how to draw horror scary art without looking like - /ic/

Anonymous09/25/26, 11:00No.8048717

How to draw horror & scary art without looking like an edgy middle schooler?

Replies

Anon09/25/26, 11:16No.8048726

post examples

Anon09/25/26, 11:22No.8048731

Try to genuinely make yourself uncomfortable. A lot of edgy horror cliches like excessive blood and wide smiles with huge sharp teeth and such don't really scare anyone because they've become generic symbols. They don't feel Real anymore. Doodle and experiment with designs and concepts until you hit upon something that makes you want to look away. As with all art, the best horror art comes from the soul.

Anon09/25/26, 11:28No.8048736

It’s kind of just intrinsic to the genre. Embrace the edginess and the teen angst. Also learn from the best. Stephen Gammell’s art in the “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark” series is classic

Anon09/25/26, 11:41No.8048741

simply paint things that are not edgy

Anon09/25/26, 13:09No.8048771

good inspiration...

Anon09/25/26, 16:09No.8048875

we're all scared of the unknown so it might be a good idea to bathe your fearful/monstrous subjects in shadow, fog, or put them behind objects, imply distortionim wondering where you draw the line between edgy teenage schlock & quality horror art... what about Trevor Henderson's artwork?

Anon09/25/26, 17:52No.8048968

>How to draw horror & scary art The obvious answer is knowing how to draw realistically, and being able to caricature that realism into something uncanny. And of course a good understanding of lighting as well.Though this isn't always the case, of course, cartoony unrealistic stuff can hit hard too. Picrel really impresses me as a horror image, the way it leads the eye to the jumpscare (great use of lighting), despite it being a unnecessarily furry image.>without looking like an edgy middle schooler? That's a little more tricky. What's cool and dark will become schlocky teenage angst tomorrow. Especially with how popular horror is with teens these days. Slasher films were scary adult fare, until teens feel in love with it (probably because of the abundant tits). Creepypastas were almost certainly started by adults, like telling ghost stories to eachother, but teens fell in love with it and ran with it. Analogue horror as well is something that's quickly lost it's oomph as teenagers run rampant with it.No criticism to the teens though, that's just what they do, and probably what we did as well. They latch onto things and try to make it their own. I think that's a part of growing up.And, major digression there; my point is that you shouldn't bother worrying too much about being teen schlock, because if it pops off, it will become so regardless. Just make what you think is good and don't worry about it.

Anon09/25/26, 20:24No.8049042

Just either make it gothic or look up femsle msngakas who drew disturbing things..

Anon09/25/26, 20:26No.8049044

Subtlety

Anon09/25/26, 20:38No.8049051

This nigga thinks Bill the Cat is scary.

Anon09/27/26, 20:30No.8050457

well that's the thing, horror in itself comes from the unknown, not from jaws and teeth, and specially not from the gruesome, or from big mouths

Anon09/28/26, 01:04No.8050625

this one always got me activates an ancient genetic memory I think

Anon09/28/26, 14:23No.8050924

I drew this today for my daughter's lunch. My wife thought it was horrifying.

Anon09/28/26, 15:01No.8050944

No such thing exists. Everything horror/scary related is edgy. The very foundation of liking horror is edgy.

Anon09/28/26, 17:12No.8051014

whats wrong with being an edgy middle schooler?

Anon10/05/26, 23:47No.8055957

By being a depressive, traumatized wreck

Anon10/06/26, 02:46No.8056052

Maybe draw something that fucks with the human brain use the uncanny valley theory to help you that shit real

Anon10/06/26, 03:17No.8056070

Anon10/06/26, 06:47No.8056119

Just draw reality. Draw how americans are turning white countries into fucking brazil full of shitskins. That's the greatest horror there can be.

Anon10/06/26, 07:38No.8056132

I'd say practice by doing studies of certain artists works from the past like Francisco Goya, Alfred Kubin, Franz von Stuck, and a few of Odilon Redon. Maybe do a little research on them, learn what life was like while they were alive, get an idea of what could've been going through their mind as they were drawing, painting, or whatever else.

Anon10/06/26, 12:17No.8056215

I've been really curious about this for a while. I think most people have a misunderstanding of what's scary. It's too easy to lean into that American Silent Hill type of horror where you draw fangs and blood and snarling faces. A few years back for Inktober I tried drawing something that really creeped me out and I went with this weird idea of coming back to your bed from the bathroom and something already being in it. I like it, but I've never been able to replicate the feeling.

Anon10/10/26, 13:29No.8059157

People come off as edgy teenagers when making horror because they are trying too hard to make it fantasy.There is nothing more creepy and horrific than reality.

Anon10/10/26, 16:54No.8059264

Been trying to get back into the scary art inspired by Stephen Gammell habit

Anon10/11/26, 02:52No.8059534

Artists rely way too much on this high contrast/mostly in shadow approach for "horror and scary art", I get the logic but it feels a little bit limiting, and closer to what OP seems to be trying to avoid. I especially like this scene in this movie because it escapes from that logic completely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO-6My5eMxo

Anon10/13/26, 14:55No.8061044

spooky

Anon10/24/26, 02:12No.8067281

draw women without make up