Fish is a freelance illustrator. They have participated in some group exhibitions, done some special edition book covers, and some danmei covers. They have a BA in fine art, and are based in California.

Fish’s is best known for illustrating After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine for Seven Seas Entertainment:

A strange thesis becomes one professor’s reality when he’s transmigrated to the past and awakens as a doomed prince in this hit danmei (Boys’ Love)!

“An outrageous thesis has just hit the desk of esteemed history professor Jiang Suizhou. Dubiously sourced, it tells the story of the General Huo Wujiu, a man who was captured, incapacitated, and forced to serve as concubine to his enemy’s brother—the cut-sleeve prince. For three grueling years, the general lived as a prisoner until he escaped and sought vengeance against his tormentors.

Convinced the story is pure fiction, Jiang Suizhou brands the thesis a failure, that is, until he wakes up as the cut-sleeve prince himself!

Now, stuck lording over his concubine and prisoner Huo Wujiu, Jiang Suizhou only has one option to avoid facing the general’s future wrath: Ally himself with Huo Wujiu. Still, this strategy could backfire if Huo Wujiu were to get the wrong idea about his intentions.”

I had the opportunity to interview Fish, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi! I’m fish, thanks for having me. I’m first-gen Vietnamese American immigrant, a freelance illustrator, and I’ve done some work for Seven Seas among other things.

As an artist what drew you to illustrating?

I grew up in a rural and mountainous region of Vietnam, where the most prominent children entertainment was the manga series Doraemon. It sparked a deep love of drawing in me, and I haven’t stopped since. I love how much illustration can convey, through both explicit depictions and subtle suggestions. I also think that sometimes just having a pretty picture to look at can improve a person’s mood.

What are some of your favorite elements of illustrating? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I like most aspects of the process, really. If I have to pick, though, it’s probably adding in the final wash of darks. No matter how much work I’ve gotten done, adding in the dark values will always make the piece look very close to complete. It’s a great morale booster on larger projects that spread over multiple sessions!

As for challenging, it’s the problem solving along the way. Inevitably I make a mistake and I have to figure out if I want to fix it, then what I want to fix it with, and finally when to stop scrubbing at it. I think it’s a common problem to fixate on a mistake and making it worse with every attempt at fixing said mistake.

As an author who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

I grew up reading manga, and I think the influence is quite obvious in my work.

In a more specific sense, I must mention Japanese illustrator re° (@re-o.bsky.social ), whose work is moody, delicate, and atmospheric. My other strong influence is Caravaggio. I had a lesson once in chiaroscurro and has made it my whole entire personality since. Actually, if you look at both artist, you can see the common aesthetic is heavy contrast. Like my instructor used to say, “contrast is the meaning of life.”

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

As mentioned, I am Vietnamese American, and I really, REALLY want everyone to know about my personal obsession with Vietnamese historical costuming. I’ve always been envious of the wealth of historical costuming from both Asia and the west. Compared to that, the Vietnamese scene is still in its infancy, but I think it’s wonderful that the effort is being spearheaded by young people wanting to rediscover and reintroduce history in the form of dress!

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

My favorite color is red, and Detective Conan is my other childhood staple. I think those 2 facts explain a lot about why I am the way that I am ha h a …

What advice might you have to give for aspiring creatives out there?

You gotta draw what you like! You also gotta know the fundamentals! And it is possible to mix those things!! It’s what’s going to keep you drawing AND improving.

How I personally go about it is: I’ll pick one fundamental principle and give it extra focus when I draw. It’s ok if everything else is not quite where I want it to be, but I want to make improvements to specific things one at a time. Currently I’m focusing on practicing populating a scene, actually.

More importantly, in the age of rampant AI and disdain for human creators, please know that just by picking up a pen and making something with your own hands, you are, to me, already infinitely cooler than someone who uses generative AI.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I’m putting together my newest art zine! It’s going to be a compilation of my works from 2023-present, and the page count is looking to be ~170pgs. Please look forward to it!

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend in general to the readers of Geeks OUT?

Last year, I read The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Pulley is such a skilled writer; the way she wrote love and yearning across years is so appealing to me. It’s queer! It’s got so much yearning! It’s got timeline shenanigans! It’s really fun! Please mind the trigger warnings though!

I also read Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, and it’s a very specific niche of “daddy issues while stuck inside a whale” that made it my favorite Whale Book.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buelhman, because the imagery of this medieval horror is so vivid and interesting. Please read it if you’re interested in horror but not into specifically scary things!

There is also the Books of the Usurper series by Erin M. Evans, which is a fun fantasy romp with a really interesting cast of characters. It’s got a murder mystery, a coup plot brewing, and my favorite little guy, who is a sarcastic grumpy aroace guy in a species of polyamorous people. The cost to using magic in this world is anxiety! It’s really accessible even if you’re not a fantasy reader!