Devil Workshop

Crystal with Devil Horns and wings

Can of coke with digital illustrated horns, tail and edited 666 into the text.

Devil sketch with red pen and black fineliners

Devil skeleton with black biro on red balloon

For the final piece I used digital Illustration, I focused on three of the Monsters I had researched in most depth. These being, Medusa, Scylla and Sirens.
I created a ‘Quest’ book, describing and illustrating the Monsters.

The front Cover is initially supposed to look like an antique notepad. The word ‘Notes’ has been scribbled out, below that is an engraving into the ‘leather’ fabric, that says ‘How to Survive Monsters.’
I wanted the engraving to be the idea of the book, but then I’ve added a ‘Women’ over the word ‘Monsters’ to create the idea that someone has looked at the book and realised these women are just powerful females.

The first page is Scylla.

I created the illustration, using a native Greek female as the reference.

I gave Scylla six heads, with elongated necks. I then used the idea of Octopus tentacles with a dog attatched. As Syclla is a sea creature, I used neutral colours that represent the ocean such as blues and greens with a hint of yellow and red.

I added a textured background for the idea of paper, I highlighted the important features and added notes about Scylla. I also added the Greek spelling of the word ‘Scylla.

The second page is of Medusa, I did the same technique of adding notes about the monster as well as the Greek work for Medusa.

For the illustration, I used  neutral colours as well and created the skin of the monster as blue for a reptilian presentation.

And for the last page, I created a Siren with bird legs and wings.

I created a back cover to tie everything together.

I decided to look on Pinterest for ideas that I could do for my final piece, here are some ideas.

Here are some ideas, I wanted to make a ‘Book’ or a Journal that describes the monsters I had researched.

Like I had previously done, I researched antiques of ancient Greece, looking for Scylla. I then used these as references to sketch.

Here I used a brio for the inital outline and a light ink wash for shadowing and depth.

I Used a brown and orange colouring pencil for this.

I really liked this piece, but I only wanted to focus on Scylla.

I used a black biro and used cross hatching for all the shading and depth.

I decided to create some pieces on Scylla, as the description of her was very different to the rest of the ‘Monsters’ ad more intricate with more detail.
Every version of Scylla that I researched was different to the rest, so in some way I could let my creativity flow a bit more.

Here is a watercolour and fine liner piece of Scylla, I used tentacles as legs similar to an octopus. I added to dog heads to the side of her. I used a more curvaceous female reference for the body to represent natural and common body types and I also added body hair. I used neutral colours such as blues, black and yellow.

Here is a different version of Scylla, with a skinner build. I still added the body hair in the underarms and pubic area as this is very natural.  I created her similar to the previous sketch, with octopus legs and dogs attatched to those. I used brighter, warmer colours with a hint of a sea blue. It creates a calmer and happier atmosphere.

Chapter: Dogs Below The Waist

‘Our cultures relentless obsession with female bodies, extends only as far as the skin.’
‘Scylla was a twelve legged, six headed, barking creature with no human characteristics to speak of.’
‘Scylla’s necks were upsettingly long’
‘Scylla finds her legs and groin transformed into a mass of barking dogs.’
‘Sheer alienness of her body, no so unfamiliar.’
‘Her upper part  are human; down to the pubes  she seems a lovely breasted, virgin, but underneath she is a monster with a terrifying body.’
”When we talk about womens bodies being turned into sexual objects, we don’t always note that these objects have little to do with the bodies.’
‘Women’s bodies are externally commodified, especially in porn and modelling. Free of hair and folds, photo editing does alot.’

I decided to do some digital collages of Medusa, after researching her in the book.

I used a classic Greek stone statue, with real photographs of snakes.

I used  a black background and highlighted  Medusa with a pink circle.

I decided to use the first two chapters of ‘Women and other Monsters’ to create some pieces of work inspired by modern day beauty, cultural beauty and natural beauty.

This piece is a collage/oil pastel drawing.
For reference, I used a native Greek female with a prominent nose bridge, large dark eyes and black course hair. I used warm toned oil pastels with a black oil pastel for the hair and some highlighted features. I primed my paper with a cream tones oil pastel and collaged some ripped pages from a book to add texture.
I wanted to showcase the Goddess, Aphrodite, as a native Greek female. Aphrodite is the goddess of fertility and female empowerment so I collaged over the drawing with some yellow and white flowers I had previously pressed. Flowers often represent fertility and the colour white represents youthfulness and innocence.

I edited this photograph of the piece, enhancing the colours and vibrancy and also making the shadows darker. I really like how this turned out.

The next person I focused on was Medusa, I always find myself coming back to Medusa as I find parts of myself in her story. I also think she is interesting to look and is seen in a vast amount of ways.

I used an Instagram model named Deba Hekmat who is Greek and also a feminist who advocates natural bodies/body hair etc.
I used a photograph of Deba with her arms up, showcasing the hair on her armpits.

I primed my page with a light pink oil pastel, and I drew the model with a turquoise oil pastel. I used pink, green and yellow pastels to create the snakes from her head. I wanted to make the piece stereotypically ‘girly’ as well as ‘bright’ with the usage of my colours which juxtaposes the whole idea of ‘Monster’ and Medusa.

Here is a photograph of the piece in direct sunlight, which really exposes the colours but I think it’s a cool effect.

My next piece was using a new Greek mythical creature, Hekate. I found her whilst looking at Pinterest.
For some general information;
Her origin is originally Ancient Greek but her story is seen in Egypt, Babylon and Sumerian areas.
In all beliefs, the goddess had roughly the same powers: she represented the Moon and the mysteries of death. She was the goddess of night and childbirth, the woman who had powers in all three worlds: celestial, terrestrial, and marine. Her abilities were innate and men feared and revered her.

I used a native Egyptian model for the reference of this drawing.

I used a tanned oil pastel for the background and her skin. I used Green and Orange as the prime colours.
In all the images I saw of Hekate, she has a spiked crown in her hair, moons and stars surrounding her as well as Skulls and Snakes.

I added the moon on her forehead, the spiked crown and a snake around her neck.

I decided to purchase my own copy of ‘Women and other Monsters’ by Jess Zimmerman so I could highlight and fully analyse what was written.

Here are some important quotes and ideas from the book that could help focus my work.

First Chapter: Sister Monsters
‘Medusa and her counterparts became subject, despite their monstrousness to the principles of beauty.’
‘Creatures who were once conceived as repulsive were reimagined as appealing, even seductive.’
‘In a society centred on the male citizen, the feminization of monsters served to demonize women.’
‘The later monsters look more human, underscoring the idea that the monstrousness is somehow the human woman’s natural condition.’
‘Women may look harmless on the face, they said, but look at their snake hair and dog crotches and claws. Look at them crouched over the male victim, ready to bite. Beware their ambition, their ugliness and their ferocious rage.’
‘cultural expectations of a women; to be attractive and sexually available (but not too available), to never outshine the male heroes.’

From this first chapter, It re-proves my previous research of Patriarchal society in ancient Greeks and that the female characters/figures are created so the males are seen as the heroes.

Chapter 2 – Medusa.
‘Medusa is famously ugly, so grotesque if you look you turn to stone.’
‘She’s so ugly it hurts, but it doesn’t hurt her…’
‘Beauty is demonstrably a cheat code for an easier life.’
‘Medusa was beautiful once…splendid hair so alluring it caught eye of Poseidon…so he raped her.’
‘Older images of the Gorgons have scales, tusks and often beards.’
‘Athena took everything that gave medusa value, her looks and hair… her potential as a victim of a prize.’
‘She became a demi got, a legend, a monster,  a mother of monsters…ugliness was her armour and her blade.’
‘It’s a tiny place beauty…there’s only room for a few.’
‘the first film and video cameras were calibrated to white skin, dark skinned people were literally … if we are invisible we are unvalued and inhuman.’
”Men are taught to devalue us, we are taught to devalue ourselves.’
‘All that means is historically, even our heroines are subject to the demands of physical perfection… symmetrical, high cheekbone, youthful and hairless from the neck down.’
‘Where beauty is narrow and constrained, ugliness is an entire galaxy.’
”There are a thousand ways to look monstrous, surprising, upsetting, outlandish and odd… fat and bony and hairy…large nose, thick eyebrows, blemish, birthmark, scar…’
‘Beauty is in someway boring and ugly is becoming in it’s own way, beautiful.’
‘Ugliness is larger than beauty, ugliness has always had power.’
‘nobody is beautiful,’
‘Ugliness is for protection, for bravery and for defence, Ugly is for visibility and forcing people to meet your eyes’.

I really enjoyed reading this chapter, not even for analysing Medusa but because of the analysis of ugly vs beauty. In modern day, feminists pride themselves in growing their body hair, and owning their weight and skin colour and ‘imperfections.’ whereas Greek Goddesses were seen as the epitome of beautiful, with fair  and white skin and light hair even though they’re  Greek and Jewish. The monsters are seen as animals, and therefore inhuman and ugly.

A novel I got from the Library.