Spicy Donut has to be the best name I’ve ever heard. Devin Lawson aka Spicy Donut is an artist and animator based in Austin, Texas. He makes incredible horror based illustrations, and has a lot of inspiration from topics in horror, pop culture, pinups, and burlesque. We had the pleasure of getting a look into his world, and talking to him about his work!
“I’m mostly known for my Merry Murderers horror illustrations. Which is a modern take of 1920’s rubber hose animation. I like the innocence of the style contrasted by the darkness of horror. It’s fun and over the top.
I have been scribbling since I could hold a pencil. I kept scribbling through art school in Houston and scribbled through a degree in animation. Eventually I scribbled my way into my first job. Which was building flash websites and animations. I did all kinds of marketing animation for years and hated most of it. Not enough scribbling and too much pixel pushing. Shoot that logo across the screen and that sort of mundane thing. I kept trying to build a personal style through all that time. I still work full time for a casino game company these days called evolve. It’s rewarding though. I have a lot of control over what I create for them. Still the goal is to create artwork full time as Spicy Donut.”
CoM: I love your artwork, how did you develop your style?
It was painful finding my style. It took a long time and a lot of cringey bad work. Eventually it started to click. I think watching all those old cartoons finally started rattling loose in my head and became the stuff I wanted to surround myself with and put on peoples walls.
CoM: What’s your favorite piece you’ve created, and how long did it take you to make?
I think it may be a toss up… the Akira piece i did was a love letter to one of my earliest inspirations. It’s one piece I just absolutely cut zero corners on. And it took for fucking ever lol. 4 months at least, after work, every day. But the Merry Murderers Jason may have been the pivotal piece in my style transformation. It’s the first one I did where I felt like I had a unique voice with my work. It took maybe 3 nights.
CoM: It’s cool that you have a range of different styles like from your cartoony pieces to realism. What is your favorite to make?
The cartoony pieces definitely have more of that instant satisfaction and are less stressful to draw. The realism is rewarding but you have to be so much stricter with every step. If somethings off in a realistic piece it’s painfully obvious. In a toon piece it’s simplified down so there’s less to worry about.
CoM: I love your usage of bright colors in your work. What are your go to colors for when you’re creating a new piece.
I like a lot of red, black, and cream for that kind of rockabilly vibe. Or neon greens for that punk rock feel. For the vintage stuff i have been playing with super desaturated palettes which lend itself to the poor color quality of film color of the era.
CoM: I see you’re a fan of anime. What are some of your favorites? I’m a huge fan of Fullmetal Alchemist. Some anime have some stellar animation. I love how Demon Slayer incorporates some traditional Japanese style in there as well. Pretty cool.
Oh yeah of course Akira and Cowboy Bebop top my list. I try to keep up with the newer stuff but I still love some 80s and early 90s anime. Less CG and more just pure skill. Evangelion, Ninja Scroll, Gunsmith Cats, Robot Carnival, to name a few. Ghibli of course. One Punch Man and Mob Psycho were great. Hunter x Hunter was awesome. I could go on and on.
CoM: What are some of your biggest inspirations for your work? Is there any particular topic in horror you like to illustrate the most?
I think the Fleischer stuff is my biggest influence currently but also so many other artists. Leyendecker, Elvgren, Chris Sanders, Shane Glines, Bruce Timm, Akira Toriyama, Dan Decarlo, Katsuhiro Otomo, Olivia, Junji Ito (CoM: Junji Ito is incredible)… I could go on forever.
For horror I think the slashers are the most fun to draw. They’re iconic and bigger than life, and putting them in a classic style kind of takes their edge and plays with it. Plus all that drippy blood and gore! (CoM: I love me some gore and gutsssss)
CoM: Who is the scariest horror icon?
Tim Curry Pennywise scared me the most when I was a kid. I couldn’t even look at a storm drain for a while.
CoM: What’s one of the most underrated horror films in your opinion?
Hmm Tough one… Maybe Event Horizon! Or Maximum Overdrive! Both classics in my book.
CoM: Do you get a lot of custom requests or collabs? What was the most interesting project you worked on?
I get requests almost daily these days. Which is a great problem but i take forever to get someone a piece. I think the most interesting project may have been the burlesque posters for the bat city bombshells or the album covers I’ve done. Always fun to draw!
CoM: If you were in a zombie apocalypse what would be your weapon of choice? I’m talking slow walking zombies, not the crackhead resident evil ones that sprint.
Ooh shotgun with chainsaw bayonet! Don’t ask me how it works. I’m sure duct tape is involved.
CoM: Is there anything you’d want people to know about you?
I love talking to everyone and all the support! I love seeing all the tattoos people have been getting of my work. That always blows my mind and makes my day. I can’t wait to keep making stuff because it’s always so exciting when y’all get excited about it too!
Keep up with Spicy Donut here:
Instagram: @thespicydonut
Facebook: spicydonut
Twitter: @spicydonut
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