Artist Interview - Roswell_SS
An interview with Roswell_SS, one of Mexico's greatest R18 artists.
Interview by Kashou. Puedes leer la versión en español de esta entrevista aquí.
To find beauty in sexuality is to find beauty in life. One of the most lamentable parts of modernity is that we admonish something as beautiful as sexuality. There's elegance in eroticism, and there are people who still champion that fact. We at Sheepish Dreams recently had the opportunity to talk to one of those people, Mexico's Roswell_SS!
Editor's note: This interview was originally conducted in Spanish.
Q. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your art? How long have you been drawing?
A: I've been drawing for about four years. I started on October 10, 2021, or rather that was the day I uploaded my first drawing. I had been planning it the day before. I like the quick process; I am someone with very little patience for drawing, so I've always looked to finish my drawings as soon as possible. Now that I think about it, even my first drawing only took me an afternoon from start to finish.
Today, the drawings I usually post take an average of three to four hours. If they have many variations and complex backgrounds, they can take me around 6 to 8 hours. But I always try to finish them on the same day.
Q. What inspires you? Is there something you want to capture when you draw, or do you follow your inspiration?
A: My inspiration comes from various sources, but I believe my primary purpose is to provide people with something pleasant.
Of course, these are things I like myself, but I always first think about whether what I create will appeal to others. I believe what I do is more for my audience than for myself. So, when an idea comes to me that I think everyone might like, I start drawing. This is always based on my tastes. I prefer lascivious, sensual, or erotic scenes over explicit sexual scenes. I prefer an anime girl showing her body halfway rather than an explicit sex scene. I find that very boring, so I always try to make my drawings as erotic as possible.
(Left) Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End | (Right) Reze from Chainsaw Man - the Movie: Reze Arc
Q. What program and equipment do you use for your illustrations?
I use Clip Studio Paint on a Huion Kamvas Pro 16 tablet. If you're interested in more details about my PC, I have an i7 12700k, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and an RTX 3080.
Q. Did you become an artist with the intention of creating NSFW art, or did you evolve towards it?
A: Yes, the artist who totally inspired me to start is called Unsfrau. He's an 18+ artist from Love Live! When I began, I wanted to be like him. My first year, I would say I was trying to do exactly what he did. Until I realized that it didn't work and I wasn't achieving anything. So I just started drawing things my way. I began with erotic and SFW drawings. Little by little, I made my drawings more and more erotic until I reached NSFW. But it has always been my goal from the beginning.
(Left) You Watanabe from Love Live! Sunshine!! - (Right) Masaki from BanG Dream!
Q. What is your favorite part of the creative process? How do you overcome the failures that come with any creative effort?
A: My favorite part is seeing the finished drawing. As I mentioned before, I have little patience, so from the idea and planning stage, I am already thinking about the result. The process isn't something I dislike; obviously, I love to draw, but my goal is to attain the result I visualized before I start.
I would say the sketch and line art are my favorite parts. Coloring doesn't entertain me as much anymore, haha. Regarding failures, I don't consider anything a failure.
Q. You create a lot of content for Makine, Kaguya-sama, and Love Live! Are those your favorite anime?
A: I started doing Love Live! because I love the franchise. I even have the logo of the first generation, μ's, tattooed on my wrist. Unfortunately, the fandom and overall Love Live! are not in their best moment, and I couldn't continue living off drawing a franchise with little demand. So I started drawing my other favorite series. Currently, the one I enjoy doing the most is Bocchi the Rock. I would love to make more drawings of the 100 Girlfriends, but I think it would face the same problem as Love Live!; with low demand, I couldn't dedicate myself to it fully.
Maki, Shiki and Shioriko from the Love Live! franchise
Q. How does it feel to have surpassed 200,000 followers on X? That’s a triumph most artists never achieve.
A: Well, I hope I don’t sound pretentious. Honestly, I think most don’t even reach 10,000 followers. While many accounts have those numbers, there are probably 1,000 others that haven’t even reached 100 followers. I grew up surrounded by other great artists who taught me many things. They are all way more skilled than I am—Unsfrau, Coro_Fae, YisusJPL, Fray_Arts, all friends of mine. I’ve learned from all of them and still admire their work as if I were a little kid. So yes, reaching 200,000 is crazy and made me very happy.
But I don't think it's particularly relevant considering that my friends are better than me and possibly have fewer followers. That helped me stay grounded. Yes, it's crazy, yes, it made me very happy, but I don't think it makes me the best.
(Left) Hatsune Miku - (Right) Mem-cho from [Oshi no Ko]
Q. For people who don’t know much about Mexico and its culture, is the country accepting of R18 art and content?
A: Yes, it is. I attended a hentai convention last year. Several events are held where a space is given to R18 artists to sell their art. Also, 15% of my followers are Mexican, so I also get support here, haha.
Q. We saw that you were an exhibitor at AH Con last year. How was that experience? Was it problematic to print cutouts of Marin and Bocchi?
A: It was an incredible and novel experience. I went in with very low expectations because I thought I was just a random Kaguya, Bocchi, and Love Live! artist. But it seems that wasn't the case. Many people were interested, and many followers came to visit me. Some other artists there also followed me; they were very kind. I never imagined signing autographs, and that day I signed a ton.
Not really, I suppose that's one advantage of being a popular artist. When I asked, people started giving me all kinds of information—about who made the acrylic figures, who made the cutouts, business cards, printed illustrations, etc...
(Left) Ryo Yamada from Bocchi the Rock - (Left) Roswell's OC Enis
Q. When will we get an Enis (Roswell's OC) doujin?
A: My friends are working on their OCs, so there will probably be more Enis art soon. Surely, there will be collabs with their OCs and mine.
Q. Lastly, what are your goals for this year and the long term? Do you have something special planned?
A: This year, I want to improve the poses and perspectives I create. I want more dynamic angles and riskier poses. I also want to get back to the rhythm of posting 3 drawings per week. I think I’m doing well so far; this January, I’ve made 13 drawings. Not all have been published—some are commissions—but I want to keep this good pace.
(Left) Uto Nakaji from 100 Kanojo - (Right) Haru from JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World
We'd like to thank Roswell_SS for taking the time to chat with for this interview! You can find Roswell_SS on his Twitter/X, subscribe to his Patreon or follow him on Pivix.