Process Notes:
To create this illustration, I started from very simple sketches. I tried to create basic shapes that could transmit sensations, almost to the skin to the observer, in order to instill the primal feeling of danger.
This process is certainly one of the fundamental moments of illustration: it is impossible to proceed without having first reached the right sensation. Then I went to work on layers, overlapping brush strokes on brush strokes, creating the creature's volume. At this point, as in all my illustrations, I concentrated on adding more and more details. This is the secret to making each illustration unique. Most important is the the atmosphere; especially in a horror genre drawing, it is essential to best convey the sense of restlessness and terror. Once I found the perfect atmosphere, I went to the last illustration process: rendering. This is the moment of reckoning; it is the moment when the creature, cared for in the smallest details, can finally come to life.
FRANCESCO MERCURI is a visual artist from a small city in Florence. He attended the Technical Technological Institute and TheSign Comics & Arts Academy, where he was able to refine both analog and digital artistic techniques. His academic career lasted six years total.
He is increasingly passionate about creating environments and characters in the horror and fantasy styles, and mainly works on commission. Whether it's the cover of books, the concept of characters or creatures, illustrations for video games or for board games, podcasts or social media, he considers himself very lucky to work in this field, which offers him beautiful opportunities every day. He hopes that his illustrations convey the feelings that they convey to him as they come out of his pencil. His work can be found at fiverr.com/francescomerk.