ArtCrush: Tom Cray
Fuelling our fantasies with sexed-up superheroes and horny muscle-hunks.
The sexed up artwork and storytelling of Tom Cray always gets our attention.
I caught up with Tom for a behind-the-scenes look at his work.
When did you discover and start to explore your passion for art and illustration?
My mother is an artist so, from early childhood, she would always tell my brothers and I to draw.
It’s something I’ve always enjoyed to do.
In school, I was pretty shy, so in my spare time I was always drawing.
How did it feel when you realised that you could unleash some of your sexual fantasies through your illustrations in the form of erotic art?
I started drawing erotic art early on - when I was around 8 years old.
I was always fascinated by the nude human body - it was always beautiful to me.
At first, I began by drawing female bodies. Then, I included a male body and started drawing heterosexual sex. Slowly, the female bodies would have less and less details and my drawings soon focused on a naked man by himself. Then, other guys began to appear and I was drawing gay sex.
You draw inspiration from fantasy, superheroes, and muscle-hunks - which superhero or muscle-hunk do you most identify with?
My dad would buy me Superman and Batman comics. Even though I could never relate to those characters specifically, it gave me an appreciation of superheroes and their muscled bodies.
These days, I'm more of a Marvel guy.
The superheroes that I identify with the most are: Iceman, because of his sense of humour; Nightwing, because he's fit and athletic and I've always enjoyed jumping around and climbing stuff.
The X-men in general appeal to me - that feeling of being an outcast is something that many gay people share.
You distribute your work through subscription platforms such as Patreon and Gumroad. What sort of feedback do you get from your audience?
Gumroad recently closed their doors to NSFW works, so it’s been difficult.
I feel it’s getting harder and harder to be able to share NSFW content online. Adults should be able to enjoy adult content.
Patreon has been my main source of income for a few years now - I'm hoping that it won't also ban adult content.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing others actually care for the characters I create. When I hear that they have their favourites and know some of the stories, it makes me feel great.
Of course, I also love that they get horny by reading my stories - it’s a huge part of my art and what I want to create in people.
What do you hope that people feel when they get to see the erotic art that you've created?
I want people to enjoy my work however they wish.
I love that they get horny by seeing my art and reading my comics but there is also a story going on there. People often tell me that at first they would mainly masturbate with my comics a few times, but then they would actually read them and enjoy the stories - that is absolutely a double win for me!
In a way, I feel that I’m making people happy - even if it’s just for a short while. Being able to do that is amazing to me. To create something that makes people happy is my goal.
