How to Draw MONSTERS That Are (Actually) Scary!

[@wingedcanvas]

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[@柊コ゚シ01]

What software of app do you use to draw??????

[@orangeismyfavoritecolor]

@@柊コ゚シ01 It’s Photoshop! You can see the little logo in the top left corner if you look closely at the UI. :) Also, hello fellow aroace lol

[@wingedcanvas]

All of our Instructors have their preferences. You can learn more about each instructor's preferences on our Discord server in our brand new Meet the Team forum! discord.gg/wingedcanvas Jessie uses Photoshop, but some of our Instructors use Clip Studio Paint, and others Krita. We have a wide variety! @@柊コ゚シ01

[@jillianefaithcobre8637]

Can you make a new video about how to actually design a character’s accurately based on Lovesart23’s video?

[@MarianaMartinezOfficial]

I really like the point of gore ≠ scary because of how true it is. I hate when books/movies just put more gore instead of taking the time to make the monster actually scary!

[@LittleCupcakeOfMemories]

I totally agree, whenever they add random or exaggerated gore I just do the equivalent of eye-rolling in a sound

[@KIKURAsky]

ye

[@missnoneofyourbusiness]

MFW the Backrooms monsters. Some people can't grasp that something can be disturbing without being conventionally disturbing.

[@habibishapur]

Every tumblr 12 y/o should read this.

[@LillianGraceFullofficial]

@@habibishapur YES FR

[@pxndx_2340]

i need this cause every other video has been cute monsters or just “look at the anatomy and break it”

[@saix_unicorn]

tbh yeah, that's really helpful, and those tips also work for other things too, like creating vehicles. We meed to create vehicles in my 3D course and it has been difficult to create something so those tips help me very much

[@Saltboi1823]

Don't just hit the anatomy with a hammer, shatter the anatomy, take a screwdriver, and a sledgehammer, take apart the anatomy and strategically shatter every single piece of the anatomy into fine pieces

[@wingedcanvas]

We're glad you found value in the video! Let us know if there's anything else you'd like to see! - Shield

[@QueenyBunny]

Jokes aside, the anatomy one is great advise. There's nothing more terrifying to me than unnatural, twisted anatomy.

[@lilyflake7793]

I think junji ito has the perfect monster examples to get inspired by.

[@wren_.]

if you want gross monsters, i’d also recommend the monster designs from fear and hunger (indie horror game)

[@Wurmss]

@@wren_. Oh absolutely, though some are more humanoid and have that distinct human shape, fear and hunger is a beautiful example of monster designs.

[@wingedcanvas]

Very true, some really awesome designs! - Shield

[@wingedcanvas]

@@wren_. Good point! Fear is definitely strengthened when it comes from something that we can relate to. - Shield

[@wingedcanvas]

Sooo true.@@Wurmss - Shield

[@lazyartist1984]

Honestly, one thing I've always been a little unsettled by is ballet. Not just the creepy and crazy flexability of a ballerina, but the stories about messed up teachers trying to force the students to be perfect using things like whips, knifes even, verbal abuse, ect. So I made a ballerina monster based off of my fear of ballet. For now, I'm calling her Perfect just because I don't have a good name just yet but I love her, she's horrid.

[@thetageist]

Perhaps the film Black Swan would interest/inspire you for more stuff related to her!

[@wingedcanvas]

That's such a great idea! A lot of times terror is most terrifying when we can relate to it! Have you joined the Discord? We would *LOVE* to see what you've cooked up. discord.gg/wingedcanvas - Shield

[@psycless]

Ms. Annity, are you there?

[@gh02tdu2t]

never watch suspiria lmao (or do!)

[@poorme1art]

I think that is a Perfect name :)

[@TheVeyZ]

I'm working on a survival horror graphic novel, and one of my main issues was designing the monster. The novel is lightly inspired by Lovecraftian/eldritch horror. No matter what I drew, it just wasn't scary enough. But after doing some more research on cosmic horror, I realized it was best not to show the monster at all and instead show what the monster was capable of and how they affected the character's sanity and the environment around them. I made it more of a looming threat rather than a physical one.

[@wingedcanvas]

WOW, what a smart idea! It's true, often we never see what truly scares us... We just know it's there! A possibility! - Shield

[@TheVeyZ]

@Wingedcanvas The fear of the unknown and how your mind plays tricks on you when you're scared.

[@voidinkstudios8753]

I actually just did a whole month of horror monster designs as a challenge. I wanted to lean into the themes of body horror, medical experimentation, and agony. So, while my pieces were gory, they weren't overly so, I don't think. There were hints of the atrocities committed against the human body. One running theme in all of them was the Y-Incision, which is the cut made during autopsies. The main idea was to practice anatomy, and to do that, I played with the question "What can I do with just human body parts, and rearranging them?" The goal was to make these creatures feel like they were miserable and in pain every second they existed. Because that personally freaks me out, the idea of torture and losing your own mind.

[@wingedcanvas]

A whole month! Good hustle! The best way to make something scary, is to scare yourself! That sounds very "Silent Hill" of you! - Shield

[@ugh_doll]

I'm also miserable and in pain every second I exist

[@thesetwofloofs5397]

do you have them posted anywhere?? I’m really trying to get better at monster design and I love love love body horror

[@Zelphraeya_]

If you haven't watched " The Color From Outerspace", I think you would love it.

[@horse9722]

This actually helped me recover from art block because I was trying to stick to just getting concepts from nothing but I realized sometimes you have to gradually build up ideas

[@wingedcanvas]

WOW, what a compliment! Such high praise. Really glad you've been able to overcome your art block as a result of the video. You're so right, sometimes it just takes time! - Shield

[@alexdonthavelastname2182]

My favorite artist that has a cutesy yet also insanely creepy/gorey/scary style is Neytirix. I LOVE her work. She gives thijgs that eery sort of vibe yet its so detailed and awesome!

[@TragicJade]

Same

[@angelraven5629]

Yes! I love Neytirix! And I have been trying to learn how to do horror from her, I have one picture that is half finished and it looks really good for my first try.😊

[@wingedcanvas]

She creates some SUPER surreal and awe-inspiring art! - Shield

[@wingedcanvas]

@@angelraven5629 Good for you, it's always a good idea to study the artists work you love and try to design outside your comfort zone - Shield

[@alexdonthavelastname2182]

@angelraven5629 yeah! I've tried. but it doesn't turn out exactly how I'd like. But then again, I don't expect much, lmao.

[@Ki0lin]

I think Junji Ito is one of the best examples of this. He make gory things like a half rotten fish with alien legs. But then he draws thing like a girl who has two faces which dangles onto each other with some kind of weird web things. He doesnt just scare out of disgust and discomfort but it also made me have weird nightmares and experienced body horrors beyond my comprehension. He makes things out of weird concepts too like acne or spirals. I think in my personal opinion one of the scariest ones of his work I know of is "slug girl" which made me want to crawl out of my skin and hide in some crack in the wall.

[@wingedcanvas]

He really does have the mind of an artist, able to turn even mundane into terrifying! He finds terror in everything/anything - and *THAT* is scary! - Shield

[@oo8962]

Ugh that spirals story is really disturbing. I had wavy hair and I got chills looking at my own hair curls because I remember that story.

[@dicedmeat7857]

i feel its also the fact that because its a manga, limited colors lets us focus more on the details

[@spacee.oddity]

I sometimes look/think about my really old human drawings from when I was like 3 or 4. For example, I would draw a circle for the head, then two lines coming out of the head for legs, and lines coming out of each of the legs as arms. Use that as a reference for anatomy. Absolute terror.

[@toxictoxicities]

Omg thank you for saying gore ≠ scary, the amount of times I've heard "I love horror!" only to be shown just- body horror stuff is disappointing. Like sure shock value works but it really does come down to the atmosphere, suspense and creating tension- a sense that an environment is not safe or out of ones control. Great video btw

[@toxictoxicities]

@@abjectmadness1111 yeah it's like a middle ground, but with body horror I feel more disgust rather than fear. However I reckon there are some cases where I see body horror done really well to make me uneasy such as body parts twisting and cracking bones- but majority I see is like, guts shock factor things in body horror in most media -shrugs-

[@abjectmadness1111]

@@toxictoxicities That’s more slightly gore though, not like, body horror. “horror fiction in which the horror is principally derived from the unnatural graphic transformation, degeneration or destruction of the physical body.”

[@wingedcanvas]

Awwe, thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video. That's so true, sure gore is... well... gorey, but true terror dwells deep within the human psyche! Utilizing what we can relate to works wonders to get that real scare factor. - Shield

[@backwardsbandit8094]

Body horror and gore aren't quite the same thing

[@toxictoxicities]

@@abjectmadness1111 yeah true, it was just the first thing that came to mind, I guess a better example would of been "multiple eyes over the body"

[@hitbyatank]

I’ve never in my life experienced “Uncanny Valley” until I saw a bunch of AI generated people. Fingers all fused and contorted. Eyelids overlapping and mushing together. Jesus it was scary.

[@vantablack6288]

honestly you could make a horror story involving all of that

[@LittleCupcakeOfMemories]

"To make something scary you have to get scared" Me, a monster f*cker:

[@JayRHood]

I feel you

[@captainnnsol]

Mark me down as scared _and_ horny

[@gayternatee]

real

[@fulana_de_tal]

For some reason the bit about the godess that accepts bones as sacrifice made me think of how exactly would someone obtain the spine of a newborn, and that landed me on the idea of a story about a young woman, her face, that could have been beautiful otherwise, shattered by grief and guilt, presenting five intact skeletons to the godess, all of them so small, their little hands so tiny, each of them belonging to a child that never got to have a single breath of air. This woman, in exchange for the small, so small, sets of bones, desperately wishing for the godess to make her able to give birth to a living child.

[@zionleach3001]

0:05 I've heard a lot of people say look to Nature for inspiration, and some people have used stuff from fiction as inspiration. From my understanding it stems from what the monster represents. Like the Weevils of Torchwood and the Lycans of Order 1886. Being slightly uncanny, the Lycans look like something that could exist. While the weevils look like a guy in a creature mask or a deformed ape. While monsters in Resident Evil and Silent Hill look like something that couldn't possibly exist.

[@themutedmusic8811]

also dont forget that cute styles and realistic styles can mix! take Murder Drones for example- cute style, still really effective horror

[@olaczyk]

"so this creature was called chocky milk" I CANT

[@wingedcanvas]

We have the most creative community! - Shield

[@billythesillyy]

i think the scariest freakiest monster thing I've ever seen is the hunger games wolf mutts (get chills thinking about the concept). granted, i dont like horror movies, so i probably have a pretty mild opinion of horror but... also im not talking about the ones in the movie. im talking about the description in the book. spoilers ahead so in the book theyre like... wolves made out of the tributes' dna or whatever. has their eyes and hair type. and its like super psychologically tormenting to see the people you killed attack you. also theyre just wolves with too-human eyes. its just really haunting. i think the human eyes in the wolves combined with the horror of knowing how they were made just makes them super spooky.

[@carriioneater]

i do have a bit of a hot take, you can make unrealistic styles fit the uncanny valley, but you have to push it I've seen folks with super cartoony styles make pieces that have genuinely shaken me to my core and gotten stuck in my head, it's all about the features, how you set up the expectation of how a human looks, and then how you break that expectation, and rendering can be a HUGE help it getting it across, especially with dingy colors, dark shading, and stark white scleras contrasting with dead, pitch black irises, (also folks, uncanny valley is not an adjective, it's a concept, "thats so uncanny valley!" sounds like "that's so color theory!!", the word you're looking for is just uncanny haha

[@brutusmagnuson315]

Generally, I’ve found applying predatory aspects to something strange works really well. Even out character designs, movement can be unsettling. The reason I think Weeping Angels from Dr Who, or SCP 173 are so unsettling is that, in nature, stealthy predators will often stop moving when potential prey looks in their direction

[@spaghetto9836]

I've caught on to that too. Or if you mix prey with predator aspects, like lateral eyes that are meant to scan the environment or a herbivore set of teeth, yet predatory behavior.

[@darcy606_artist]

something that I really struggle with in horror is that I'm not easily scared by things. what others find scary, I tend to find really cool looking, so any time that I'm trying to create something horrifying, I have no baseline. I have no idea where the line between cool and scary is for the majority of people.

[@wingedcanvas]

Hmm, that definitely sounds like a predicament. Since you're not easily scared, though, maybe that means you can create *TRULY* scary things even easier. Figure out, what does scare you? Heights? Needles? Flying? This could even be Fear, itself. (My dad used to love saying "There's nothing to fear but fear itself.") Then use that as your baseline to build a character of true horror! - Shield

[@darcy606_artist]

@@wingedcanvas I'll definitely have to try and work it from that angle, then. Heights and needles creep me out so I guess I'll have to lean more into body horror and like creepy endless liminal heights. I find people to be pretty gross, too, so Hellraiser with liminal/uncanny valley stuff is probably going to be the way to go for me. stuff that when you look at it, you can feel it, is the only thing that really gets to me.

[@gayternatee]

SAME

[@xamdotdot]

finally a monster design on how to make actual monsters, thanks for this!

[@wingedcanvas]

Awwe, shucks - you're ever so welcome! Glad you found it helpful. - Shield

[@peloidvoid1619]

I love drawing monsters. But when it comes to uncanny /creepy designs, it is hard to get right.

[@wingedcanvas]

You're so right! It's definitely a journey to get it right, but if you don't try you'll never get there so the first step is to give it a shot. Sometimes you draw something and it doesn't hit the mark, but when you eventually do hit the mark; it hits hard! - Shield

[@thomasworthy8255]

I'm not even an artist but this video grabbed my attention instantly, not sure what that says about me.

[@kaiheejeu]

Could be used for writing or music or sum you use to create. Or you might wanna start drawing

[@ShiryuCain]

For the "expand your imagination" part. And just to share if anyone's interested, I made a funny twist of a phoenix in one of my roleplay campaign as a chapter boss. the typical bird of bright flame and molten material, rightfully pissed because someone thought they could destroy something he cared about. The twist came from the "reality" of the thing I'd say. Firstly, the thing emitted enough light to blind anyone looking directly at it. Because yeah, it's an elemental of flame and fury, he's going to be BRIGHT. Second, it also emitted enough radiant heat to give you second degree burns if you got close without protection. Thirdly and most importantly, his light was "toxic", especially in his cone of vision. The characters that he looked at soon got ill, started vomiting, losing hair, fur, feeling extremely dizzy. Because why make a simple spicy bird when you can make an avatar of nuclear fury?

[@wingedcanvas]

That sounds like a PHENOMENAL concept and I can imagine it wouldn't be an easy battle... Maybe this is one of those instances where you turn tail and run for camp! If you haven't yet, you should create a character sheet for this boss mob and get it circulating because that's a great idea! Check this one out I found a while ago, he's quite a character: www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/qt2ggr/ocart_the_librarian_a_boss_monster_from_my/ - Shield

[@rafaelz6211]

So true that gore doesn’t mean scary. Love it. Super helpful video

[@TheShatteredone]

I needed this I need to draw Alastor but scary XD this might help

[@Idkreallyknowsoyeah]

Niiice

[@wingedcanvas]

You've got a good starting point now! DOOO ITTT!! - Shield

[@9ightdreamer]

This reminds me that one the first monster of my comic is inspired by the concept of a peaceful/pretty girl that seems sweet and calm until she becomes hostile and aggresive. Her character is inspired by ghost Peach from Another Princess Is In Our Castle and and a bit of The Lady and a bit of The Princess from Slay The Princess! And so on!

[@wingedcanvas]

That sounds like a great concept and really creepy! Good work. Have you joined the Discord? We'd love to see it! discord.gg/wingedcanvas - Shield

[@zerosdreamverse2106]

i don’t normally comment on these kinds of videos but i’m glad i subscribed to this channel! i’m somewhat of a young artist who has been drawing since 2017 (although i’m still not great at it) and i have avoided tutorials for so long because they have never seemed to help me in any way, and i would end up just not following the steps and doing my own thing. but this channel really helps me and gives me tips that i can *actually* use! these tutorials actually inspire me to draw more unlike most others, and they give me advice that kind of sticks in my brain, so whenever i draw something i remember that advice and i use it. most of the tutorials i’ve watched have never done that, so i’m glad i stumbled across this channel!

[@brown7180]

Gore's only really scary when it implies the violence someone indured. The mirror cells in our brain- depending on the person- can often make us flinch away or get shivery when we witness something that looks painful, bc we're subconsciously "what if"-ing that event about ourselves. I personally think its part of the effect of body-horror; being, a physique that looks painful or uncomfortable to have, like the classic walking on all-fours, belly up. Or the empy eyesocket look. If someone's guts and bones are just showing, or they're already deadits just disgust. There's nothing to be afraid of besides germs.

[@Heeroneko]

One of the most horrifying things is the real anatomy of a human child's skull with all the teeth made visible.

[@wingedcanvas]

Preach it.

[@scrumpitboy9125]

can we get some tips for shapeshifter characters, like how to make a character that can change shape but still keep the aspects of the base design, whether its something like 1985 thing type creature of more goofy like plastic man and stuff

[@wingedcanvas]

Think of what you can make similar from one design to another, whether that's colour or anatomical similarities. for instance, when I draw a Zorua shape-shifting into other pokemon, i tend to keep the eyebrows of Zorua on the shifted Pokemon just to give a visual difference. - Jessie

[@thatonepossum5766]

Can’t wait to see what goofy name the chat gives this monster. xD

[@Just1Moth]

his name is chocky milk XD, its from a livestream Jessie did time ago and they mention it in the video (9:21)

[@thatonepossum5766]

@@Just1Moth oh I was in that livestream! I thought this video was a live stream, not a premiere. 😅

[@wingedcanvas]

Chat always comes up with some great names. - Shield

[@Lobotimied_Astronaut]

B a t h t u b

[@shrug_shrugsly]

My A.D.D. is gonna give my brain a power outage from running so hot today, but somehow I’ve been GLUED to your video. Top notch points, explanation, and advice❤❤❤

[@robertcarey45]

This was very helpful, thank you Winged Canvas.😃🎃❤️

[@wingedcanvas]

No problem! Glad you found it useful. - Shield

[@robertcarey45]

You are welcome, it is.

[@Julian_wears_feather_hats]

my absolute favorite stream from winged canvas. you can tell how much jessie loved talking about horror in the actual stream. also i love chocky milk, he is the best thing i’ve ever seen.

[@wingedcanvas]

Oh she's an Eldritch horror-obsessed with the macabre! Glad you enjoyed.

[@emericswitch2718]

Seeing the design of Choccy Milk, I'd recommend looking into the proper shape of human vertebrae. Yours are all very cylindrical, and I think it could actually look a little creepier with a more accurate shape. They're fragile at the neck, with no body (the first two at least), and slowly get wider the lower you go. The lower (lumbar) ones also have more of the various spikes that you see from behind. Hope that wasn't rude, just a suggestion:)

[@wingedcanvas]

Unfortunately, our livestreams are only two hours so the amount of detail and time put into a piece is heavily burdened by that factor. Thanks for the suggestions, though! - Shield

[@emericswitch2718]

@@wingedcanvas completely understandable, I'm a nitpicker:D

[@Ilovegagaification]

I’m at the part of the video where ur talking about “biblically accurate angels” and I’m thinking about you talking about pushing these concepts further. I feel like a lot of angelic influenced art and horror these days draws from the same inspo, but there’s actually 9 different types of angels in the Bible. Regular angels are also biblically accurate, but the ones with all the eyes and spinning wheels are known as Thrones. There’s 7 other classes of angels that people are just ignoring that I believe are great for drawing inspo from

[@avacadotoast5571]

Yeah! I personally haven't seen anything based on cherubim, which look pretty freaky and cool.

[@ConflictingJumps]

Monster design is fascinating and complex in terms of connecting and using the abstract and the real, the impossible to the possible in how you made the angel bird creature (as it could exist). Another way of making the looker and yourself be really creeped out is by using universal fears like the unknown, darkness, decay, etc; and by what you said on exploring different ideas like getting inspired by nature (ie sea bunnies and sea slugs) or architecture.

[@lostpapyrus]

my favorite "monster" ive made is a shadow person that collects those who get lost in th woods or dark places(mainly children or those who are of the same intelligence level.) and adds them to its "family" called the crowd(also made of shadows). it means well.. but once someone joins the crowd they cant leave.

[@wingedcanvas]

Ohh, I love "the crowd" - that alone is a scary choice! Sounds awesome, good work! - Shield

[@matthewgarner7215]

On the topic of your drawings having to scare you in order to scare others, Scott Cawthon had nightmares about Bonnie when creating FNAF.

[@wingedcanvas]

Good example.

[@Murilab]

When designing my first scary creature, i found that making some parts of it polar opposites gives that sense of unfamiliarity. I mostly design inhumane humans, and making the voice completely different or giving it parts of completely different things eg: spider and a sheep; gives it that interesting yet eerie character

[@anony_apis]

its a shame horror doesnt go too well with cartoony styles

[@kodakasaur9518]

school live, madoka magica, and other similar shows tho (They’re anime, but I figured the art styles were stylized enough here)

[@LittleCupcakeOfMemories]

Coraline, Adventure Time, the clusters in Steven Universe, TMNT (specially 2003, 2012 and ROTTMNT movie), Paranorman, Frankelda, Leyendas (tho the spooky things are more to the environment than creatures), Dogs in Space black evil thingies, Poppy playtime characters (I mean in design they look cartoony as they are toys), a lot of the analog horror media, etc.

[@LittleCupcakeOfMemories]

Forgot to mention the GOTG cartoon; maybe the style isn't that 'cartoony' but the monsters and alien races are good examples that one could simplify further or take inspiration from.

[@LittleCupcakeOfMemories]

Sorry again (I can't edit comments) I see that in the video she mentions uncanny valley not doing well in cartoons... But I things those ones like in Infinity Train, 12 Forever and such, the creatures do look uncanny, and my sister has a kinda anime style, but some people have said that some designs give uncanny valley. What I think is the line where you see uncanny valley in a cartoon it's when said character has a bit more of 'structure' or 'details', or maybe just give them one of those puppet looks, a porcelain mask or things like that to make it work. I think it is not impossible, tho you'd have to push the style just a little bit.

[@roboticspider4554]

Actually horror can go very well with cartoon styles. The style is well known to actually amplify the horror because it often feels 'wrong' in an unsettling way, if done correctly. A few examples off the top of my head are dreaming mary, Fran Bow, Eversion, Little Nightmares, etc.

[@Ernesto-Pesto]

It's so fantastic that you use actual professional design methods like "What if" and Mind Mapping - you are such a professional about serious and methodical work! As a professional product designer and a free time drawer, I appreciate to see this approach being used among astists, too. Spread the idea, I'd love to see more artists work like that!

[@MusicForMyDemons]

Your drawins are all so adorable in their own little way

[@Alex13751]

2:48 dude this drawing gave me chills, idk why its just scary that something like this could just be observing us from above lol

[@Isaacdraws535]

this is actually really helpful, thank you

[@wingedcanvas]

You're very welcome, glad you found value in the video! - Shield

[@Laura-bs2hw]

ok ok ok ok i have idea. take basic horror aspects, and flip them. unnaturally big eyes? how about unnaturally small eyes. smile too wide? make it too thin. do this with anything you wanna see flipped and create your own creature. also take a body part and focus on that like a human but there's a lot more legs than there should be.

[@the-postal-dude]

the game gohome has some of my favorite monster designs. the pulsating, morphing almost non-solid head of the main ghost, along with the ghost that jump ropes with its own organs legit kept me up for a day or two.

[@wingedcanvas]

Yeah, those are some frightening concepts! It really hits home! - Shield

[@Sammyiswatching]

I just saw the first point and came up with an idea with a lot of eyes which personally creeps me out

[@vendoses5741]

when ever I make creatures, my imagination doesn't go as wild as it should, and I just make something centipede like, or humanoid.

[@rmk6222]

I mean those are scary as well. I just make the libs longer and add teeth. So yeah you are not alone.

[@wingedcanvas]

I can't wait until you let your imagination go wild to see what you'll create! AHH - Shield

[@Bababoey3333]

Feels like perspective and composition should have been mentioned. Stuff that looks like its about to pop out of the frame or have a sense of scale is what I really like

[@wingedcanvas]

Great idea, thanks so much for the suggestion! We're always making new videos; maybe you'll see this mentioned in a future one! - Shield

[@bluesapphire170]

Oh this reminds me of one of the creatures I made. Its is a semi humanoid race of creatures with painted porcelain masks as faces. The only human thing about them are the faces however, they don’t blink, they don’t eat and they don’t open their mouths when communicating. The rest of the body is a mix between flesh & mechanical, with an open rib cage and exposed spin alongside metal plating , the number of arms depends on the individual, super tall with kinda animalistic legs in the design. They also wear white clothing. I tried going for the uncanny valley route, which is the irony of the entire society made of killing machines who are 100% pacifists. I love the contrast.

[@wingedcanvas]

YIKES! Great concept! - Shield

[@bluesapphire170]

@@wingedcanvas Thank you! Its one of my favourites!

[@DrinkedTooMuch]

"Terrifier" is a good example of how people mess up horror by just throwing in as much gore as possible. There were very little moments that were close to being scary, but not really... if you don't have a good plot and a good way of making a monster behave in creepy, scary ways and you start to focus on gore because of it, then you just fail...

[@Mutantdorsz]

I love that you added Beksiński's art!!

[@poorme1art]

6:43 I love Zdzisław Beksiński works!

[@Pinkblood_art]

Amazing! I've always wanted to be able to draw more creatures or horror, and its good to know I'm on the right path but also way long to go, can't wait to apply these tips ;3

[@wingedcanvas]

Yesss!! We (Especially Jessie!) love hearing we're helping new horror art nerds! Keep practicing and you'll be a master in no time. - Shield

[@maki5365]

i think what also adds to the 'scary' factor is taking kind/harmless or even pleasant things and adding them to achieve a feeling of discomfort. Like babies, dolls or even a smile could become the most unsettling part if done right

[@impermanence9053]

No idea who this awesome KZbinr is but the way you explain things just reminds me of my art teacher back in Secondary school and I love it, im going to learn so much watching your content. I didn’t even know anatomy included learning about pistons etc I thought it was purely skeletons and muscles and which I hated, thank you so much for your content

[@ilouglou]

In my Univers I wanted to try adding realistic to the cartoonish and its amazing

[@OtterPxp]

I downloaded this video in case I needed it, and now I'm designing a monster for my friend's roleplay. Thanks, this helped me a lot!

[@aliceatrocious]

A lot of the advice you gave also works with writing horror. Remember that less is more. Also, the moon goddess you described reminded me a bit of brimston, from the daughter of smoke and bone trilogy, just with bones instead of teath. I loved the art for her as well

[@wingedcanvas]

So very true.

[@im_skrunkly]

using disgust isn't always a bad thing, sometimes using gore in a really specific area and strike viewers really hard. this isnt art related but i saw a video that was realistic fnaf springlock audio and it was disgusting in the moment and literally gave me nightmares that night.

[@wingedcanvas]

You're so right, this isn't a catch-all and gore can definitely be scary but it's easy to use it as a crutch. - Shield

[@DeathonNope]

I know this is a video on art but this genuinely helped with my horror writing

[@wingedcanvas]

WOW! That's awesome to hear and we're always glad to help. You know what, I just read an article actually "Writing is Visual Art". You might enjoy it: medium.com/signifier/writing-is-visual-art-126ecae2ff1 - Shield

[@thetageist]

Good advice all around, and I love the examples you gave! I realize now that I really need to brainstorm with my thematic elements to properly come up with designs for my horror monsters.

[@wingedcanvas]

Really glad you were inspired by the video. Good luck with your monster designs! - Shield

[@Tiosedan]

The first minute of the vid is the perfect guide for pokemon design!

[@ConflictingJumps]

Agreed, learning anatomy and also psychology is important in understanding why things/monsters look creepy and/or menacing (think of the uncanny valley)

[@ParadoxSupreme-hl4lg]

You made very good points! Also, one of the monsters i made is also a ribcage centipede, and i was cool to see another one! I also did get a little creative in other ways with the design, like my blood vessel "wings".

[@joechapman8208]

Great video, and I loved your angel too! Some of what you said about creepy-cute reminded me of the first season of Channel Zero, Candle Cove. There's this creature with a very high creepy-to-ingredients ratio, being nothing more than a humanoid figure that's bristling all over in human teeth. It's so thickly sprouting in teeth that you can't even see its eyes or mouth, if it really has them. The most alarming thing about it after your eyes have settled down is that you can't tell what its intentions are, but it feels like it might be lonely: that it wants comfort. That's the thing that's really terrifying, that you're afraid of its needs and what its comfort might cost you. I guess it's not really unique, since there are other monsters like that, and of course that's what makes Frankenstein so disgusted by his creature when it first walks, but there's something special about this one because the teeth make you blind to its inner world.

[@javiervillalobos5196]

thank you! I really needed some advise for my first actual horror piece, and it is a fire monster, so the examples were spot on!

[@wingedcanvas]

Great to hear!

[@blackblueexotics2594]

I have one character that I’m making for a webcomic, and watching videos like this really helped. My very first design wasn’t nearly as uncanny and terrifying as I had hoped, so I kept trying and eventually got to one of the scariest things I have ever created, and I’m really proud of its journey! ^^

[@Mize-pz3vo]

Honestly this video helped me so much! I’ve recently been trying to create scary monsters but they all kind of look the same and are not scary enough and I can never get food inspiration, but this helped me soooo much! Thank you so much!

[@ralphmodynlosugarteeth3188]

4:31 actually that design is really good, because it swings around something you clearly know and something that is off, in this example not having a mouth but an eye that resembles female genitalia. It's the uncanny valley what I see in horror. The sweetspot for horror is in the exact midle. Edit: I see that you mention it in the video. Also a great reference of not gore(disgust) but horror is fear and hunger, the second one is just amazing.

[@luminho6185]

I've learned more about being creative in this video than my 3 years of art school, great video.

[@chowrites6179]

A good method that I feel aligns with what you're talking about is what I picked up from Giger. He believed that his creations must have three things: human, machine, and animal/insect. I have taken that method of creature creation and added in aspects of spirituality or elements. I'm not an artist but I am a writer so all this has been very helpful in creature creation process.

[@Kionala]

i kinda wanna make my own twist of that monster at the end. like giving it glass baubles for eyes to give off that bulging eye effect with trapped firefly like things in them and the floating ribs into wings.

[@wingedcanvas]

That sounds like a really cool idea! If you end up creating this design, we'd love to see it - join our Discord if you haven't yet and share it with us! discord.gg/wingedcanvas - Shield

[@Thatwanoguy]

Thank you very much for this tutorial! I'm making a Manga and it has to do with zombies, but they aren't normal zombies, I wanna make the weirdest designs yet creative, this video helped me think of more creative designs, the ones I made were good but it just looked too goofy and unrealistic, like it looked like I put effort into thinking it but the design was bland, but now I can make them better

[@wingedcanvas]

That's so good to hear! Keep it up and you'll be making the sickest, scariest, original zombies!

[@VexRBLX212]

This vid is insane!!! I am an art nerd and I love this it helped so much!! Thank you.

[@wingedcanvas]

So glad you found it helpful!

[@ExcellentEzraYT]

I’m new to this channel but I already love this

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad to hear it!! Thank you!

[@HoneyDopamine]

IVE BEEN INTRESTED IN SCARY BODY HORROR SO MUCH BUT I DONT HAVE TUTORIALL TAHNK YOU!!

[@wingedcanvas]

You're so very welcome!! Glad to be of service.

[@AssortedGarbage23]

As an example of the points made in the "anatomy" section, I'd like to reference a couple things. 1: The xenomorph. One reason that I think the xenomorph works so well is that pretty much everything on its body has a purpose. Razor-sharp tail? Kills things with it. Extendable mini-jaw? Kills things with it. Its features aren't just for show, it regularly uses all of them. 2: The reaper leviathan. The reaper works in the same way as the xenomporph. The most recognizable feature of the reaper is its 4 massive mandibles, and they're terrifying because it can and will use them on you. The moment you're close enough this massive creature grabs onto you with its face-claws, and they pose a serious threat to you and your vehicles. There are many other creatures in the Subnautica duology that also do this, but the reaper is one of the best (and best-known) examples. Essentially, I think that things with purpose work well because they remove the need for suspending your disbelief.

[@kavinaderrow3269]

Girl, that baby thing is some Junji Ito-level stuff. *I love it.*

[@Sun_S3t_22_Official]

When I started to get obsessed about designing fantasy creatures, I realised that when you create any living being, you must use anatomy. And that it wasn't a "screw anatomy" because it was a "create their anatomy". New sub 👍 And this actually gave me a great idea to design monsters. When you mentioned the thing about basing them on our fears, an idea came to my mind and it's a great concept. It was basically the concept of being trapped on a paralel dimension on a giant dolls house with children that has buttons as eyes (their eyes are removed) and their mouthes like a C, and also filled with stuffed toys with human eyes. The scariest thing is that you don't know anything about why they are this way or why everything is dead there even if it looks like it's going to move.

[@Lauralieshere]

This tutorial is also great for writing horror!

[@marrianeramos9617]

I try drawing an inside-out looking dragon and give it an ability to spit out acid from its chest. It also has some of its bones exposed too.

[@JayRHood]

8:10 Holy sh!t, Fromsoftware should hire you as a concept designer. I could 100% see this as a Dark Souls boss

[@ArtistOdysseyMaster]

Thank you! This is very helpful for yet another character of mine

[@Gghgxxbhhhgh]

this is my inspiration to draw horror and monsters thank you you are the best and your art is amazing 😊😊❤❤

[@Gghgxxbhhhgh]

i will take your tips and advice thank you sooo much ❤❤

[@WhackyDogg55]

I think gore can be a good support to the horror (in appropriate cases). Sometimes, blood and viscera add to the horror of the monster. But yeah, it can be overused and it can be wrongly used, so do so with caution. I only say this because I like gore and I think it can be compelling :)

[@shamkraffl6050]

I had this one nightmare, out camping with people i have never seen. Suddenly there were these humanoid, green, bald creatures. They looked human but the body and head was slightly enlarged, black eyes. They had a curious behavior of keeping their distance at first but slowly close in. They made absolutely no noise while moving around. Completely silent, no breathing. When touched by them, you turn into them in seconds.

[@Meweasy]

I think the most unsettling thing that still haunts me is The boiled one phenomenon. Just the way his mouth moves and the overall look gives me goosebumps.

[@YOURLILPUFF]

Thank God I am a realsim artist lol- Love your videos soooo muchhh❤️

[@bilonic111]

Gore isn’t scary but body horror is, Junji ito is a master at that for instance.

[@wingedcanvas]

Ain't that the truth! - Shield

[@deadmoth9354]

5:11 I'm nicknaming this the "scott cawthon method" for myself, because Scott Cawthon (the creator of FNAF) got literal nightmares from creating Bonnie, and as a result the fnaf game was terrifying and became something impactful for so many people.

[@Sketchypooster]

adding onto the moon god idea, what if an insane person were to bury a human or newborn spine or something, what if you add not only physically hard to obtain, but mentally and for already mentally unstable people, they would have to get physically difficult to obtain bones and for mentally stable people, they have to get mentally difficult to obtain bones, and physically. idk

[@UnflappedFlea]

6:24 i got my monster design skills down, but stilll decided to watch this for shits and giggles. i am so happy someone finally put what i do into words. its truly the best advice i can give. espically the looking human but not too human thing. AND THE TEETH!!! too many horror designs have sharp big teeth it drives me a bit crazy ahaha. hell, even a wide open gaping mouth like the baby from re8 is scarier than sharp teeth. i also really like your "get weird" standpoint. though my artstyle is more on the cartoony and cutesy side i somehow managed to make people offputted by designs. got a fella named wayne whos tailbone acts like a neck, so essentialy it looks like his head is coming out of his butt. kinda a long comment, just very passionate about this stuff and its really cool to see someone know what theyre talking about. im no expert and i learned a lot from this, awesome video!! love ur art aswell!

[@BLNK44]

About the uncanny valley, one point is it relates to robotics. Other things may fall into that but the main concept is how a robot/android looks close to a human but it moves, speaks, acts way too alien to that of a human. Dope video!

[@mx.rain_yt]

I keep getting this recommended to me so I'll cave in and watch it. It actually looks super interesting!

[@unknown6476]

GREAT tutorial!! Thank you!❤ Your works are amazing