Demonophobia

The final project for my illustration media and techniques class at the Ontario College of Art and Design was to pick a phobia and draw it. One that was suggested on a list was Demonophobia, the fear of devils. That appealed to me for various reasons, mostly because it finally allowed me to draw some monsters.

I struggled for a bit with the design of the devils, as I wanted something twisted and different than a typical red guy with horns. I went for a really deformed, abstract look and I think I pulled it off. Each of them has a bit of a different personality too. It was suggested that I set the scene in a bedroom because this is supposed to be an irrational fear. She is imagining these creatures. That is why the flames are not a light source. I quite like the contrast in colour, with the devils and fire being warm and everything else being cool.

This was done in the spring of 2003 and, true to form, I painted it in one night. The assignment was to be completed only with acrylic paints, however I also used some coloured pencil on top to add some definition and to detail spots that a brush could not. I wasn't sure if that was acceptable, but I didn't care and mentally prepared a speech in my defense just in case. It was not necessary, however, as the teacher liked it a lot. That's a pretty big deal since he didn't seem to like very many of the other students' work, nor has he liked much of anything else I've ever done for the class.

And here's a close up. Both images here are digital photos.

© SykoGrafix Inc.

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