The Gayly Dreadful

     Earlier this year, I was contacted to create an icon, banner/logo, and artwork for the wonderful new horror site Gayly Dreadful. Terry had a set look in mind for what he wanted, and we tackled our shared love for the gruesome and gay with a memorable pop culture style.
     In order to achieve the tone that he desired, I had to create my own brush in photoshop. Something I had never done before. I needed a wet, or smooth sharpie look to my lines. But I also wanted crispness, like the classic work of Roy Lichtenstein. It took me about an hour to create that brush, testing and testing until it felt like I was drawing in adobe photoshop with an actual tool in hand. 

     Next came picking the colors. Terry wanted me to recreate scenes from A Nightmare on Elm Street with a twist, as well as a graphic anyone who has seen the Friday the 13th franchise can easily recognize.
     For the icon/banner/logo, he wanted Bisexual lighting, which turned out really well in depth and texture for the hockey mask that I designed in adobe illustrator. Not only does it state that his site looks at the horror industry from an lgbtqia+ perspective, but it also supports pioneers within who identify as such (myself included).
     Where the character illustrations are concerned, I used a complimentary RGB spectrum created from stills of the original NOE film. I then sketched out my poses, working with Terry to be sure I captured the feeling and unique bend he wanted to express (like Glenn, instead of Nancy, being licked by Freddy). I gotta say, I never thought there would come a day where I would draw Krueger like a male model showing off his midriff, but I'm definitely not disappointed in having to do so.
     With all of this said and down, our final production is what you see. A macabre of one of the most impacting movies ever released from the mind of the late great Wes Craven, to help titillate those who stop in at Gaygly Dreadful. Please pop in and give Terry a visit, and if you have anything you would like to say about the artwork created, feel free to share in the comments below.

-Jessica