both platforms, and do you think you’ll continue using Twitter/X even though all uploaded content can now be instantly fed into Grok’s AI prompt?

A: I’m really happy to be close to 20k followers. I tried my hardest to reach that goal before New Year’s, but I didn’t make it [laughs]. Now my new goal is 50k by the end of 2026. It’s definitely more challenging, but I feel confident about it.

I’ve been handling multiple platforms fairly well. I don’t spend much time on BlueSky; I usually just post and leave. My main focus is still Twitter.

As for Grok and AI, I honestly don’t worry too much about it. It feels like a battle I wouldn’t win anyway, and I can’t spend all my energy fighting AI. I just keep doing my work and observing what happens.

I truly believe that people will always value real art made by human hands. AI images might look pretty, but they don’t have the soul that real art has. It’s like comparing fast food to a handmade meal.

So yes, I’ll continue using Twitter. It’s part of my job and still the best way to share my work with a wider audience.

Q. And lastly, as we're now into 2026, what are your New Year’s Resolutions for this year as an artist?

A: For 2026, my main goal is to improve my drawing and painting skills. I want to take courses, workshops, and mentorships to better understand my weaknesses and what I need to work on.

And of course, as I mentioned before, reaching 50k followers [laughs]. I also hope that by the end of the year, I’ll be able to live entirely off my Patreon income and only take commissions occasionally, so I can fully focus on content creation. I want to learn English too!

We want to thank Hiatsz for their generous time and in-depth answers to all our burning questions! You can subscribe to Hiatsz's Patreon, follow them on Twitter and BlueSky, and check out their Throne wishlist.

Thanks for checking in on these Sheepish Dreams! Your support keeps this project going and funds my artwork, too, which you can always commission using the links in the menu.

May all your dreams come true~
~Miyu 💗