Hi, I'm Zaps.
How long have you been drawing?
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember picking up a pencil, but I started posting my art online originally in 2007/2008.
I started drawing in MS Paint, then GIMP, and eventually moved onto Photoshop for the majority of my career until the iPad + Procreate combo came out after I had graduated college.
What were your earliest inspirations?
I bought one of the original BBA comics when I was in sixth or seventh grade and reading that alongside being an avid Warriors Cats kid for years AND growing up in the Golden Era for 2D Disney Animation movies... there was so much to be inspired by in my childhood.
​
As for modern inspirations, I really love to collect art books and whenever I am feeling stuck, I will pull an art book from my shelves and read it for some inspiration. Some notable books that I love to look over for stylistic inspiration are Over the Garden Wall, The Croods, The Wild Robot, & the Good Dinosaur.
​
Of course I also grew up being an avid dinosaur enjoyer, with a particular love for the Jurassic Park movies, but only started re-discovering that childhood love when I was in my mid-twenties.
Do you still work conventions or do you plan to sell in person in the future?
I am taking an indefinite break from working and selling at conventions for the forseeable future; however I will still be selling at a few random pop-ups and my online store will remain open.
​
That being said, I do have some collaborations with friends that DO still work tables, so you may still see or be able to grab my work in a few Dealer's Dens.
Where can I find you these days?
I stream on Twitch every week drawing art, playing games, & making videos. I'd love if you said hi!
​
As for commissions and art, I have both paid reward tiers on Patreon and monthly openings via Ko-Fi
​
And a monthly Sticker Club for a handful of surprise vinyl stickers every month & a holo mini-print every other month.
Boltie? Zaps? Cactiisaurus? What is going on with all the names and what do I call you?
Boltie was my original character/name that I went by for almost a decade a plus. This character was such an integral part of myself and my business that I started my business with that name in mind. As years went on Boltie represented ME less and less; so it was time to move on to a new era.
That is how ZAPS! was created (design originally by sleepygills). She came out of a time when I was rebranding myself, building from the ground up & trying to find my footing in a time where I wasn't working conventions and hadn't for years.
​
Cactii is the succulent stegosaurus DinoTuber for my Twitch! Over the course of the last 5 years I had deep-dived back into my childhood interests in an attempt to heal some wounds and in doing so rediscovered my old passion for dinosaurs. A particular dinosaur game (The Isle) that I started to play for my sanity in 2021 also completely saved and changed my life.
​
I most regularly go by ZAPS! or Cactii online nowadays, but I still answer to Boltie in person too! For whatever era you met me in: feel free to call me by the name that makes you most comfortable.
Boltie
ZAPS!
Cactii