Over the past few years, Chad Sell has risen to fame as one of the most successful drag queen comic and illustrations artists around. The devoted RuPaul's Drag Race fan began combining his love of drag with his artistic skills during the third season of Logo's hit reality competition, and has now published hundreds of his drag comics. His process begins with pencil and paper sketches followed by a complex digital process, producing the incredibly impressive illustrations you see posted all over social media by drag fans across the world. Chad opened up with Drag Official about how he got started, the response he received from the drag community, his favorite queens to draw, and more!
Drag Official: How long have you been working on comic and illustration projects?
Chad Sell: A very, very long time! As a kid, I filled up a staggering number of sketchbooks, which I still have. They take up way too much space in my apartment, but you can’t just throw that stuff out, you know?
D.O.: Your artwork is amazing. Do you have any education background in the arts?
Chad: Thanks! I studied art in college, though I lost interest in being a “fine artist” by the time I graduated.
D.O.: When did you decide to merge your artistic talents with your love of drag queens?
Chad: While watching the first episode of the Drag Race’s third season! Something about Raja just stuck with me, and so during some downtime at my job the next day, I started doodling drag queens. That night, I made my first Drag Race art and posted it online!
Chad Sell: A very, very long time! As a kid, I filled up a staggering number of sketchbooks, which I still have. They take up way too much space in my apartment, but you can’t just throw that stuff out, you know?
D.O.: Your artwork is amazing. Do you have any education background in the arts?
Chad: Thanks! I studied art in college, though I lost interest in being a “fine artist” by the time I graduated.
D.O.: When did you decide to merge your artistic talents with your love of drag queens?
Chad: While watching the first episode of the Drag Race’s third season! Something about Raja just stuck with me, and so during some downtime at my job the next day, I started doodling drag queens. That night, I made my first Drag Race art and posted it online!
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D.O. How has the drag community responded to your art?
Chad: Well, the response is sort of what started it in the first place! When I posted my first few pieces online, Raja was really supportive on Twitter. Her encouragement is what made me realize I should keep doing the illustrations every week of the show, rather than just that one time.
I feel really, really lucky to have gotten such an overwhelmingly positive response over the last few years of doing this work. It’s so great to hear from fabulous queens all around the world, regardless of whether they happen to have starred on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
D.O.: What is the best reaction you have had from a RuPaul's Drag Race queen regarding your artwork?
Chad: It’s incredibly humbling when Drag Race queens are actually excited to meet me. Baffling, thrilling, and humbling. Raja, my original muse, was also the first Drag Race queen I saw perform live. After she left the stage, she was making her way through the audience, recognized me, and dragged me backstage to hang out with her the rest of the night. That’s hard to beat.
Chad: Well, the response is sort of what started it in the first place! When I posted my first few pieces online, Raja was really supportive on Twitter. Her encouragement is what made me realize I should keep doing the illustrations every week of the show, rather than just that one time.
I feel really, really lucky to have gotten such an overwhelmingly positive response over the last few years of doing this work. It’s so great to hear from fabulous queens all around the world, regardless of whether they happen to have starred on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
D.O.: What is the best reaction you have had from a RuPaul's Drag Race queen regarding your artwork?
Chad: It’s incredibly humbling when Drag Race queens are actually excited to meet me. Baffling, thrilling, and humbling. Raja, my original muse, was also the first Drag Race queen I saw perform live. After she left the stage, she was making her way through the audience, recognized me, and dragged me backstage to hang out with her the rest of the night. That’s hard to beat.
D.O.: Which piece is your personal favorite? Why?
Chad: I think it’s pretty accurate to say that I’m my own worst critic--as I grow as an artist, there are a lot of older illustrations that make me cringe. Hell, some drawings I did last week do, too!
However, there’s something to be said about nostalgia, about certain things enduring the ravages of time and my own hypercritical tendencies. My first batch of Drag Race art featured Raja, Delta Work, and Mimi Imfurst. It was actually Delta’s portrait that I finished first, and it remains one of my favorites:
Chad: I think it’s pretty accurate to say that I’m my own worst critic--as I grow as an artist, there are a lot of older illustrations that make me cringe. Hell, some drawings I did last week do, too!
However, there’s something to be said about nostalgia, about certain things enduring the ravages of time and my own hypercritical tendencies. My first batch of Drag Race art featured Raja, Delta Work, and Mimi Imfurst. It was actually Delta’s portrait that I finished first, and it remains one of my favorites:
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D.O.: Who are your favorite drag queens?
Chad: I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite from all the Drag Race queens. There have been so many shining stars on that show, I just can’t handle it.
However, since moving to Chicago earlier this year, I’ve gotten the opportunity to hang out and meet so many incredible queens in the scene here. They’ve taught me more about the real, day-to-day life of a queen than a reality show ever could. Two of my absolute favorites are Shea Coulee and Kim Chi (hey, girls!), both of whom I drew for my CHICAGO QUEENS series!
Chad: I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite from all the Drag Race queens. There have been so many shining stars on that show, I just can’t handle it.
However, since moving to Chicago earlier this year, I’ve gotten the opportunity to hang out and meet so many incredible queens in the scene here. They’ve taught me more about the real, day-to-day life of a queen than a reality show ever could. Two of my absolute favorites are Shea Coulee and Kim Chi (hey, girls!), both of whom I drew for my CHICAGO QUEENS series!
D.O.: What can we look forward to seeing from you in the upcoming months?
Chad: Well, I’m just finishing up my illustrations for Season 1 of the Drag Race--I took Logo’s re-broadcasting of the season as an opportunity to go back and draw all those fabulous queens! And then Season Six is just around the corner, right? So my life will be non-stop drag for a while.
In addition, I drew all the fabulous drag queen characters for DRAG BALL, an upcoming party game that was funded through Kickstarter earlier this year. And I contributed a short animated sequence to one of my favorite Drag Race queen’s debut music video, which should be out soon!
Fab.com will be featuring exclusive prints of my Drag Race work this holiday season, and in the meantime, my prints and book collections can be found at my site THE SELLOUT as well as my Etsy store!
Check out Chad's most recent work from the finale of The Lost Season here!
Chad: Well, I’m just finishing up my illustrations for Season 1 of the Drag Race--I took Logo’s re-broadcasting of the season as an opportunity to go back and draw all those fabulous queens! And then Season Six is just around the corner, right? So my life will be non-stop drag for a while.
In addition, I drew all the fabulous drag queen characters for DRAG BALL, an upcoming party game that was funded through Kickstarter earlier this year. And I contributed a short animated sequence to one of my favorite Drag Race queen’s debut music video, which should be out soon!
Fab.com will be featuring exclusive prints of my Drag Race work this holiday season, and in the meantime, my prints and book collections can be found at my site THE SELLOUT as well as my Etsy store!
Check out Chad's most recent work from the finale of The Lost Season here!