digital art – NeferSarco

As shadows lengthen and crispy leaves chase one another down the now-empty streets at dusk, the October People take centerstage, working their special magic upon the season of all things horrific, creepy-cute, and otherworldly. In this spirit, Jake Parker’s annual Inktober event offers a series of prompts for artists to ink their way through the 31 days of October. All you need to do is draw. Paper, inks, graphite, tablet – all are welcome. The flurry of postings tagged #Inktober and #Inktober2018 are all seasonal eye candy – and we don’t mean that stinkin’ kandy korn, either! Nope, this is the good stuff. Full bars. Let the inky phantasmagoria begin with an Unlucky 14 of haunt-worthy IG accounts to follow:

@enginervster

Terry Ramdhany uses a blackwork approach with pencil and ink. Stunning linework often punctuated with blood red or acid green, these beasties are the stuff of nightmares but somehow in the most delicate way. Originals are available directly from the artist if your crypt needs a little spiffing up.

@mrrevenge

Ricky & Richelle Romero’s comix-inspired sketchbook takes some hilariously bloody shots at pop culture cartoon icons like a few bunnies and kitties we could name. If those darlings of childhood just plain give you the creeps, this one’s for you. Their shop at ScaryBearyAndCompany has lots of originals, prints, stickers, and books, too.

@nnyhr

Exquisite detail couples with the blackest of black inkwork to explore the mythos inside FloRhynn‘s head. These nightmares have spawned Encre Nous, a positively delicious crowd-sourced art book, and an array of Lovecraftian clothing with many designs harboring a Tarot card vibe.

@peppa_potter

Lest you forget that Inktober is not limited to stinkin’ ink, the digitally drawn peculiar pets and preternatural spirit animals of Peppa Potter are here to remind you with dancing bats, hairy spiders and melancholy monsters.

@paolopetrangeli

Working with biro pens, Rome, Italy-based Paolo Petrangeli envisions a scary-sweet, color-washed Halloween world of fat little pirate moons, stick-limbed waifs, and teetering mansions that just double-dog dare you to ring the bell and demand your treats. His etsy shop includes prints and original paintings.

@faunwood

Dark meets adorbs in the beautiful and otherworldly denizens of Faunwood where artist Miranda Zimmerman puts pen to paper (or sometimes drink coasters). She is inspired by the prompt lists of many different artists and usually combines several in an October onslaught of inky eeriness.

@blackheartcollection

Well, this is some wretched cuteness right here! Kat’s goulish ladies and their feline friends began their unlife intended as book illustrations but they also wind up on some pretty sweet swag in her etsy shop including tees, prints, and pins, some of which she makes by hand. The admittedly Halloween-obsessed Kat shares her whimsically dark world of original characters, cats, and coffee.

@cwehrle

Drawing upon a childhood filled with campy 80s horror, Chad Wehrle just does what he loves, which he describes as “drawing cool shit.” Damn straight, Chad! His Society6 shop is full of cool shit. His Etsy shop is full of cool shit. There’s even a series of books he created from his previous years of Drawlloween mastery. He keeps it simple with pencil, eraser, and paper blender.

@behemot_crta_stvari

Slavic mythology fuels the creepy-cute weirdness of self-taught Bosnian artist Igor – yes, that’s his real name. He credits the obsession-worthy Tim Burton as one of his earliest influences, along with those horrid fairy tales that scarred our souls and gave us freaking nightmares as children. His threadless shop offers clothing and accessories to complete your otherworldly ensemble.

@animvs

Melancholic ossuaries, tattered bats, and halo’d wraiths are among the dark offerings at Animvs Stvdio with an occultish, dark aesthetic. In page after page of esoteric pointillism, the creeping horrors shamble into view.

@darktownsally

Like dark folk art, inks and watercolors combine in these velvety, shadowy little panels from Dark Town Sally. Every time she releases a new run of prints, they sell out like Halloween candy on the 1st of October (yes, that fast!) so you might want to visit her shop to add a few to your treat or treat bag.

@sorrowgrips

Indonesian artist Sorrow Grips offers exquisite nature studies with an eldritch bent – skulls, bats, snakes, goats, and moths frolic in the darkness of his imagination. His store offers a small selection of prints and original pen & ink drawings for collectors.

@findnatatat

Graphite artist Natalie B. has an eye for that cool retro 40s/50s style complete with hand lettering, creepy kiddies, and bodacious Halloween babes. Plus, prints and originals are available in her shop if you need a sugar-free hit of Halloween before the big event.

@austinpardunart

If your twisted childhood included paging in bug-eyed terror through stacks of horror comic books by flashlight, you’ll scream with delight – for it’s surely Eternal Halloween in the world of Austin Pardun. With campy cats, lowbrow ladies and cryptid dance parties, the halftone Halloween horror show conjures pulpy memories of Tales From the Crypt.

The gory granddaddy of October Ink remains Inktober, but the permutations are myriad. Quite a few variants are gathered at Inktoberprompts on IG but a favorite around here remains the glorious Mab Graves’ Drawlloween. Her list has been thematically organized to allow time-crunched inkies to combine several prompts into one larger drawing if you can’t keep up daily. You really can’t go wrong with any of these prompt lists – there’s one for every taste from the horrific to the creepy-sweet. So grab a pen and splash some ink! And tag that shit for everyone to see!

Featured image via @austinpardunart

Shichigoro imagines a world populated by fearless cyber-heroines, wistful robots, and strange, anthropomorphized creatures. He brings these visions to life through digital painting techniques. Influenced by anime, manga, and Japanese film, the artist mixes a cyberpunk-ish future with organic elements, envisioning his own odd reality where panda bears play with mechanized giants, and winsome girls — bandaged and goggled — tote deadly weapons.

“Kopanda In The Mech” (Digital Painting)

Shichigoro-Shingo Matsunuma began as an oil painter, studying at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Finding the tools of the trade prohibitively expensive, he moved toward digital painting solely as a way to keep creating without constantly spending money for supplies. He found a ready partner in these digital tools, furthering his visions with layer upon layer of texture. Starting with sketches, Shichigoro’s technique involves going over the same areas repeatedly with both brushes and erasers, preferring a fairly limited tool-set. He started his digital world with an old version of Photoshop but, more recently, I’ve seen him working in Clip Studio, a Japanese paint program. The following image, “f-drawing,” has a speedpaint on youtube that is just mesmerizing to watch!

“One process works for me. I work with a pen tablet and Photoshop to complete everything after beginning with a rough underdrawing. Most of the pictures are painted from a motif and biology that combines organic machines and robots, Kuricha, and minerals.” – Shichigoro (DigitalMeetsCulture.net)

While Shichigoro has thought about the world his beings inhabit, he prefers to leave these questions up to the viewer to answer. He muses the possibilities of a ruined Earth, a planet in a distant future, or possibly a parallel universe. In a guest interview with DeviantArt he offered, “Although this element might not be settled, there is no denying that many of my works address our coping with our humanity. There are many robots and strange living creatures fused with inorganic substances in my work, but I never imbue these creatures with negative feelings like unhappiness, sadness, fear, or anger.”

The artist has often repeated this statement that although his images may seem dark and menacing, he sees no sadness or fear in them. Rather, he imbues them with positive emotions, thinking of them as beautiful, gentle creatures that live in dark, strange worlds. At DA he says, “Little glimmers of light in the dark world are very important to me. It might look like I am only drawing dark worlds, but the substance of my work is actually the light in the world.” That seems very true of his earlier work but many of the more recent pieces seem decidedly more menacing, almost horror-centric, a departure from his earliest beasties which were outlandish but somehow charming. These later pieces evoke much more of the post-apocalyptic vibe so often ascribed to his works.

Shichigoro seems, at times, to be channeling everything from Tim Burton to Hayo Miyazaki, from H.R. Giger and M.C. Escher to Maurice Sendak, Naoto Hattori, and Manga comic books. This ability to draw from disparate sources and come back with something utterly unique, compelling, and playfully dark is an inspiring talent. It is, however, central to Shichigoro that his beloved mechs and monsters are pure of heart, no matter what inspires them.

“I personally think they draw on the themes of silence, peace, kindness, and joy within the feelings of a small alien figure.” – Shichigoro (DigitalMeetsCulture.net)

Currently a freelance illustrator, Shichigoro believes that digital media will continue to grow in acceptance and importance in the contemporary art world. His work embellishes a veritable horde of book jackets, CD covers, and magazines even as he continues to show his work in group and individual exhibitions. He has done many collaborations with Black Milk Clothing, several oddly endearing toys, and, just recently, a few silver and black plated jewelry items were featured on his facebook page. A glossy and delicious compendium, The Art of Shichigoro is now available in paperback:

“re-robo” (Digital Painting – basis for re-robo toy)

“I want to create original art work that I imagine in my created world. In my world there is no fear; no fear of creatures and no fear of machines, just no fear!” – Shichigoro

It’s pretty easy to keep up with Shichigoro’s steady output; this media-savvy artist can be found on DeviantArt, facebook, and twitter where he has a loyal following of admirers fascinated with his strangely uplifting world of dark creatures, hopeful robots and post-apocalyptic cyberpunk heroines.

A few of my own little treasures, including a handmade pop-up Xmas card Shichigoro made for me! (Image via Sami Nyx)

Unless otherwise noted, all images via Shichigoro.com

Tag: digital art

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