October 29th, 2014

Posted on Oct 29, 2014 by Juste Semetaite

Some clinicians believe that having nightmares is a sort of therapy, a way to deal with traumatic events and stress. But if you were blessed with a reasonably sweet night's sleep, we suggest you don't scroll down, because these out-of-hell creatures and too vivid nightmare scenes will rob you of hours and hours of pleasant Zzz's. With Halloween fast approaching, we decided to descend into the deepest and darkest fantasies of 20+ digital artists from around the globe, gathering a collection of scariest beasts we never want to meet in our nightmares however therapeutic that might be...

1. Aphex Twin - Windowlicker Tribute by Daniel Hennies and Phil Amelung. Whatever the hell this was supposed to be, it's doing a splendid job making the notion of twins seem more creepy than cute...

Software: Pixologic, ZBrush, Maxon CINEMA 4D, Solid Angle Arnold

2. ASH by Yang Xueguo. Apparently, it took the artist only 3 days to go to hell and back, as, you will probably agree, this painting looks like a postcard from the kingdom of suffering!

What the artist says: Zdzislaw Beksinski is my favorite artist. I wanted to use this new work to tribute him. All painted in Photoshop in 3 days!

3. Dogs by Laurent Pierlot. I guess that's how the really evil version of Gru from "Despicable Me" looks like. Thankfully, the producers found it too raw to run on the big screens. Rats, demonic dogs and a vicious professor - that's quite a rich nightmare...

Software: Zbrush, 3ds Max, Photoshop

4. Concept Art Illustration 15 by Kouji Tajima. One thing we can be sure of when looking at this slowly melting skull is that someone did really well pissing it off. According to the usual nightmare scenario, it's not too difficult to imagine that those vampire fangs are designed to sink into the soft human flesh.

Software: Zbrush

5. Mysterious sculpture by Tomasz Strzalkowski. Researchers have found that fear is not the prominent emotion in nightmares. According to various studies, it's more often feelings of sadness, guilt and confusion that send us into the realms of dark fantasies. Given the blue tones and the eyeless face, this mysterious beast would make a good illustration of overflowing sadness.

Software: Zbrush, Photoshop

6. Frankenstein's Monster by Peter Zoppi. Remember yourself after a wild night out? It's one of the scariest zombies you don't ever want to meet, and doesn't matter how many times you have promised yourself that it won't happen again, the monster keeps getting loose...

Software: Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop

7. Concrete 7 by Xueguo Yang. Although the warm tones are quite pleasant to the eye, the stillness, surrealistic concept and lifeless faces make this painting one hell of a creepy sight.

Software: Photoshop

8. Zombie by Saad Irfan. You know when you take a #noFilter #allNatural selfie and this happens? That's when you realize that nightmares are not so bad as long as you get to wake up from them.

Software: Zbrush and Photoshop

9. Concrete1 by Xueguo Yang. Humans dream around 2 to 3 hours in a whole night. Fancy spending that much time in this weird underworld?

Software: Photoshop

10. Spikehead by Alex Vasin. If you look at it long enough, a bird's face with two eyes and a beak emerges. And then you just can't unsee it.

11. Firestorm by Eugene Gittsigrat. Do you ever get those nightmares where you're being chased by a terrifying beast or shot at, but your feet are so heavy that you move in slow motion? Well, try to imagine yourself getting away from Firestorm.

Software: Autodesk Maya, NUKE, Arnold Render, MARI and Zbrush

12. The Fallen by John Kearney. Lucifer in one of his ghastly forms?

Software: Photoshop

13. Create past by Andrey Bobir. The fact that 90% of the dream is lost the minute we wake up is quite soothing...

Software: 3ds Max and Photoshop

14. Zombie Claus by Kerem Beyit. Be a good boy or a zombie Claus will come to you in your sleep this year...

Software: Photoshop

15. Inter-dimensional Predator by Greg Petchkovsky. Is that how alien marshmallows look like? What a treat, right?

What the author says: I was pretty strongly influenced by a painting by Dave King and by a Japanese sculptor Takayuki Takeya.

16. Portrait of The Demon Guard by Julianna Kolakis. Done in XSI, Mudbox, Zbrush, Photoshop and Mental Ray, this demon guard is one of the creatures you'll want to avoid in your dreams.

What the author says: The Demon Guard is half demon-half snake, and was the one in charge of the huge plot to capture an ancient beast, which belongs to The Goddess Sovanna. He keeps the beast hostage waiting for the right opportunity to destroy Sovanna, as she is slowly being lead into his perfect trap…

17. Lady van Reuzel by Filip Novy. In no way this ugly looking thing deserves the "lady" status, but let her have it as long as she stays out of my head.

Software: 3ds Max, Mental Ray, Photoshop, Zbrush

18. Them Dark Odors by Joel Sundberg. The author is rather kind to the mutants: "these are some creatures that I came up with some time ago and I call them “Dark Odors”. They are a bit shy to the light and prefer dark places. They live among us but we normally don't see them..." When you say they live among us?..

Software: Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop, Zbrush

19. Hello, monster by Kyungup Hyun. The story behind this painting is that the girl gets lost and discovers a huge monster deep inside a mountain cave. She possesses some magical powers and is able to cure the monster's wicked mind. They become friends. The end. Still, how about not unraveling this story in your dreams?

Software: 3ds Max and Photoshop

20. Zombie by Raoni Nery. To say it's a sickening sight would be an understatement.

Software: 3ds Max, After Effects, Photoshop, VRay, Zbrush

21. Mysterious Sculpture by Tomaz Strzalkowski. It seems like either he's having a hard time keeping his head up or the king's crown is way to heavy...

Software: Zbrush, Photoshop

22. Elephant Man by Adam Skutt. When you're trying to imagine your frenemy's personality taking a human shape... Don't ever do that.

Software: Maya, mental ray, Photoshop, Zbrush

23. Mystery by Tomasz Strzalkowski. Could this be another terrifying version of death?

Software: Zbrush, Photoshop

24. Mr. Butcher by Izabela Zelmańska. All the pleasantries aside, this is one mister you wouldn't waste your time talking to about the poor weather. No wonder some people develop fear of sleeping...

Software:

25. Sewer Dwelling Monster by Federico Scarbini. If a spider sends you into a frenzy, imagine meeting this guy in a dark, clammy corner of your consciousness...

Software: Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop, Zbrush

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26. Puker, Dead Space 2 by Izabela Zelmańska. Allow us to introduce you to Izabela's version of "the Puker". Have fun falling asleep.

Software: Zbrush, Photoshop

27. Pig Slaughter by Nicolas Crombez. That's more or less how vegetarians see all the meat lovers.

Software: Lightwave 3d, Photoshop

28. Monster Skull by Pablo Viggiano. Obviously, the dental care in other planets is not a priority. But when this guy haunts you in your dreams, try to think of something else to say.

29. Tower of evil by Xueguo Yang. It's a bit like descending into a highly active volcano...

Software: Photoshop

Don't say we haven't warned you... Happy Halloween!