Interview with Fandom Artist and Creator Pukaparade
Interview Conducted by Aesthel
This interview with Kasia of Pukaparade was originally published in our 2019 Annual Holiday Issue this past December. We wanted to share our feature with Pukaparade again with you guys to show off some of their art that you can find from them right now!
Pick up the December 2019 issue of Cosplay Realm Magazine to see this interview in print!
CRM: Hello Kasia! Could you please introduce yourself and tell the CRM readers a bit about yourself?
Pukaparade: For sure! My name is Kasia (DBA pukaparade) and I like to jokingly refer to myself as a goblin. I’m also from the New England area and really proud of that! The thing I like the most about doing Artist Alley and running my own business is definitely the potential. It’s hard work but the opportunities I get to experience because of it are amazing, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
CRM: We first found your work through attending Granite State Comic Con a couple of years ago. How did you first get your start doing convention Artist Alleys? How long have you done them for?
Pukaparade: Mmm.. My first ever attempt at Artist Alley was back in 2011 at Otakon. I actually totally bombed, but the neighbors I had at the time made me want to keep trying and being involved in the AA community.. When I started doing it seriously, I think it was about 2014. Somehow it’s been over 5 years already?!
CRM: On top of selling your work at conventions, your work is also available through your Etsy shop! How do you balance selling through both platforms?
Pukaparade: Before I would just ship out my orders before a show and close my store, but now I’m trying something new. Basically I’ve decided to leave stock in my shop if it’s an item I’m not bringing to the show, or an item that is on pre-order. I think this is a nice compromise between disappointing people by having the shop closed too much, and overworking myself by taking stock after each and every show. It’s also easier for me to check inventory and pop something back online if someone messages me for something specific.
CRM: The jump from making fanart to making merch can feel pretty huge. What are some tips you have for fellow artists out there who are wanting to get started producing products for themselves?
Pukaparade: This question is so fun.. Honestly the first time I got 11x17 prints made I was in awe. There’s nothing like seeing something that you’ve made be realized in a 3D space, and it’s even crazier when people want to BUY it! I’d definitely say to take things slow and savor the growth. There’s a lot of competition in the AA these days and a lot of people making really sophisticated goods, and you don’t need to compete directly with people who have been doing this for years to succeed. Take it slow, build up over time, and most importantly, please take care of yourselves! Burn out is serious..
CRM: To name a few of the different products you create, you do acrylic charms, mouse pads, prints, lanyards, squishy keychains, and so much more. What are your personal favorite types of products to produce? Have you had any difficulty with learning to make certain products?
Pukaparade: Well the Mousepads was a really fun learning curve.. Because you want to make sure that things line up properly with the silicone inside.. Especially if you’re doing a chest, you don’t want the nipples to be floating away LOL. My favorite types are anything new and exciting - I’m actually working on apparel right now so at the moment that has my attention! But I also still really love keychains - they’re a staple in AA and in my shop and it’s really fun to be able to make a lot of different designs.
CRM: You’ve said before that you consider yourself “somewhat of an aficionado” of cryptids and the paranormal. What is it that draws you to them? Do you have a favorite cryptid out there?
Pukaparade: I’ve always been kind of like the weird kid, so when I was small.. First grade I think it started where I’d log into this old website- and it’s still up actually- The Shadowlands. This website is almost as old as me now, but I’d just log in and read the user-submitted stories for hours. I kept detailed journals about different cryptids and was just very fascinated by the paranormal.
These days I’d say that Mothman is definitely my favorite, but when I was a kid I think it started with Nessie..
CRM: We love your fanart and merch so much! Both of us here at Cosplay Realm personally own a few pieces of your work. How do you decide on what characters or fandoms to make merch of? Do you strictly follow what is popular at the time or do you focus more on your own interests?
Pukaparade: Aa, first of all thank you both so much!! As for who I choose to draw.. My favorites! I used to try and draw all of a cast if I made art for something but that got really tiring.. It’s important to be self-indulgent so lately I just draw a lot of pieces that have to do with my favorite characters. I don’t judge people who draw just what’s popular for money, but for me I’m not able to do that. Unfortunately I get bored of things really easily so I just let the obsessive muse carry me until I’m either out of juice or overtaken by something else!
CRM: You make art of some of our favorite fandoms like Critical Role, The Arcana, and Fire Emblem to name a few! What would you say are some of your favorite characters of all time? Do you find yourself relating to your favorite characters?
Pukaparade: Favorite characters of all time.. That one is a hard one.. I think I end up getting really drawn to really dark or really genki types. People who experience some tragedy or pain but then find the strength to go on. I think that Seteth from Fire Emblem and Julian from The Arcana are good examples of this. It’s not like they’re similar personalities but at the core there’s a lot of really good stuff to poke around and think about in there!
CRM: While we love your fanart, you also do a lot of original work! Can you bring us through some of the process behind designing your characters?
Pukaparade: I honestly probably have too many OCs! I have no self control when it comes to making them.. If I catch a muse sometimes it grows right away, but other times I’ll incubate an idea for a while before it can start to really show its shape or potential. It’s always really fun to think back to the “seeds” of a character once they’ve been fleshed out.
CRM: Is there anything else you would like to add? Please let our readers know where they can find more of your work online!
Pukaparade: Thank you so much for having me for this interview! For my final words I’ll say that you should always take care of yourself mentally and physically. And I post most often on twitter, but you can also find me on instagram and at pukaparade.art! I’m @pukaparade everywhere :)
See more from Pukaparade by following their social media!
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/pukaparade
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pukaparade
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pukaparade
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/pukaparade
Website: https://www.pukaparade.art
If you would like to apply to have your work included as a future artist feature, please email us at CRM.artists@gmail.com
In your email please include:
The name of your business
A few photo examples of your work
A short write up about who you are/what you do
Links to your shop and social media