Challenge 7: Fear (Cannibalism and Serial Killers)



 Hey everyone!

First off, sorry for the lateness! Everything converged all at once this month, and it’s taken quite a while to get to a point I like with this piece. I’ve always been really freaked out and morbidly fascinated by cannibalism and serial killers…I remember reading about Dahmer, Gein, and Sagawa (Don’t look them up if you plan on sleeping tonight) and being horrified by what they did, but even more horrified that there are people out there walking among us who are capable of such atrocities.

Anyway, while staying late at work, my friend Mike asked if he could mess around with my original ink drawing, so as an added bonus I’ve included his interpretation as well! (His is the one with the creepy text!) Mike is a super talented artist and you should check out his work at www.mullanillustration.com

Moira

Challenge 7: Fear of Public Speaking



 

Hello hello. At first I was thinking of doing Fear of Burning to Death, which had been a real fear of mine since I watched Last of the Mohicans back in second grade… I dunno why my parents allowed a 9 year old to watch a R rated movie, but it clearly scarred me for life ;)  Anyhoo, thought it would be a bit too grotesque….

And so, here is my second biggest fear: Public Speaking. I absolutely hate it. My heart starts beating fast, in fact so fast that I can hear it ringing in my ears, I tremble uncontrollably (which is unfortunate if I have to hold a piece of paper in my hand because I look like I have withdrawal symptoms…) and sometimes my mind goes completely blank and can’t utter a single word. SIGH… it’s pretty pathetic. I’ve gotten LOADS better though since taking a public speaking class back in school, but still I like to avoid it as much as possible. It’s funny—I’m perfectly fine speaking in front of kids, and people that I know, it’s only when I have to speak in front of strangers.

I hope you guys enjoy this image!

Seo

Challenge 7: Fear of Cockroaches

For my fear I focused on my initial reaction of panic: cockroaches. Yes, I love animals; frogs, snakes, and rats don’t phase me but when I see a dark little silhouette scurry across a kitchen wall I flip out. It’s pretty embarrassing cursing like a sailor about a tiny thing. Looking up reference images just made my stomach turn … I found the title We Don’t Only Come Out at Night to be a fitting name for this piece.

I wasn’t sure if I preferred the black and white version or the colored, so I posted both.

— Catherine Fontenot

Challenge 7: Fear of Death



I am utterly terrified of dying, and I usually have a panic attack if I sit around and think about it for too long. So the fact that I was actually able  to complete an Illu for this challenge was huge for me :)

Overall the image is A LOT darker then my normal body of work but I’m really pleased with the end result.

Elizabeth B.

Challenge 7: Fear of Amputation+Wilderness


I’m a pretty fearless woman, but I have several fears that I really wish never to happen to me. I fear of amputation of body and that is proven when I said ‘I’d rather die as a whole piece than to cut my arm and survive’ after watching “127 Hours” (Though, if it was my left arm below the wrist and get millions of dollars for giving inspirational speeches, I could maybe consider it…) I also love going on adventures, but fear for wilderness that are full of creatures that are yet to be known to mankind. Deep in the ocean, or even worse, in the the Amazon forrest, there are tons of creatures that will probably surpass our imagination. The Amazon brings a worse nightmare for me since that place is perfectly adequate for everything to be ferocious, venomous, or gigantic, such as anacondas, pirañas, some sort of bugs that would get under your skin to lay their eggs, some fish that can swim into your body if you pee in the river, just to name a few.

So I combined my two biggest fears, and also added the fact that I did not learn how to swim until I was in 4th grade or so.

-Adela

Challenge 7: Fear of being alone



Hi all!

I knew immediately for this challenge that I had to illustrate my fear of being alone through life (although I have many fears to chose from, such as the sensation of falling, knives, breaking bones, and speaking in front of groups, to name a few!). This fear grew from the fact that I love the people in my life in every way.  I love laughing with them, I love eating with them, making art with them, watching movies with them, shopping with them, drinking with them, but most of all, I love talking with them.  A person can be happy with themselves for all the others (well, maybe laughing would be odd… and drinking too), but it just isn’t possible to get that satisfaction of a good conversation with one’s self.  It has always been important for me to have deeper, more meaningful relationships with the people in my life, and this just grows as I get older.  I want to be there for them during their struggles, celebrate their joys, and share the little moments that make a day great with these people.  It’s a terribly sad idea, the thought of having nobody.  Especially if you have a big dinner table with lots of extra food that your cat can’t eat with you.

Caitlin

Challenge 7: Death by Spiders



So for any who may not be aware, I have a slight obsession with Suzanne Collins’ trilogy The Hunger Games. Seriously guys, if you have not read it yet, do yourself a favor and run to the bookstore right now! They are quick reads and just absolutely phenomenal. Honestly, they’ve impacted me just so much, and I would say they might be the Harry Potter of my adult life.

When this challenge was announced, this image popped in my head almost immediately. My biggest, and most crippling fear is that of any arachnid and insect. I can handle flies and mosquitoes somewhat ok, but other than that-I am petrified! Even of butterflies! I’m ridiculous! Anyway, how is the Hunger Games relevant to this you may ask? Well, I was recently a part of a large online competition based on the Hunger Games called The Tumblr Games. For those familiar with the books, I was the District 1 male tribute, and definitely lived up to the “career” reputation. I quickly became the tribute to beat, and alongside my district partner Ginny, I plowed through the competition. The way the system worked was based on both choice based play mixed with creativity and writing abilities.

The Games started with 24 tributes competing against one another, and my partner and I made it to the final 3 with over half of the others “dying” by our hand or our influence. In the grand finale of the Games, the boy from District 5 who had become my primary target in the arena was finally able to kill me when I was attacked by thousands of mutated spiders. It was pretty gruesome in the end, but I had it coming haha. I suppose you could say I was somewhat of the villain of the Games.

So that’s the story behind this piece. It’s funny, because this is just so contrasting to the Little Red piece I just completed, but I really do enjoy working this way as well. Hope you all enjoy it and that I haven’t bored you too much with this novel of a description!

Josh

Challenge 7: Fear of Heights (and Ladders)



Hi friends! I came to the conclusion that, thankfully, I really don’t have any irrational fears or phobias (except of maybe failure, hahaha!). Thus, I chose the ever so common “fear of heights” as my illustration topic. I really don’t like heights and I especially don’t like being on ladders - I just don’t trust them. After working at Anthropologie and having to be on the top step of ladders, in cramped spaces, not holding onto the ladder because my hands are busy holding a heavy drill in one hand and whatever I’m installing in the other - yeah, it was quite an unforgettable experience. :)

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to use my current trend of cut paper/3D, but it was nice working with just plain gouache - without the threat of x-actoing my fingers. My lovely 3 year old Art Director of a niece insists I need to add another step at the top of the ladder - I am glad she is still small enough to successfully ignore. ;)

—Blythe

Challenge 7: Fears

Hey everybody!

For this next challenge I thought it would be interesting if everyone did an illustration of their greatest fear. It can be funny, serious, or as abstract or concrete as you would like. Feel free to explore the concept of fear if you can’t think of anything specific. Have fun!

Moira