Audrey Hopkins (aka Audity or AudityDraws) has grown a fan following by chasing her love of character design and not taking her art too seriously.
Her 13.2 million followers on TikTok revel over her imaginative mash-ups, like re-imagining Disney villains as Disney princesses or turning Bluey characters into human incarnations. But her greatest muse has been her husband, Richard Conley. She's drawn him as a merman, Sailor Moon, Handsome Squidward, and many more creative characters. All to the delight of her audience and Conley himself, who collaborated with her on an inspiration app, called Wanna Draw, which generates mash-up ideas for artists of all sorts.
As someone who has enjoyed Audity's art, mischievous sense of fun, and high-energy online persona, I was elated to sit down with her at VidCon 2026 to discuss her journey from character designer to a thriving content creator.
Audity next to her illustrated self portrait.
Credit: Zooey Liao/Mashable/Audity/Google Images
How did being a content creator start for you? Because you are an animator, you are a character designer. What made you be like, I'm gonna take this independently online?
So it's a weird story. Back in the day, when TikTok was first starting, they had these agencies that would go out, and they would find people to post more.
They would do a thing where they would pay you like 100 bucks a month to post every single day. Most people that were doing the program were just putting out kind of whatever. At the time, I was in between character design jobs. Before that, I had worked on different stuff, or like NBC, or things like that. I basically felt bad that my husband was the only one bringing in money. And I was like, You know what, 100 bucks a month, that's a bit of groceries — that's something. So I started the program, but I took it more seriously. I was like, I'm actually gonna post my work and do like more fun stuff...
And also build your portfolio.
Yeah, exactly, exactly. And I never expected — it was like four months later, I'd hit a million followers. And I remember I got a call from somebody that was like, "Hey," — I'd done a comic book a while back, and they were like, — "We would love you to do a second one." I had to sit there and make a decision, like, "Do I go back to an actual job-job, or do I try to do this?"
I never thought I could do this. And seven years later, I'm still doing it.
And your husband's very involved too. How did he come into it?
Basically, my husband and I are constantly around each other because he works from home. Back when I first started filming, I remember he would say stuff sometimes, and I'd be like, "Oh no, don't talk, I'm filming something."
After a while, I was just like I'm not gonna keep telling him to stop, and I started just turning the camera [to him], whenever he would say something weird, which is often. And he's just been so supportive. When I started doing more art stuff in college, before even looking at TikTok, I was working at Pier One at the same time. And I remember I was so stressed out. He was like, "You know what, quit [Pier One]. I got this, I got us." And he's taken so much care of me and allowed me to do so much stuff.
How has imagining him in all these illustrated incarnations impacted how you view him, and how he views himself?
Actually, when we first started dating, he was like, "I always wondered if you draw me." And I'm like, "Oh, how you regret thinking that now!" But honestly, he's, I mean, is it weird to call him my muse? He really is!
Looking back, what was the first video that really took off that made you think, maybe I can do this full-time?
It might have been when I was doing my 50 states series, or my first time doing one of the fusion videos. Because my whole thing with art is I really firmly believe that art doesn't have to be taken so seriously.
When I was in college, I started out as a studio painter and a traditional artist. So like, your girl can do still lifes. But everyone else would be like, My work represents the darkness of society and stuff. And I'd be like, I drew this really, really hot lady — she's super cool!
I kind of leaned into that with that kind of stuff. And with the fusion thing, I liked being able to just take like weird stuff and make this weird creature that was really cool, but didn't serve like a purpose.
So I think I think those types of videos, and that first one was like the first time it was like, Whoa, okay. And I think that's why actually, [my husband] ended up building the [Wanna Draw] app that we have, which was so sweet. He literally never had done anything like that in his life before, and just went in like three months sitting at our kitchen table, learning and building that app. Yeah, he's still the only one that runs it.
That's very cool. So, what do you love about content creation?
Honestly, I think it's the fact that so many people who do art, like you make something cool, and you get to show it to, like, a few people, like your friends, or things like that, and then that's it.
I get to be like, "Hey, world, look at this weird thing I made!" And, it's so amazing to see so many other people out there who also like that. I think that's my favorite part, just getting to connect to so many different people and seeing how many different people are alike.
We all get so trapped in our little bubbles, and it's also great to have like close-knit community. But it's also just so wonderful to have like this wide network of people that are also just so similar, right?
It's also interesting because when people think about big animated shows, they know the people who created the show. But they don't necessarily know all the nuts and bolts people and all the creativity they're bringing to it. So it must be exciting to be able to be like, I don't need someone else's project to be seen.
I will say there are times when I miss working on things with other people. There's another content creator, a friend of mine, he runs D&D campaigns and everything. His name is Sir Feffers, and I become like his primary character design stuff. So it is nice, I get a little taste of being able to still work like for somebody else.
Is there a big fish dream project that would make you step away for this from content creation for a little bit?
God, there are so many. It's too many. I really want to do character design work for a video game or something. Honestly, my real dream is to — do you know Dropout?
Yes! I've interviewed a lot of that team!
They're so cool. I love them so much, but Dimension 20, particularly. I want to draw the characters for a season of theirs.
Honestly, I've told them before, I'll do it for free. I'll do all the work for free, just let me do it. That's really the big thing. But at the same time, there are so many people who want to work for them, so I get it…Getting to meet Brennan Lee Mulligan for like a moment once was just like —
He's so lovely.
Oh my god, he's one of the coolest people.
Agreed. Where do you find the differences in working in more traditional spaces and working for the internet?
I think working for the internet is just — it's so chaotic. Because no Disney studio or anything out there is gonna be like, "You know, we really love it if you mix like Pennywise with Tinkerbell." But the internet's like, "We really want more of that, give us that."
It's like having the most chaotic boss in the world. Because the weirder I get, the happier they are. That's I think the biggest difference is like that, and being able to just freely do what you want.
I love that. So, a lot of people here at VidCon have been giving tips on what to do when you run out of ideas. What do you do when you hit, a creativity drought? When you're like, I want to draw, but I don't know where to start.
For dealing with art block and burnout, I usually have like exercises that I do, like drawing the random shapes into faces, stuff that I like. I actually, eventually want to release a book that I make that's called Dealing with Art Block When You're a Character Designer. Because there's so much stuff that I've accumulated throughout the years that I do; tips and tricks. In my videos I can show a little bit of it, but I love to go more in depth.
But stuff like that, like just finding a new way to do something you're already doing, is like the best way to get past something like that. Because if you're doing the same thing constantly, constantly, constantly, it's gonna get stale, it's gonna get like you're not gonna want to do it, you're like, I can't keep thinking of ideas for this. If you challenge yourself, you're like, I'm gonna draw with my left hand or I'm only allowed to draw mice today, or something weird like that. You're gonna make more fun, interesting things, because sometimes having that barrier helps, you know?
It gives you a starting point to launch from.
Yeah, exactly.
Was there a point where you feel that you like made it as a content creator?
I'm still waiting for that point. I literally been talking to the other animators this entire VidCon, and it's funny. They'll all talk about, 'Yeah, back in the old days, like a few years ago." And I'm still feel like I'm new to this. I still feel like I'm making my way.
What advice would you give to following you starting out in content creation?
There's no one way to do it. Everybody's gonna have different advice and everything, but my whole thing is make stuff and do stuff that you like. Because you're just as much a viewer as everyone else out there. And if you like something and you enjoy something, I guarantee there are other people out there that like it as well, and enjoy it as well. And also just finding a fun way to do stuff.
Let's say you're somebody who really likes gaming, but you're like, I wish there was somebody who did it like this. You'll be the person that does it like that. Go do it! Just try it!
Mashable is reporting live from VidCon 2026 in Anaheim. Follow our coverage for creator interviews, panel highlights, and the biggest moments from the convention floor.
The interview above was edited for length and clarity.
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