Day 14: Hellraiser (1987) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2020

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2020
Hellraiser (1987)

For today's post, here's one of the Cenobites from Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" (1987).  

When I was a young teen, I read some Clive Barker short stories from "Books of Blood" and found him to have generally well-crafted, if gory short stories (well, he was mostly considered part of a splatter-punk horror movement at the time), with some bits of sex thrown into the mix--Just what a young, teenage boy is looking for!  So I was familiar with his writing before "Hellraiser" was released.  I did like the movie and later read the book, which is very close.

Digression: Odd to think that Pinhead wasn't even called "Pinhead" until much later (he was the Lead Cenobite in "Hellraiser") and was more-or-less named by the fans which I find somewhat delightful, even though Clive Barker did not like the name.  I, on the other hand, am always a sucker for a clever pun.

Speaking of, this is the Female Cenobite.  Or, as originally named by Clive Barker, Deepthroat. **Snicker**

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STEP ONE:  These are the quick pencils done on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock with a black colored pencil.

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STEP TWO:  Before starting, I brushed on a coat of Casein Fixative to help keep the cardstock from completely warping and falling apart from all the Watercolor/Gouache.  And here's where I give a peak behind the scenes to show warts and all, as it were.

So, there's the first pass... and while I intentionally drew the head at a slight angle, when I looked at it after the first pass, to me the tilt of her head looked like either a quizzical look your dog gives you, or it looked like I drew the face crooked.  So, I could either finish painting and then use the magic of Photoshop to "fix" it, or...

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STEP THREE:  I grabbed some tracing paper, painted over the crooked head, and re-drew in the straightened head over top.  Sigh, when will I learn, and why is the answer to that question always "NEVER!"?  Remember kids: Always make sure the drawing is done correctly BEFORE you start painting--it will save you a LOT of time!  Sure, I already knew that, but was in a hurry, which cost me more time.  Ugh!  So, here's the corrected painting.  I did make some adjustments to the drawing--the mouth was a bit crooked (well, more crooked, I should say), and a few other minor things to fix proportions and such.

Good thing Gouache is relatively opaque.

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STEP FOUR:  And, after a lot of back-and-fourth, here's the finished painting.  Another piece of work I probably spent wwwaaaayyyyy too much time working on, alas.  Which means I must get my rear in gear for tomorrow's post.  Sigh...  Keep pushing that rock, John.

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Done with Watercolor/Gouache on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

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