Ep 3: From From The Struts to Saw — The Power of Fanart with Campbell King
Welcome back to the Culture Coven blog, our dedicated space for honoring the unapologetic passion of fandom and girlhood! We are officially wrapping up our massive three-episode premiere week launch, and we are closing out our introductory trilogy with a vibrant celebration of visual storytelling: fanart.
While some corners of the internet or mainstream culture might try to dismiss drawing your favorite characters or musicians as just a "silly little hobby," we know that it’s deeper than that. It’s something that takes a piece of media that is loved and turns it into something fresh.
To give us a true insider’s look at the life of a digital artist, host Leah Jones is joined by a very special guest: her longtime friend, brilliant illustrator, and the literal creative visionary behind the Culture Coven cover art, Campbell King!
Leah has had a front-row seat to Campbell’s incredible growth over the last seven years, watching her style evolve from quick, live-drawn band sketches in concert crowds to stunning, full-blown digital masterpieces.
From The Struts to the Saw Franchise: The Ultimate Fandom Pipeline
Every artist has an origin story, and Campbell’s is a fascinating journey through wildly diverse fandom pipelines. Her initial, deep-seated creative obsession began with the rock band The Struts, capturing the high-energy, glam-rock aesthetics of frontman Luke Spiller.
But as anoneknows, one obsession often opens the door to another. Campbell’s artistic curiosity soon led her down the rabbit hole of heavy video games like Undertale and Five Nights at Freddy's, before finally landing on her ultimate cinematic comfort medium: the Saw horror franchise.
While rock music and gory horror traps might seem like polar opposites to an outsider, Campbell explains that an early, morbid curiosity with special effects makeup naturally drew her to the horror genre. As an adult, she finds the horror aesthetic to be an incredibly cathartic and powerful tool for expressing complex, heavy human emotions like sadness, anxiety, and anger.
The Struggle of Faces
One of the most relatable and heartwarming segments of the episode focuses on fanart as a pure labor of love. Campbell laughs about the intense, sometimes frustrating reality of learning how to draw real human faces—especially when you are determined to perfectly capture the likeness of someone you deeply admire.
For Campbell, creating art isn't about chasing clout or making a quick buck; it is a form of gift-giving. It is a tangible token of appreciation handed over to the creators who inspire her, done entirely "for the love of the game."
When Fandom Opens Real-World Doors
What starts as a passion project can completely alter the course of a career. Campbell’s "silly little sketches" have opened up surreal, real-world professional opportunities that most artists only dream of.
Over the years, her fandom dedication has translated into:
Designing custom t-shirts for bands
Illustrating official book covers
Creating actual vinyl album art while she was still a teenager
Having her work officially recognized and shared by the official Saw movie social media accounts
There is an undeniable magic when the line between creator and fan blurs, and Campbell is living proof that high-caliber artistic work thrives within fan communities.
Here’s the album cover she designed for Soraia:
Navigating the Highs, Lows, and Parasocial Spaces
Of course, putting your art out on the internet requires an immense amount of vulnerability.
On one hand, there is the unmatched high of real-world validation—like Campbell walking into a venue or convention and running into complete strangers proudly wearing her custom-designed "Team Hoffman" or "Team Amanda" Saw shirts. On the other hand, the episode doesn't shy away from the darker, highly volatile, and parasocial sides of modern internet fandoms, exploring how vital it is for creators to protect their peace and balance drawing for an audience with drawing for pure personal joy.
Where to Find Campbell
You can follow her on:
Her art Instagram @campbellkingart
Her personal Instagram @campbellstruts
Binge Premiere Week Now!
Whether you are a horror buff, a vinyl record collector, a digital illustrator, or just someone who loves seeing talented people get their flowers, this episode is the perfect finale to our launch week.
A massive thank you to Campbell King for joining us and for designing the beautiful face of this podcast!
You can stream Episode 3 right now on our website or your go-to podcast app. And if you are just joining the coven, don't worry—Episodes 1 and 2 are also fully available to stream right now.
