Drawtober 2023
Drawtober is a competition organized and ran by the Instagram account @drawtober, who will, during the month of October, publish prompts which artists must interpret in their own unique ways to win prizes related to the event.
The first prompts that were released were: "Overgrown Cemetery" and "Moth Bitten Library".
For the first prompt, I aimed to have my character mourn, while present in the gloomy and ghostly atmosphere of a forest in which this overgrown cemetery resides.
The second prompt took me much longer than anticipated. With care, I made sure all the books obeyed the laws of perspective, and have them appear in all forms and shapes, while the moths swarm the dusted shelves.
Overgrown Cemetery
Moth Bitten Library
Devious Dining
Not long after, the third prompt was revealed. The goal was to present an illustration based off of the prompt; "Devious Dining". In the festive Halloween spirit, I combined the prompt with the traditional dress-up party that are trend. To have the atmosphere of an actual dining, two more characters were added to the illustration. Due to the short span of time I had left to finish off all the dishes, I settled on this finished product.
And finally, the last roadblock. To create a "Ghostly Ballroom", I designed the shining floors, mirroring the ghosts that are my characters, and are in their own unique ways relevant to their stories, who dance across the hall. In the middle, two redheads. One holding a small butter knife, standing over her opponent in victory and readying to finish her off.
The visual storytelling aimed to have the viewer interpret this how they desire. Yet, I strive to resemble my work clear, for in later life I will be able to use that skill to properly present my characters and be able to transfer messages to my audience.
Ghostly Ballroom
Goretober 2023
Custom Prompts
Caught
Cannibal
As the name might suggest, Goretober is a challenge where the artist is allowed to go all out in terms of blood, hearts and morally questionable topics. The goal is to let the creatives be free of judgement as they follow a custom list of prompts to interpret.
The first two prompts I finished were "Caught" and "Cannibal". I made sure to start far before the actual prompt list was ready to be followed chronologically.
"Caught" is heavily inspired by the Lucifer statue in the pulpit of St. Paul's Cathedral, Liege. The enormous wings of Lucifer are strained by thin metallic wires, capturing him and sealing in place. My character, Rim, is in a similar situation, being restrained by someone she once trusted, only to have him stab her in the back and seize her of the freedom she has.
"Cannibal" features Sachrei, a royal descendant of a British king. After being declared unloved by God, Sachrei sought love from the unloved, descending into delusion and bringing this upon his people. "Cannibal" aims to express the little to no remorse of this character, as he feeds his citizens their own.
Other prompt were "Stitches" and "Bleeding Out". These were made in the same month the prompt list followed, unlike the previous two.
"Stitches" depicts Bei, covered in gruesome stitches almost resembling tripwire. Goal was to express his internal struggle with body dysphoria in a rather gory form.
"Bleeding Out" was referenced from an ad on the street, in which a man elegantly laid on the floor. During a stroll, it inspired me to finish the prompt. Except of elegance, Talon is depicted in distress. Original reason to use Talon was due to events in his backstory, which I desired to bring to my audience.
Stitches
