We all are accustomed to the Zodiac signs that we have been using since the Babylonian era. Together with the sign names came the icons inspired by their constellations. But just because a character has been around forever doesn’t mean there aren’t new ways to reimagine it. Damon Hellandbrand, a talented artist, based in the U.S., has created a series of images that portray the Zodiac signs symbols as twisted, surreal creatures straight out of a nightmarish realm. Most of his artworks took the literal meanings of the signs Leo – lion, Pisces – fish, Taurus – Ox, thus creating fantastical human-beast hybrids.

Hellandbrand does much of his art with various digital illustration programs, but some are born as pencil drawings or watercolors – or “basically whatever medium I’m in the mood for.” He writes that he is inspired by artists like Ralph McQuarrie, Boris Vallejo, and Frank Frazetta, and it’s easy to imagine that Guillermo Del Toro might number among his influences as well. Read on for Hellandbrand’s answers to Bored Panda’s questions about his work below!

More info: dhellandbrand.com | DeviantArt (h/t: gallowboob)

Aries

“I have a fondness for anything fantasy related or anything that doesn’t exist in reality,” Damon Hellandbrand told Bored Panda, “and mythology certainly has that in spades.”

Taurus

“I also think because those were some of the first stories I remember as a child in the school that they just stuck with me.”

Gemini

“I basically took what I knew the signs represented regarding their name (i.e., Cancer = Crab, Leo = Lion, Pisces = Fish, etc.) and proceeded to illustrate them as human/animal hybrids creating the Zodiac monsters.”

Cancer

“I did this by doing a black, and white pencil drawing on paper and then scanning the illustration into a drawing/painting program called Corel Painter to color and paint.”

Leo

“I didn’t do as much research on these dark Zodiac signs as I should have and I’ve gotten a lot of responses as such, so needless to say I’ll be making a few new pieces to redeem myself.”

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces