An Exclusive Interview with Skyler Brown from Freak Ink Comics

Hawk-IT Media
4 days ago
25 min read

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

I had the privilege of conducting an interview with manga artist Skyler Brown from Freak Ink Comics. During our conversation, we discussed her upbringing, the influences that sparked her interest in drawing, her journey to creating her own artwork, and other intriguing aspects of her life. I hope you find this read enjoyable.

Amit Ahuja: Let’s begin at the very start of your story. Where did you grow up, and what was your hometown truly like beyond its physical location? How would you describe the emotional and cultural atmosphere of that place—the values people held, the way they interacted, and the unspoken rules that shaped daily life? What did “home” feel like to you at the time, and what small, personal details still stand out in your memory? Looking back now, how would you characterize the environment you were raised in—supportive, restrictive, chaotic, nurturing, or something more complicated—and how did it influence your sense of self, creativity, and emotional development during your formative years? Are there specific moments, memories, or lessons from childhood or adolescence that you now recognize as foundational to who you are today?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Well, my name is Skyler, I was born in Salem Oregon, and I am the second eldest of four kids. Initially, it was just my mother, my sister and I for the first five years & we did a bit of globetrotting in Europe, including places like Luxembourg and Austria. There are even pictures of little me in a blue puff coat standing on the rubble of the Berlin Wall somewhere in my mother’s photo albums. After some time in Europe, we returned to Oregon, Albany, Salem, Portland, and after all of that we settled in Central Oregon for the past 30 years.

I am a multi-racial woman, Black, Cuban, Native American and Irish, I had support and a very protective home life but sadly children can be very cruel. I did feel ostracized by schoolmates and was frequently bullied for being different. I spent a lot of time alone.

Just 7 months into living in this new area, I experienced a life altering exploratory surgery to remove a softball sized tumor from my left ovary at age 8. I was left with a massive scar and lifelong adhesions that bind my intestines and permeate my abdominal wall and muscular fascia, and my little body was launched into puberty VERY early because of the procedure as well.

While recovering, I had nothing but time to watch tv and find a new hobby, and I hyper-fixated on drawing this red headed girl I kept getting flashes of since before my surgery, Lamica.

My mother always encouraged me to draw, even from my earliest doodle. She excelled at harboring confidence in me at a young age and provided me with any kind of art supplies she could afford being a single mother. I feel like she was fundamental in shaping me into the hyper confident artist I eventually became.

Amit Ahuja: In what ways does your upbringing continue to echo through your life and work today? Are there particular values, emotional instincts, cultural influences, or lived experiences from your background that still shape how you approach storytelling, intimacy, or self-expression? Do you notice recurring emotional themes, narrative patterns, or character dynamics in your work that trace back to your past—even when you aren’t consciously drawing from those experiences?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I was raised around very passionate people such as my mother, grandmother, my aunts and many cousins; they were all trendsetters and rule breakers in their own ways being black women in a primarily white dominated state. Relentless pride, undying devotion to family and vocal volume seeming to be their number one defense from what I could tell in my early phases of developmental growth.

We are all empathetic and strong women in our family, and I couldn’t help but study in awe with every nuance. The way my mother’s brow would furrow if my Auntie would beat her at dominoes, the way my grandma’s hips would move as she’d cook for us, how wild and boisterous every single person in my family laughs, even the occasional fight or argument… it was a full orchestra of facial expressions and body movement for me to absorb.

Furthermore, I was raised to never be ashamed of my body or nudity in general. It was the 80’s and 90’s, and shame was not a word in anyone’s vocabulary back then. I feel like it was second nature that my fascination of the human form would evolve into very intimate drawings in my adult life.

A recurring theme in my comics is self love, strength, and being your own superhero to save yourself. Finding strength among blinding rage. Embracing your inner power to manifest them into something real. Not falling pray to what Fate had in store, but striving for your Destiny and burning a path for others to follow.

Amit Ahuja: Can you walk us through your journey toward becoming an adult manga artist, starting with your earliest artistic interests? What first drew you to drawing, visual storytelling, or creating imagined worlds? How did your style, influences, and ambitions evolve over time, and what challenges or turning points helped clarify your direction? Was there a specific moment—or gradual realization—when you understood this wasn’t just something you loved doing, but a path you wanted to pursue seriously as a career?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Ah, yes, my influences.

I will start by saying I was the type of child with such a vivid imagination that I thought movies and cartoons were actually real. The actors really died in my mind and the characters in cartoons simply existed in a place I just haven’t been yet.

As you may have noticed, my art style leans more towards Japanese style Manga/Anime, and all of that began when I first saw My Neighbor Totoro. I know I was old enough to grasp Miyazaki’s ability to capture FEELINGS in his drawings, feelings like I had seen on my family’s faces. Up until then I had, of course, seen cartoons like Thunder Cats, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Pirates of Dark Water…but something about a whimsical beautiful world where you could find a forest spirit that will help you save your sissy if she gets lost, it hit me in my SOUL.

My mother would also watch adult cartoons like Fritz the Cat and read adult comic books in the form of ‘Heavy Metal’ and many Marvel & DC Comics. When she wasn’t looking, I would want to see what she was looking at, I was absolutely INTRIGUED. It was naked stuff, nudity intermingled with heavy political messages of some kind…and the people were doing things to each other…something clicked in my brain that would never turn off again: Naked bodies are REALLY pretty when they are together.

Another film that was trapped in my mind was ‘Rock and Rule’, a post apocalyptic mutant animal movie with sex, drugs and rock and roll, the fundamentals of the 80’s embodied.

A non-animated film that influenced me heavily was Cat People, starring Malcolm McDowell and Natashia Kinsky, the literal premise that their sex can make them transform into panthers, and they had to kill to become human again.

Then you get into ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, I was the kid who absolutely believed Toon Town was real and every character I drew, I thought I would be able to meet one day. I became obsessed and entrenched in a world of my own creating after a while, because the outside world started to become less and less magical the further in school I got.

Then there is Dragon Ball Z; something about how Akira Toriyama was able to literally convey SCREAMING and channeling your inner pain to make yourself stronger stuck with me so deep it’s a part of my DNA now.

Sadly, I fell into the corporate cogs and had been bound by conventional jobs since I was old enough to work, conceding to the wishes of previous partners and society as a whole…thinking it was an impossible dream to actually BE something with my art…but at age 33 I took the leap and got my LLC for being a small business owner. I got tired of being good at things I didn’t want to do anymore, so I decided to take the leap and at least TRY to be more than a hobbyist.

Amit Ahuja: Was there a particular work, creator, or personal life experience that helped you see adult manga as a legitimate and meaningful storytelling medium rather than simply a genre defined by explicit content? What shifted your perspective and allowed you to recognize its potential for emotional depth, psychological exploration, and complex human narratives? How did that realization influence the way you approach your own work?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

As far as an artist that REALLY inspired me with their adult nude works is Louis Royo. I obtained a copy of his book “Dreams” when I was around 14, which was a compilation of his pieces, beautiful women and men nude or scantily clad in AMAZINGLY detailed and gothic pieces depicting dragons, castles, landscapes, outer space…but also lust, longing, yearning, and a plethora of emotions I had yet to even understand…I didn’t feel like I was just looking at smut, it felt RAW, like each picture had a story to convey.

Their nudity almost acting like a superpower, an accentuation of their strength.

I strive to accomplish the same in my art; to capture the moment, the awkward arousal you feel when clothes are too tight or the blind passion when you’ve become too feral to think, the anguish of pain realizing a love is unreciprocated or even the fluid movement of how the skin is folding during a kick or punch.

Art for me is a form of therapy for certain, having been divorced twice and a survivor of physical abuse in one and mental abuse in the other. Each time I draw different scenes depicting painful situations is almost a direct parable to my own lived experiences, and, while not often an exact example, what I wished I could have done to save my former self from that harm I lived through.

Every character of mine that I invest time in, Lamica, Karai, Sanami, Balile, Kasai; they are literally facets of my mind and psyche, the personas I’ve had to create to keep my mind from shattering during the darkest times of my life.

I have also encountered stories from other people that strike me so deeply I HAVE to draw it or else their pain will not leave my head. A curse of being overly sensitive to other’s emotions, but a blessing that they are sharing a layer of themselves I can immortalize in some way.

Long story short; if I have drawn you of my own volition, you have affected me so deep you are now woven into my SOUL.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: Many artists working in adult-oriented fields encounter hesitation, stigma, or judgment—both internally and externally. Did you experience doubts, fear, or resistance from yourself or from others when you chose this path? How did family, friends, or peers react, and how did those reactions affect you at the time? What strategies, beliefs, or support systems helped you push through uncertainty and remain committed to your creative vision?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Hahaha, well one thing for sure, and two things for certain; not everyone is prepared to see adult art as anything other than smut or a means to satiate their own fantasy despite the intended message.

My ‘naughty’ art really kicked into gear when I was around 16, initially just pent up and unnecessarily horny ‘what if’ scenarios of a staunch virgin that would make my friends laugh, blush or genuinely DEMAND I draw more that same day.

And while, yes, I draw a MEAN penis, I enjoy the storytelling and world building that it takes to not only create a romantic atmosphere, but a meaningful plot that the sex is even secondary to the story itself.

So, I made my first naughty comic involving my girl Lamica and my close friend’s dragon boy Balile, a 10-page manga fully colored in Crayola colored pencil, stapled together and tucked away in a protective plastic cover. I showed it to my friends, then my mom of all people! Instead of shaming me, she gave me suggestions on proportions, asking genuine questions about muscle structure and how their bodies would have support in certain positions.

I’ve just been world building ever since.

The older I got, the deeper the fantasies and ‘what if’ scenes became, my mom being my #1 fan, my very conventional and religious black family absolutely shocked and appalled that she would support me drawing naked people doing OBSCENE things. I had even been interviewed by an art collage that wanted me to train with them, and just when I thought I was going to make something big with my art, I met my first husband at age 19…he frowned heavily upon me drawing at home, telling me it was for kids, stop doing it entirely, get a real job and leave it to die.

But I didn’t listen.

I would sneak every colored pencil and drawing page I could with me to work to draw while doing tech support. And when I was caught, it was usually met with violence, or even the literal destruction of my art. I’m proud of myself for maintaining my defiance, because ANY person who saw my art would be SO ENAMORED they started paying me to draw things for them.

It was a mixed bag of hyper support from the people who mattered and ZERO support from the man who claimed to love me. So, I’ve strived to surround myself with people who want to see my art flourish and the story progress since I left him in 2016.

Amit Ahuja: From your personal perspective, what defines truly good adult manga? Beyond technical skill, visual polish, or explicit content, what elements—such as emotional authenticity, character psychology, narrative coherence, or thematic depth—do you believe elevate a work from something consumable to something meaningful? What do you strive for most when creating?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I honestly feel what’s lacking in adult manga, the adult industry as a whole, is the SOUL of the story being told.

Of COURSE you can just say “sex now”, but that just feels so base and gratuitous. I demand CONTEXT as to why this fire monkey king is coming down from the Golden Lands to fertilize a human female and spread his royal seed (haha, now I caught your curiosity).

As a consumer and a creator, the WHY is what is missing. The buildup, the subtlety of anticipation, the YEARNING.

What I adore doing with my fans in my Discord Server is Roleplaying with their own original characters they have created and how they may interact within my world of Destiny in the Flames. It adds a layer of depth to my characters and how they may react to outside forces and thought processes. AND it helps fellow creators with their character building and world building in tandem!

I strive to capture and relay the most intimate moments that those partners are feeling and make YOU personally invested in seeing the story to completion.

Amit Ahuja: When beginning a new project, what typically comes first for you: a character, an emotional core, a visual idea, or an erotic premise? Why does that initial spark resonate with you, and how does it guide the story as it unfolds? How much do you allow intuition to lead the process versus planning things out in advance?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Oh, inspiration can come from literally anywhere for me. But I always think of a ‘what if’ scenario that would then evolve. Something my friend is wearing, watching a favorite content creator, a movie, a scene in a book, the specific way a sweat droplet rolls off a cold peach on a hot summer day; there is no limit to where I can find inspiration.

It usually always begins innocently enough, say working in the garden, you just happen to be working with someone notorious at being a womanizer. Well maybe now it’s time for this womanizer to learn his lesson about being a Good Boy and respecting a goddess at work?

Or, heaven forbid, a precarious situation in an elevator with someone you’ve had a crush on and now you’re trapped for a few hours alone. Just what WOULD happen?

Some of my comics delve into survival of domestic & sexual trauma, offering a literal glimpse into my life, my mental state, the ‘what if’ I had the right support network to leave sooner, if I fought back, if I had superpowers, if the characters I made could replace me and fight for me, also the remaining mental turmoil of PTSD and continued healing required to be a healthy post-abuse human being.

I primarily love mixing the sex with comedy, scenarios that would be traditionally sexy but the awkward humanity sneaks in. The vulnerability of sex is usually portrayed as such a serious “I’m gonna dominate you” or “it has to be X, Y, Z to be sexy”thing nowadays that I love adding levity to such taboo topics.

Demystifying the terrifying subjects is what my goal is. Because, as John Leguizamo has said, “Life would be tragic if it weren’t so funny.”

Amit Ahuja: Adult manga often exists in a delicate balance between fantasy and realism. How consciously do you think about navigating that space while writing and drawing? Do you intentionally lean toward realism, escapism, or an intentional blend depending on the story you’re telling? How do you decide where to draw the line between emotional truth and imaginative exaggeration?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

It is an active decision for me to blend the reality and fantasy as much as I can with my work, but there are no dragon people in real life, sadly, I don’t have a prehensile tail, I can’t control fire and I can’t jump over the clouds in a single bound. Yet…

Under the guise of an anthropomorphic animal race of peoples intermingled with humans and living day to day in the same space, that level of fantasy allows me a safer way to address things like classism, gentrification, segregation and racism as a whole.

Where my realistic tendencies tend to surface is with intrapersonal relationships with characters, granting them with the autonomy of sexual consent, I thrive with comprehensive anatomy & reactions to how flesh behaves in general when being penetrated, caressed, paired in conjunction with raw emotions like I discussed earlier surrounding pain, trauma, pleasure, euphoria, or numbing through sensation just to survive; these are levels of realism that I feel I convey very well in my art.

As far as where I draw the line? You will never see me conveying someone enjoying a non-consensual experience. There are fetish artists that can do that all day, but my art is more for healing and feeling good in some way. And if it’s NOT a feel-good situation involving sex or trauma, there will be trigger warnings issued with some kind of learning lesson from it.

Amit Ahuja: Looking back over your body of work, are there any projects that feel especially meaningful or representative of who you are as an artist? What makes those pieces stand out for you on a personal level? Are there specific ideas, emotions, or lived experiences embedded within them that you feel particularly connected to?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

One of my proudest moments is when I was asked to be the featured artist for Earth Day here in my town, my art to be featured on the local newspaper and on their advertising for the event.

I had been paid for my art on a personal basis before this, but to have a business ask for my art to be what people point to and affiliate it with Earth Day made my head literally spin.

This was just after my second divorce; I was in a new phase of growth for myself embracing the artist and Goddess on earth I was born to be; I didn’t even hesitate on what I wanted to make.

I would up drawing a depiction of myself as Gaia, Mother Earth herself, naked among the cosmos, flourishing, unbothered while she caresses her pregnant Earthen Belly as the stars dance and rejoice around her very existence.

She represents unapologetic self love, unabashed pride in oneself, and unyielding adoration and compassion and understanding for everyone, even if we’ve never met before.

After a brief wave of possible censorship, because the female human form was very intimidating and offensive for one Christian woman in the company, my art was accepted, I got a SIZABLE stipend, and I literally got to see my art on display in my little town. Such a blessed feeling.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: Can you walk us through your creative workflow in detail, from the earliest concept to a completed page? How do ideas form, evolve, and take shape through planning, drafting, revision, and final execution? Which parts of the process feel most natural or fulfilling to you, and which ones test your patience or discipline the most?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I’m a bizarrely particular person when I draw. It’s either THIS process I’m describing or I literally become possessed by horny inspiration and my hand just takes over. There is no in between, haha.

I tend to brew about an idea for a few days before I put anything on ‘paper’. Behind my eyes is like a living cartoon, and I tend to space out staring ahead literally clipping and framing an angle, dialogue, facial expressions before even considering sitting in front of my iPad.

I obsess about the details.

When it’s finally time, I love being in a warm environment that has music or there is a tv playing something I’ve seen a hundred times (I don’t want to be distracted by looking up at the tv screen, but I need sound happening in some way). I get a snack, preferably some white cheddar popcorn, a drink to sip, and I am off to the races.

It’s always best, for me, to consider if I’m making a single image depicting a whole scene, versus several frames; that helps me formulate the structure of the picture. I love getting creative with my comic frames, using oblong rectangles or exaggerated jagged lines depending on the emotion I’m relaying.

To get the most diverse positions, I enjoy doing linear skeletal structures to know the proportions will be accurate. I even get into the positions I’m trying to draw to see if it actually works. Then I build up the body itself; the arm thickness, the head, their core, the hands and feet.

I ALWAYS begin with a naked body so I can then draw the clothes (if they have clothes on) so I can know how they will fold and fall on the form itself.

The most fulfilling part is when I start to ink a penciled piece; not to toot my own horn, but my line work is STELLAR. And it means I’m almost done.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: What do you wish readers—and the general public—better understood about adult manga artists and the creative labor behind these works? Are there misconceptions about intent, effort, vulnerability, or emotional investment that you would like to correct or challenge? What often goes unseen behind the finished pages?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Given the nature of my work, being a very personal self-growth and healing endeavor, I find that now that I’ve shared it with the world, I DO get the occasional person just seeing it for what THEY want it to be.

Fetishizing where it isn’t called for, self-inserting without consent, not taking the time to appreciate if the story is drawn from a real place of vulnerability; it’s an inevitable effect when posting anything online for the world to scrutinize though and I am prepared for that. There are times where, yes, the comic is sexy to be sexy but having the critical thinking process and discernment to realize, ‘Oh, this comic doesn’t need me adding myself in there’ is something that not everyone has.

Another sad side effect is when I post a sexy drawing, some men take that as an invitation to send me sexually driven messages.

I’m going to say this for anyone who reads this: Just because someone is in the sex industry, or draws sexual situations, does NOT mean you have consent to just send them the nastiest thing you can think of off the bat. ASK PERMISSION if it’s okay, and if it’s not, accept NO is a full sentence.

It’s as if human candor of communication leaps out the door when a vulva and penis are drawn nicely.

There is so much that goes into calling a page finished for me that it’s difficult to relay the ‘what it takes’, but I am my own harshest critic. I will zoom in, re-ink & re-shade a page at least a hundred times, read and re-read the dialogue and sit within the emotion the piece evokes in me before I will say it’s done. That, paired with the possible acceptance or rejection, is what took me so long to even get the bravery to post my art in a more public setting.

Amit Ahuja: How do you personally balance storytelling and erotic elements in your work? Do you view them as separate components that must be carefully aligned, or as naturally intertwined expressions of the same emotional core? How do you know when that balance feels right?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I mentioned before how I make my comics as fluid as I can like a movie, frame by frame with your brain filling in the blanks as you read.

Sometimes the eroticism is blatant and in your face, other times it’s the longing look between characters, and it’s the nuance of attraction that I try to capture that builds over time.

I find the balance to be the tease. The very human desire to be curious and having to behave in one way, but the ‘what if’ approach if you indulged in the fantasy.

We all have sex, or want to, and I try my best at the blending of the realities of arousal and the subtlety of fantasy based desires.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: When creating characters, how deeply do you consider their inner emotional lives beyond what appears on the page? How do you approach the balance between idealization and realism when designing bodies, faces, and expressions? Have you ever had characters evolve in unexpected ways, surprising you or leading the story in directions you hadn’t originally planned?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

At this point I hope the readers have picked up on the idea that I view each character as their own autonomous entity that just happens to use my brain as their apartment.

Every one of my creations have a backstory, parents, a past, and they live each time I put my pencils to paper. They experience their own pain and turmoils, their own personal growth struggles, in this way I feel like I differ from most adult manga artists because my characters are not just subject to doing whatever a reader wants them to do.

Quite literally, sometimes I will have an idea of what I want to draw, then as my hand is making it the character’s reaction or expression is off kilter, and I change the entire trajectory of the story to suit them.

This is why I love roleplaying with my fans using my characters; it’s as if I leave myself and allow them the clemency to exist outside of my head and I get a better grasp of how they will react in-story.

I also tend to draw certain characters more when I am feeling waves of depression, anxiety, joy, anger and sorrow.

Karai, for example, came out of my hand when I was spending the night at a friends’ house. To the naked eye he is just a creepy cyclops. To me? He is a fear incubus, the visual embodiment of my depression and self loathing thoughts, the creeping mindset of not being enough, and the masochistic tendencies to just keep hurting because it’s familiar and it hurts to try anything new.

Lamica, my red headed fire monkey, is the personification of pride, constant positivity, self awareness and unabashed love and strength. I draw her when I’m feeling good, or when I feel like I cannot handle the pressures of the world, Lamica has always been there to fight off the bad guys and bad vibes. But even SHE has evolved and grown with me, as I’m confident the rest of my characters will until the day I die.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: Who are three people who have had a profound impact on your life—artistically, personally, or professionally? What lessons did each of them teach you, either directly or indirectly? How do their influences continue to shape your values, creative instincts, or approach to life today?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Biggest artistic inspiration: Akira Toriyama.

His stuff literally started off as doodles for a Shonen Manga, based on Chinese mythology loosely, and it grew and evolved with him throughout the entirety of his career. While many people just see a bunch of people screaming, it dealt with classism on a galactic scale, racism (Frieza hating but using the Saiyan Monkey), and finding literal inner strength from your anger and pain. The proverbial ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ mindset helped me out of so many situations that would have killed me by now, and he instilled a ‘never give up’ mindset in me.

Biggest personal inspiration: My Mother, Gigi.

She was the first black, female boilermaker initiated into the welder’s union of Oregon in 1977, she rode up to Oregon on a Harley Davidson motorcycle when she was 17, she’s a mother of 4 kids and raised my additional 3 cousins as her own, effectively being a mom of 7. She survived not ONLY a 5 week coma after her appendix ruptured, but she also conquered breast cancer AND graduated college in her late 40’s.

She is the baddest bitch on earth, and I am her little damn twin.

Professionally I am inspired by adult industry entertainers such as OctobersThirteenth, AprilVixxi, and Cookie Kawaii.

They are young, passionate, and genuinely in love with their craft. They inspire me to know how to set healthy boundaries in such a demanding industry, but to also have FUN with it, because we have one life to live. Might as well go out with a BANG.

Amit Ahuja: Alongside your manga work, you also maintain an OnlyFans presence, which many fans find especially intriguing. Can you share more about the kind of content you create on that platform, and how it differs from—or complements—your illustrated work? What draws you to OnlyFans as a creative space, and what do you enjoy about engaging with your audience there? In what ways does it allow you to explore or express aspects of your sexuality, intimacy, or self-presentation that may not translate as naturally into manga form?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I’m glad you’ve asked about this! For me, having an OnlyFans is one of the most empowering things I have done in a long time.

It’s a platform where I can embrace my sexuality as a whole, not only to be able to post my art unabashedly, but by utilizing my Certification as a Sexual Health and Wellness Expert to discuss proper sexual etiquette. I also try to cover situations of consent and proper safety with fetish toys such as whips, vibrators, lubricants and desensitizers to ensure a safe sexual experience overall.

I am able to take ownership of my own financial stability with this platform, paying close attention to my engagement with my fans while also keeping true to my own personal boundaries of what I will and will not show of myself. My fans seem to love what I’m doing though! I have made it to the top 26% of OnlyFans creators, and that feels AMAZING considering how many people use the platform to create!

Amit Ahuja: When it comes to the media and art that have shaped you most, what films have left a lasting impact on you, and why? Are there television series you revisit often, books that changed how you think, podcasts you recommend, or music that feels deeply personal to you? Is there a concert or live performance that stands out as especially meaningful, and what made that experience resonate?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I’ve named a few already, but Heavy Metal, Fritz the Cat, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cat People, I am also heavily inspired by horror movies; Evil Dead trilogy, Hostel I & II, Blair Witch Project, Sleepaway Camp, Night of the Demons.

The campier the better for me! And the insane scenarios help me with so many facial expressions it’s not even funny.

I’m also a huge fan of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I Think You Should Leave, Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, and pretty much any awkward humor from Adult Swim.

Oh, with music there is no way to put a pin on me; I have what I affectionately call Musical ADHD. My tastes go from Caravan Palace to Korn, Billy Holiday to Igorrr, if it hits that freaky frequency my brain likes, I save it to my phone and hyper fixate on it.

Amit Ahuja: Happiness and success can mean very different things to different people. How do you personally define happiness at this stage of your life? In what ways does that definition support—or sometimes conflict with—your creative ambitions, professional goals, and sense of identity as an artist?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Happiness, for me, is the ability to be as self-sufficient as possible, to be able to follow my passion for the first time in 20 years without worrying about keeping someone else happy.

My Fate was to be trapped in the corporate workforce…my Destiny was to be happy and follow my passion without any shame and to inspire at least one person a day to follow their own dreams.

I refuse to put success over my happiness ever again. As long as I am being true to myself, my artists soul that blazes hotter than the sun, the success will follow directly behind.

Amit Ahuja: As someone navigating a career that is both deeply personal and publicly visible, how do you stay grounded while continuing to push yourself creatively and professionally? What practices or perspectives help you maintain balance between ambition, growth, and personal well-being?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

At this phase of my life, I am welcoming what is mine to receive and what the universe has already given to me. I think keeping that mentality helps to ground me in the moment, to acknowledge my own talents and not to second guess my gifts.

I try not to allow shame into my vocabulary anymore, because for years some people tried to drain my energy from me. To find the strength to be unbothered by the world’s opinion of MY lived experiences is still a work in progress, but I am becoming more proficient at that art as the days blaze onward.

Self-motivation and self-esteem is so fundamentally important when it comes to being in the public eye like I am, and I strive to cherish my brick house. Eating well, sleeping, going to the gym; I am in charge of my OWN destiny, and I cannot receive my galactic gifts and live to 117 if I fall prey to self-doubt and second guessing my intentions.

Amit Ahuja: Creativity and mental health are often closely intertwined. Can you share any personal experiences you’ve had navigating mental health challenges throughout your artistic journey? How have those experiences shaped your understanding of self-care, emotional resilience, and long-term creative sustainability?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Art is literally my therapy. And I know that if I have lived through it, there are others that have as well, or experienced a branch of something along the same vein.

Dealing with physical abuse, I would often draw fight scenes of how Lamica would protect me, dealing with lack of intimacy, I would draw and try to manifest my desires, losing a beloved pet I would draw them as a new character, so they stay alive in my world forever.

I find that having this outlet as opposed to internally festering with my traumas is the healthiest way for me to deal with it all.

When the emotions build up, when the darkness threatens to consume me, my art has always brought me back from the precipice of sorrow and reminded me I still have a story to tell. And I can only hope I inspire others in some way to cherish their mental health, their sexual wellness and find a way to love even the most broken parts of themselves.

Amit Ahuja: What coping tools, habits, routines, or support systems have been most helpful in protecting your mental and emotional well-being? What advice would you offer to other artists who are learning how to care for themselves while remaining creatively open, vulnerable, and expressive?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

What’s helped me to get out of depressive states is having lots of mirrors around my home. And I say this to myself every day:

Look Good. Smell Good. Feel Good.

This is a reminder to take care of myself, take a shower or bath, and take my medication.

I’ve also coined a phrase of “Doing my Skyler Best”. Not what someone else considers their best, MY best. Holding a standard of excellence while also giving myself grace to rest and refuel.

Seeking therapy was so important for my healing journey, learning new coping mechanisms on how to handle PTSD episodes. Going to the doctor in general, a nutritionist, the dentist and eye doctor. Giving myself permission to be ‘selfish’ and think of myself first rather than trying to please everyone around me.

Amit Ahuja: As we close, what final reflections would you like to share with your fans—and with anyone pursuing a creative dream—about perseverance, authenticity, trusting your instincts, and staying true to your own artistic path, even when that path feels uncertain or misunderstood?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

The best advice I can give is; love yourself and heal. You’re allowed to work on yourself, to indulge in gratuitous self-love.

And while it feels good to get validation from others, the ‘good job’…strive to be that person that little you would look up at and be proud of. I do it all to heal little me so that adult me can flourish.

Be your OWN superhero, your own standard for beauty and love.

Never allow yourself fall prey to self-doubt and be the VIBE everywhere you go!

If you are true to yourself, the rest will fall into place on their own, and the people MEANT to be in your world will gravitate to your light naturally.

Amit Ahuja: Thank So Much to Sklyer Brown from Freak Ink Comics for sharin your story with us today.