To read the spanish version of the interview, click here
C: I’m not lying how much I love Abigail Larsson’s work. I rarely stop looking at Kira Imai’s art. I’m always want to see art book from Kunio Kato. Be excited every time when going to read newest Junji Ito’s manga and super happy when found new Tahahiro Uesugi’s art. So many artists to write!
A: Why do you use Cotton Valent as your name?
C: My real name is Woraya Chotikul and the nickname is “Fai” means cotton. I used just “Cotton” for few years and realized it’s too short so I needed another name on it. Valent just a random name that I found on internet, nothing special.
A: I knew you because of your drawing of Wednesday Addams, and you got me forever with your Gwendoline. I felt in love of her. She is beautiful, charming, cute, and mischievous as the death must be. What can you tell us about her? Did you know in Mexico there is a reaper called Catrina?
C: Actually I created her because I saw many female death have skin and big boobs same as human but males are still skeletons, it does not mean I don’t like human-like death but just feel it’s too mainstream so I drew a female death that wants to be. Gwendoline is the ordinary death that work with other deaths. Her duty is to guide dead children to their afterlife.
I knew Catrina after Gwendoline had created for ages, I thought Catrina would be wearing colorful dress and big hat lol.
A: You also drawed about Wendy Persona. I read this character isn’t the reaper when she was alive. What can you tell us about this character?
C: Wendy Persona is the character for “Midnight Opera” graphic novel that had published in 2013, (thai language and it seems very hard for international publish).
Wendy is not a human nor death. She is just a faceless creature that wants to be an actress.
A: You also have a tarot design, and I found that you have the cancer sign made, but I couldn’t find the whole zodiac. Will you finish it later? Is your tarot available for purchase?
C: Major tarot desk is already sold out and I have no time for zodiac project so there is stuck right there. I have so much projects to do right now *sob*
A: I love Gwendoline, she is my favorite so far, but all your work is awesome. Do you have any favorite work?
C: I don’t have any favorite work because I try to draw better everyday. When I just finish a work I will watch it all day but I start to feel bore in next day. It’s really different from watching another artists’ work. I never get bored. Also enjoy finding technic from their artwork and thinking why I like this work, because of the line art or color tone.
A: You also have a comic called “The girl and the soul”. Could you share with us the background that moved you to create this art, and also tell us about it a little more, maybe something funny while creating it?
C: I have a bunch of original stories and “The girl and the soul” is the one of a few stories of mine that have an ending scene. Plot is used to be nonsense and nothing even an important message, just travel around the twisted work. The funniest moment is I never draw my characters with the same face in every scene. I’m glad I’m not an animator.
A: Your “Creepy Cat” is also very popular. Would you tell us more about it? I saw in a picture that you have a cat, is he the main character, Meawbin (Flying cat in Thailand)? And the most important to me… why do the women love cats?
C: Creepy cat is just a thing that I spend time less than 3 hours to process.While drawing comic I was thinking I should have a small project with the story that’s not too deep and ends in one image as I don’t update it often when I need time to finish my comic. So Creepy Cat is just a doodle for (some) busy days.
None of my cats are white but some of them are fat so they are a good reference. Meawbin means flying cat, you’re correct.
A: What do you like most, being part of a company or a freelancer, why?
C: I’m free from company rules. I can decide by my own what time should I wake up, what time should I sleep. If I’m hungry I can eat right now, I can stand up and walk while working if I feel stiff and need to rest. I can nap as long as I want. The best is I can pet my cats in every moment. And the worst is little income.
A: Are you having good income, enough to survive, with your art or do you work in something different to earn money? Where do people can buy your art?
C: I think I’m starving lol. I sell products sometimes which producing them take a whole lot of money so I do it occasionally. You can visit my print shop here http://society6.com/cottonvalent
A: Any more updates of your current art, or new characters/comics in the future?
C: “The girl and the soul” is in process and the story would be long, so the new characters will certainly come out. “Rohesia II” is also in the process but only in self-published book. If you’re going to ask about creepy cat, it will be a self-published small pocket book on Comic Avenue (something like comicon), october 2014.
I wish I had more life for drawing other stories that’s stuck in my head and have no time for them. I have many original stories, you know. Siara’s House, Tall tale & Glitched ghost, The Reaper, etc. This is really bad when you have tons of idea and plot but you do not enough time to do it all.
A: There are a lot of websites to contact you, where do the people can contact you, and in which languages?
C: English and Thai. I must say my English is weak so please forgive me if I don’t understand some sentences.
My website (mostly products and articles and not update often):
http://www.cottonvalent.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CottonGallery
Creepy cat facebook:
Cotton Valent is a wonderful gothic artist from Thailand. She describes herself as a romantic dark artist. Her works resembles us the Tim Burton style, and also the art of Edward Gorey. She draws cute characters in a lolita-victorian fashion, funny circumstances and creepy (but welcoming) environments. She is a very productive girl, and has made a lot of work.
Asura: Thank you for your time. It’s really an honor to have such a great artist with us. Could you please share with us your beginnings? Any influence?
Cotton Valent: Hello! Thank you for inviting me. I’m very pleased for interview!
I love drawing since I was very young and there were lots of scary stuff surrounded my childhood. My influence is a child fear, belief in something nonsense like when you break mirror and get bad luck or creepy rumors about the third door in the school restroom and 80’s and 90’s horror mangas told about school stories. Also, I had played Fatal Frame and Silent Hill.
Ironically I’m scared of ghosts but have a passion for them. I like daydreaming the horror and fantasy stories, how it looks like if I make comic, novel or animation. It would be fun to see my characters lost in twisted world to solve the problems until they had learned their lessons. Besides, I love designing dress. My mother don’t have much money so she advised me drawing my own paper dolls, so I opened Asari manga for reference and drew it (I think I should say “copy it”) That they I have found I also have passion for dress design.
A: You grew up in a village, how did you make contact with a different world such as the gothic?
C: I discovered from anime first (yep!) then cartoons and films. I remembered I have observed myself I always like character that have a huge dark color from there design or dark-looking characters. I don’t know how to explain it very clear, I think horror mangas made my test and preference.
A: I know Thailand has a good taste when horror is in the theme, because I have few movies from there and they’re good. How is the vision of Thailand about the other world/spiritual world/metaphysics?
C: Wow, you watch Thai movies! Happy to hear that!
I think our other world is similar to Chinese, Japanese, Indian and many Asian countries, We are not just believe in ghosts but also believe in spirits, some place have a little tiny houses for their stationed spirits (something like “Spirited away”) besides we believe in good deeds and sins, when you died, good deeds and sins will judge you what you will become in afterlife.
A: What’s the inspiration or your muse to create your work? Can you tell us how is your creative process, from the creation of the idea until the final product?
C: My inspirations are from childhood, good films, good arts, good music, and good articles, the big inspiration is feeling and passion of create works. I cannot live without drawing and writing story.
When I want to create something I usually find the reference (mostly dresses) before start the process for various and not to be boring. But that’s for the illustration that ends in one image. When I’m going to create the story, it’s not easy like that. I need to know mind’s characters, their personality, their favorite/dislike things and their goal, so I need to find personality references for my character, too. Not just dresses and scenes. Example, Charlotte Hammer from my webcomic have a mind references from Jasmine’s Aladin, Ava Ire’s Ava’s demon, Alice Liddle and Dorothy Gale. These references guide me to understand my character how she will fix the situations. Anyway, the best personality guide is expression sketch. If you don’t know what’s next for your character, I recommend imagining random events for your character and sketch, it works, seriously.
I use Photoshop, clip studio paint, picma and pencil for working.
A: How is the situation of the art in Thailand? Do the people like it and support the artist or do they just ignore them? How do you feel about this situation?
C: The art business is growing. Animation is a small business and a lot of people still thinking cartoons are just for kids and cannot let the idea to be creative, so most Thai animators work in others.
Comics are not as complex process as animation but most of the publishers are still working for children books, second is comic essay and the smallest business is manga/comic. Thailand has a bunch of awesome artists but few artists were admitted and mostly the artists that have worked for long time, so the new artists do not get very much attention.
Not many people want to support cartoon/anime business. Also don’t know the price of the artwork. By the way we have a small business like comicon for selling doujins and self-published books
Sounds sad but I hope it will be better in the future.
A: In the art, the message that the people receive may not be the same that the artist wants to share. Do you have a message or something special that you want to share to the world, and that nobody has seen yet?
C: Actually, it depends on my mood. My messages usually mean “creepy is everywhere”. I like it when people look at my artwork and discover creepy spot even Creepy Cat. But for comic I want it deeper than creepy spot. Maybe something about the dark side in the world or human’s mind.
A: Any artist or person that you admire?
Asura: Thank you for your time. It’s really an honor to have such a great artist with us. Could you please share with us your beginnings? Any influence?
Cotton Valent: Hello! Thank you for inviting me. I’m very pleased for interview!
I love drawing since I was very young and there were lots of scary stuff surrounded my childhood. My influence is a child fear, belief in something nonsense like when you break mirror and get bad luck or creepy rumors about the third door in the school restroom and 80’s and 90’s horror mangas told about school stories. Also, I had played Fatal Frame and Silent Hill.
Ironically I’m scared of ghosts but have a passion for them. I like daydreaming the horror and fantasy stories, how it looks like if I make comic, novel or animation. It would be fun to see my characters lost in twisted world to solve the problems until they had learned their lessons. Besides, I love designing dress. My mother don’t have much money so she advised me drawing my own paper dolls, so I opened Asari manga for reference and drew it (I think I should say “copy it”) That they I have found I also have passion for dress design.
A: You grew up in a village, how did you make contact with a different world such as the gothic?
C: I discovered from anime first (yep!) then cartoons and films. I remembered I have observed myself I always like character that have a huge dark color from there design or dark-looking characters. I don’t know how to explain it very clear, I think horror mangas made my test and preference.
A: I know Thailand has a good taste when horror is in the theme, because I have few movies from there and they’re good. How is the vision of Thailand about the other world/spiritual world/metaphysics?
C: Wow, you watch Thai movies! Happy to hear that!
I think our other world is similar to Chinese, Japanese, Indian and many Asian countries, We are not just believe in ghosts but also believe in spirits, some place have a little tiny houses for their stationed spirits (something like “Spirited away”) besides we believe in good deeds and sins, when you died, good deeds and sins will judge you what you will become in afterlife.
A: What’s the inspiration or your muse to create your work? Can you tell us how is your creative process, from the creation of the idea until the final product?
C: My inspirations are from childhood, good films, good arts, good music, and good articles, the big inspiration is feeling and passion of create works. I cannot live without drawing and writing story.
When I want to create something I usually find the reference (mostly dresses) before start the process for various and not to be boring. But that’s for the illustration that ends in one image. When I’m going to create the story, it’s not easy like that. I need to know mind’s characters, their personality, their favorite/dislike things and their goal, so I need to find personality references for my character, too. Not just dresses and scenes. Example, Charlotte Hammer from my webcomic have a mind references from Jasmine’s Aladin, Ava Ire’s Ava’s demon, Alice Liddle and Dorothy Gale. These references guide me to understand my character how she will fix the situations. Anyway, the best personality guide is expression sketch. If you don’t know what’s next for your character, I recommend imagining random events for your character and sketch, it works, seriously.
I use Photoshop, clip studio paint, picma and pencil for working.
A: How is the situation of the art in Thailand? Do the people like it and support the artist or do they just ignore them? How do you feel about this situation?
C: The art business is growing. Animation is a small business and a lot of people still thinking cartoons are just for kids and cannot let the idea to be creative, so most Thai animators work in others.
Comics are not as complex process as animation but most of the publishers are still working for children books, second is comic essay and the smallest business is manga/comic. Thailand has a bunch of awesome artists but few artists were admitted and mostly the artists that have worked for long time, so the new artists do not get very much attention.
Not many people want to support cartoon/anime business. Also don’t know the price of the artwork. By the way we have a small business like comicon for selling doujins and self-published books
Sounds sad but I hope it will be better in the future.
A: In the art, the message that the people receive may not be the same that the artist wants to share. Do you have a message or something special that you want to share to the world, and that nobody has seen yet?
C: Actually, it depends on my mood. My messages usually mean “creepy is everywhere”. I like it when people look at my artwork and discover creepy spot even Creepy Cat. But for comic I want it deeper than creepy spot. Maybe something about the dark side in the world or human’s mind.
A: Any artist or person that you admire?
C: I’m not lying how much I love Abigail Larsson’s work. I rarely stop looking at Kira Imai’s art. I’m always want to see art book from Kunio Kato. Be excited every time when going to read newest Junji Ito’s manga and super happy when found new Tahahiro Uesugi’s art. So many artists to write!
A: Why do you use Cotton Valent as your name?
C: My real name is Woraya Chotikul and the nickname is “Fai” means cotton. I used just “Cotton” for few years and realized it’s too short so I needed another name on it. Valent just a random name that I found on internet, nothing special.
A: I knew you because of your drawing of Wednesday Addams, and you got me forever with your Gwendoline. I felt in love of her. She is beautiful, charming, cute, and mischievous as the death must be. What can you tell us about her? Did you know in Mexico there is a reaper called Catrina?
C: Actually I created her because I saw many female death have skin and big boobs same as human but males are still skeletons, it does not mean I don’t like human-like death but just feel it’s too mainstream so I drew a female death that wants to be. Gwendoline is the ordinary death that work with other deaths. Her duty is to guide dead children to their afterlife.
I knew Catrina after Gwendoline had created for ages, I thought Catrina would be wearing colorful dress and big hat lol.
A: You also drawed about Wendy Persona. I read this character isn’t the reaper when she was alive. What can you tell us about this character?
C: Wendy Persona is the character for “Midnight Opera” graphic novel that had published in 2013, (thai language and it seems very hard for international publish).
Wendy is not a human nor death. She is just a faceless creature that wants to be an actress.
A: You also have a tarot design, and I found that you have the cancer sign made, but I couldn’t find the whole zodiac. Will you finish it later? Is your tarot available for purchase?
C: Major tarot desk is already sold out and I have no time for zodiac project so there is stuck right there. I have so much projects to do right now *sob*
A: I love Gwendoline, she is my favorite so far, but all your work is awesome. Do you have any favorite work?
C: I don’t have any favorite work because I try to draw better everyday. When I just finish a work I will watch it all day but I start to feel bore in next day. It’s really different from watching another artists’ work. I never get bored. Also enjoy finding technic from their artwork and thinking why I like this work, because of the line art or color tone.
A: You also have a comic called “The girl and the soul”. Could you share with us the background that moved you to create this art, and also tell us about it a little more, maybe something funny while creating it?
C: I have a bunch of original stories and “The girl and the soul” is the one of a few stories of mine that have an ending scene. Plot is used to be nonsense and nothing even an important message, just travel around the twisted work. The funniest moment is I never draw my characters with the same face in every scene. I’m glad I’m not an animator.
A: Your “Creepy Cat” is also very popular. Would you tell us more about it? I saw in a picture that you have a cat, is he the main character, Meawbin (Flying cat in Thailand)? And the most important to me… why do the women love cats?
C: Creepy cat is just a thing that I spend time less than 3 hours to process.While drawing comic I was thinking I should have a small project with the story that’s not too deep and ends in one image as I don’t update it often when I need time to finish my comic. So Creepy Cat is just a doodle for (some) busy days.
None of my cats are white but some of them are fat so they are a good reference. Meawbin means flying cat, you’re correct.
Why do women love cats? I think men loves cats, too. It’s mysterious why we love cats. All of us are under their control.
A: You also sell pillows, but only in Asia, right?
C: Not just Asia. My products is selling around the world but international shipping is expensive….
A: You also have a book called “Rohesia”. What can you tell us about it?
C: “Rohesia” is a self-published book that had been sold in OC only event (something like small comicon in Thailand) in early 2014. It’s about a doll who has lost a heart that makes her different from other dolls and it’s not a warm-hearted comic (you have been warned).
A: In your target list you wrote you are creating a cloth brand. How is it going?
C: OMG you saw it haha. It’s pretty far plan for my life right now. I have an impossible plan for design my own dresses and sell them on online shop so I need to be a millionaire to create that business but I don’t fear to daydream about it.
A: Do you make art in other forms? Which?
C: Just paper and digital, I never do crafts again after the sculpture class when I was in college, but I’m interested creating products. I used to think about making pendant but I must use rasin and many stuff and I don’t know someone is going to buy my products or not. I don’t know I should include creepy cat pillow here, I designed it but didn’t produce by my own.
A: Are you working for any company right now or are you freelancer?
C: Thai companies don’t like my style, so, yeah, I’m a freelance illustrator ,also I got few works to do so I have a lot of free time to draw my comic, sometimes I get commissions from deviantart, small payment from society6 and patreon. My current goal is sending my webcomic to some publisher.
Life is like a boat, need to keep going and don’t know what’s gonna happen next.
A: You also sell pillows, but only in Asia, right?
C: Not just Asia. My products is selling around the world but international shipping is expensive….
A: You also have a book called “Rohesia”. What can you tell us about it?
C: “Rohesia” is a self-published book that had been sold in OC only event (something like small comicon in Thailand) in early 2014. It’s about a doll who has lost a heart that makes her different from other dolls and it’s not a warm-hearted comic (you have been warned).
A: In your target list you wrote you are creating a cloth brand. How is it going?
C: OMG you saw it haha. It’s pretty far plan for my life right now. I have an impossible plan for design my own dresses and sell them on online shop so I need to be a millionaire to create that business but I don’t fear to daydream about it.
A: Do you make art in other forms? Which?
C: Just paper and digital, I never do crafts again after the sculpture class when I was in college, but I’m interested creating products. I used to think about making pendant but I must use rasin and many stuff and I don’t know someone is going to buy my products or not. I don’t know I should include creepy cat pillow here, I designed it but didn’t produce by my own.
A: Are you working for any company right now or are you freelancer?
C: Thai companies don’t like my style, so, yeah, I’m a freelance illustrator ,also I got few works to do so I have a lot of free time to draw my comic, sometimes I get commissions from deviantart, small payment from society6 and patreon. My current goal is sending my webcomic to some publisher.
Life is like a boat, need to keep going and don’t know what’s gonna happen next.
C: I’m free from company rules. I can decide by my own what time should I wake up, what time should I sleep. If I’m hungry I can eat right now, I can stand up and walk while working if I feel stiff and need to rest. I can nap as long as I want. The best is I can pet my cats in every moment. And the worst is little income.
A: Are you having good income, enough to survive, with your art or do you work in something different to earn money? Where do people can buy your art?
C: I think I’m starving lol. I sell products sometimes which producing them take a whole lot of money so I do it occasionally. You can visit my print shop here http://society6.com/cottonvalent
A: Any more updates of your current art, or new characters/comics in the future?
C: “The girl and the soul” is in process and the story would be long, so the new characters will certainly come out. “Rohesia II” is also in the process but only in self-published book. If you’re going to ask about creepy cat, it will be a self-published small pocket book on Comic Avenue (something like comicon), october 2014.
I wish I had more life for drawing other stories that’s stuck in my head and have no time for them. I have many original stories, you know. Siara’s House, Tall tale & Glitched ghost, The Reaper, etc. This is really bad when you have tons of idea and plot but you do not enough time to do it all.
A: There are a lot of websites to contact you, where do the people can contact you, and in which languages?
C: English and Thai. I must say my English is weak so please forgive me if I don’t understand some sentences.
My website (mostly products and articles and not update often):
http://www.cottonvalent.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CottonGallery
Creepy cat facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MeawbinTheCreepyCat
Tumblr: http://painsleep.tumblr.com/
Creepy cat tumblr: http://meawbin.tumblr.com/
My webcomic: http://www.thegirlandthesoul.com/
Deviantart: http://cottonvalent.deviantart.com/
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/CottonValent
A: Any final message to the readers?
C: Thank you so much for everyone for supporting me. I’m always glad when receive wonderful messages and my work makes someone happy. I hope this interview is entertaining and useful. And thanks again for your time to read my interview.
Tumblr: http://painsleep.tumblr.com/
Creepy cat tumblr: http://meawbin.tumblr.com/
My webcomic: http://www.thegirlandthesoul.com/
Deviantart: http://cottonvalent.deviantart.com/
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/CottonValent
A: Any final message to the readers?
C: Thank you so much for everyone for supporting me. I’m always glad when receive wonderful messages and my work makes someone happy. I hope this interview is entertaining and useful. And thanks again for your time to read my interview.
