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When you were a kid you were afraid of the dark because of monsters lurking in the shadows, well Irish illustrator Brian Coldrick has cast these creatures as the stars of his ongoing webcomic and book "Behind You: One-Shot horror stories." Each of the cool drawings is a beautiful and haunting one-panel illustration that shows a monster hiding just in arms reach, along with darkly humorous one-sentence captions. The London-based artist states that although none of his short scary stories are direct adaptations of existing narratives, they do touch on "well-worn horror tropes."
Coldrick told Bored Panda that his inspiration for the series of creepy stories sprung from his love for horror films, books, and spooky internet stories. "Just before I started the series I'd been reading through some Creepy Pastas, the internet's version of spooky folktales, and also lots of horror stories of 'real life' supernatural encounters on sites like Reddit."
An illustrator since 2003, he began 'Behind You' in April 2015 and confessed it was partly borne as an attempt to tackle his laziness. "I had wanted to do a continuing webcomic for a while, but I was worried I'd lose interest after starting a story I thought if each installment was a snippet of different scary stories I could start each time afresh. It also had the great side effect of leaving much of the story to be decided by the reader. It's probably the main reason people enjoy these scary drawings."
With a style all his own, these murky pictures have a charm you can't ignore. The artist said he uses a hand pencil to create his characters but works with Photoshop to create the backgrounds, add texture, and make the animations. Although he has many artistic influences, (such as horror comics Junji Ito and Emily Carroll), he said GIF illustrators Rebecca Mock and Sachin Teng had a direct impact on his attempts to make his own illustrations move.
When it comes to Coldrick's creative process, the order can vary. "I almost always start with the image first but once or twice a phrase has popped into my head, and I've worked back from there. Rather than a coherent story, the first step is usually one element. In the early days of the series it might have been a desire to draw a particular kind of creepy monster, but later on, it's been the setting. A kitchen at night illuminated by a fridge light, or an escalator on the Underground. Sometimes it can be something darker like the loneliness, doubts or anxieties that emerge once no one else is around."
In addition to "Behind You," Coldrick draws editorial pieces, posters, book covers, and character designs. Check out some of his short horror stories from this quirky webcomic series below!
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#8
Ladies and Gentlemen 6 years ago
I am always afraid of hidden creatures under my bed, after spending thousands of bucks on psychologists an no avail, my friend who is a carpenter too, simply cut down the legs of my bed and now it sits on floor. I won a little battle with monsters, though when I travel it again becomes hard, I cant sleep on floor too as I keep looking beneath nearby beds. It has rotten my whole life. I started keeping small portable LED lights with me which brighten up the underneath of beds and that gives me some consolation when sleeping on floor.
#15
Sora Lyra 6 years ago
I was a librarian before at school. One time, when I was on duty to look after the library, I was alone and I'm pretty sure no one was with me, since I lock the door, so I able to arrange the book to the bookshelf before any students come in. Then suddenly, I heard like someone was reading book at the table next to the bookshelf I'm arranging. Then I take a look, buy no one was there. I then the book at my back suddenly fall. I was shocked and at the same time I heard the same sounds again. I gradually get out of the library.
#17
Just Curious 6 years ago
Ah yes, the tree-spider-wolf that has haunted the nightmares of so many...
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Alexandru Bucur 6 years ago
Ah, so this is what the Wild Hunt is up to these days. Where's Ciri when you need her?
#35
Just Curious 6 years ago
The only passenger left? There's a little kid and Pinocchio there too...
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What do you think ?
Alexandra Lewis 6 years ago
This is one of the most beautiful and fascinating pages I've ever seen on here.
Alexandra Lewis 6 years ago
This is one of the most beautiful and fascinating pages I've ever seen on here.
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