So today I finally decided to tackle demon sketches – you know, those cool monster drawings everyone seems to nail except me. My desk was pure chaos: pencils everywhere, eraser crumbs like snow, and that one reference picture I printed kinda crooked. Felt overwhelmed immediately.
The Struggle Was Real
Grabbed my sketchbook, a regular ol’ HB pencil, and just dove in headfirst. Big mistake. My first attempt looked like a messed-up teddy bear with too many teeth, not some fierce underworld beast. The proportions were way off – tiny body, giant head, horns pointing weird directions. Looked more silly than scary. Totally demoralizing.
Actually Trying Some Tips For Once
Okay, fine. Maybe those YouTube tutorials I skimmed had a point. Instead of starting with the whole demon shape, I grabbed a red pencil (weird, I know!) and just scribbled basic shapes. Like circles for the chest and head, triangles for the horns and shoulders, messy lines for the limbs. Looked like abstract art at this point, not a demon. But somehow… less intimidating? Like building blocks.
Then, keeping that structure super light, I went over it lightly with the HB pencil, starting to add actual form:
- Turning circle head into more of a skull shape.
- Making the triangles for horns look like they actually grew out of the skull, not glued on.
- Adding thickness and bend to those scribbly limbs.
Still rough, but holy crap, just having that skeleton underneath made everything feel more solid. Like the demon wasn’t just floating on the page anymore.
Embracing the Mess
Here’s where it got fun… and messy. Instead of trying to draw perfect lines right away, I just started shadowing like crazy. Needed those deep eye sockets? Smudged some pencil lead in there with my finger. Wanted ripped muscles? Used the side of my pencil to create texture. Totally ignored neat outlines and focused on where the light wasn’t hitting. Suddenly, the demon started looking mean and powerful! I even messed up an arm completely, erased it into a smudge, and turned that smudge into messy, shadowy fur – looked awesome by accident!
Why This Clicked
Okay, here’s the kicker. I think all those “pro tips” basically boiled down to this: stop trying to draw the whole scary finished thing right away. Build it dumb first with shapes. Let the shading and messiness create the details and mood. It feels counterintuitive – you wanna get to the cool horns and claws! But that underlying structure and blocking in shadows first? Game changer. My demon went from “derpy forest critter” to something kinda menacing. Still won’t win awards, but for once, I didn’t hate it. Actually felt pumped enough to try another one tomorrow.
Why do I know this works? ‘Cause last month, I attempted a paid character commission without doing this. Client wanted a demon lieutenant. Jumped straight into details like an idiot. The final sketch looked stiff and unbalanced, like it was posing awkwardly for a school photo. Client was nice but… you could tell. Had to practically start over. Wasted hours. This time? This process saved my bacon. Simple works.
