What are the keys to painting images with unsettling atmosphere?

>>2675817
People tend to find "empty" things creepy, like rooms that have very little in them or empty blackness. Bonus points for things that are slightly out of place, like the perspective is a bit off, someone is looking in a weird direction or in an awkward pose, the colours are a bit off, something left ambiguous or not shown etc. Obviously things at night are usually creepier.

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Zdzisław Beksiński's work would fit that bill I think.

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>>2675831

>>2675831
>>2675832

That's more cool/trippy looking than unsettling.

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>>2675832

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>>2675837

>>2675836
Eh, I find them to be a bit creepy. Especially looking at them in series. To me at least it builds this idea of some decaying, dry, dusty world filled with weird, withered inhabitants.

>>2675817
If you can create some sort of mystery. Lighting and color is more important though.

I remember there was this painter who did a series of paintings that were just hallways and rooms, with a woman in them occasionally. They were all pretty bleak, and somewhat unsettling. Someone mentioned that it was because you couldn't really see what was in the next room over, only what was directly visible in the doorframe. I thought it was kind of interesting, but I can't for the life of me remember what the painter's name was! I think it was a woman, though.

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Texture. The darkness should have a body to it. Subtle brushstrokes to let the mind be at unease. Not even any particular form, just a sense of mass. Alternatively you can give it an actual body in the form of a floating man.

Also I find it especially creepy when you don't see something at first, but then you recognize some kind of presence. It seems pretty instinctual, as if you were looking into distant bushes and suddenly the light catches a pair of eyes... or a floating man. Not only is it the realization of danger, but the realization that it was aware of you the whole time. So you are at a disadvantage. And in that instant it might already be too late...

>>2675817
http://doumyakutosi.tumblr.com/

Next to Beksinski.

This guy has unsettling atmospheres down to a science.

>>2675850
Probably you're referring to Hammershoi? He's a dude though, not a girl. Personally I never found his art very creepy, but I do like it a lot. Other people tend to get creeped out by it though.

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>>2675852
And this one of my attempts at unsettling. Thoughts?

>>2675852
Who de artist?
tell please

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>>2675850
>>2675863
I think it was

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>>2675869

>>2675867
Adrian Ghenie

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>>2675871

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>>2675817
I always liked Andrew Wyeth when it came to an ominous atmosphere

>>2675878
Really? I usually get a feeling of melancholy or frozen time/timelessness when I see his images. That one you posted is a bit of an exception from his regular work. I mean, it's literally called Witching Hour.

>>2675878
this image has anxiety and fear on it. I don't know how to explain it. this is crazy!

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>>2675817
I've always found this image creepy. Hard to explain why. Despite the warm sunny location, something about the creepy guy in focus makes it hard to "trust" the setting. It gives me that weird "something's not right" feeling you get during actual nightmares.


Also,
>>2675869
>>2675873
being surrounded by dark windows apparently.

>>2675869
>>2675871
these are astounding. I think they are relatable, makes me feel like I'm being watched.

Don't underestimate just having disturbing subject matter: http://pseudoape.com/2011/09/ei-etakato-yamamoto-the-heissthiticism-style-warning-image-heavy/

Hiroaki Samura's Love of the Brute also comes to mind.

There's also that Japanese (I think) digital painter who uses the hard round brush mostly and did all those paintings of anime-ish style thing but with realistic lighting, and had tons of blood and things like intestines spilling out or people eating other people. I forget the person's name.

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http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?id=53928
Not sure if this constitutes as creepy enough, but this artist is mighty neat. They're a literal enigma, as in they don't even have a username, no info about them, no picture. But some really cool work.

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Apparently open doors you can't see into are scary

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>>2675901

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>>2675901
I find darkness in general scary

>>2675902
AAAAAAAAAAAAA
NOT THE DOGE

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One more from their very extensive gallery. They used to do a lot of animu shit but since they made the change, their work has been really interesting to me. Haven't a clue how they makes some of them.

>>2675907
>>2675904
>>2675902
>>2675899
These are amazing but I kinda don't want them on my computer.

For me it's voids paired with unnatural sizes, quantities or forms of things

>>2675909
same

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>>2675907
Alright, ooooone more. Because I forgot how interesting their art is and it's kind of reinvigorating to go through it again.

>>2675863
You got it!! Sorry, guess it wasn't a woman. You're right, they're very atmospheric, but maybe creepy or unsettling isn't the right word for it. They just kind of feel tense, it's just a painting but you don't know what's gonna happen next.

Hammershoi's work is very lowkey and subtle it feels, whereas
>>2675901
>>2675902
seem a little more on the nose with the whole "scary doorway" theme.

>>2675871
This one was my fave, the way that the doorframe on the right is cut off so you can't see into that room is really neat. And then with the doorway you can see through, it just shows you another open doorway that you can't look into. It all just feels very claustrophobic and tense. All the doors are open, but you can't go anywhere.

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This is my attempt.
Does it make you feel a bit perturbed

>>2675969
Too much inactive space. The clean quality of the marks leaves little ambiguity, especially the red dot. Needs more texture. I don't think this kind of thing works as well with minimalism.

>>2675969
Not at all. The first thing that I think of when I look at that is

THE CLASHING OF BONE and SINEW!

HURT ME MORE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5hT5g13e1I

>>2675938
Also the fucking ghost face on the door

>>2675969

Honestly looks like random marks, I can't see anything

>>2675865
Grandpa's overdrive ACTIVATE!!!

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>>2675896
I fucking love hiroaki samura's brute love.
>pic related

>>2676166
That's real fucking creepy.

It's like the woman is being taken from the realm of "This is just silliness and fun with fiction" to "Hey, imagine a real woman having this happen".

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>>2676193
yeah its fucking awesome isn't it.

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>>2676196
I looked him up and have been looking at a few.
Since I'm scrolling down, this one's hit hardest so far.

The previous one made me start paying attention to things like body structure. I used to have a sculpting narcissist friend who went on endlessly about what the body form is like, especially the stomach since I never understood it well, especially on women.

First thing I saw was the expression, then, paying attention to the body's form, that disturbing stomach. Then the number made it even worse emphasizing how little value they have in their position as a human being.

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>>2676198
yeah he's amazing. its SOOO dark.... i love his expressions and his penciling and anatomy style. i love the one with the girl with a tube going to her mouth and pic related
i have been trying to getting around to reading his manga die welgelder, it looks interesting.

>>2676207
Yeah, extremely dark.
With what (little) I know, he's hitting every key point there is to making you, as a human, go "This is bad and disturbing, this should not happen".

He's got his human anatomy down perfectly, and as a result, knows exactly what a body /shouldn't/ look like, which is where I think the disturbing nature is coming from the most. Blood and gore is around everywhere - But I've virtually never seen skin bend around a person's rib cage while tearing like that. Fucking creepy.

I'll look that manga up, too.

>>2676214
plot twist
he uses reference

>>2676215
Does he?

I imagine he doesn't use full references like pictures of these situations, but does he have some kind of notebook of real victims with things like missing limbs or something?

>>2676217
was ajoke dude, as in he actually does this thing to his wife or something.
you know bdsm and shit

>>2676218
That's silly.
If he did this to his wife or anyone close everyone would know instantly.

He probably has some kind of abandoned factory in more violent countries where he makes these things happen without risking his personal life. If something nasty is discovered they'll chalk it up to the natives.

>>2676215
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwAOTwPY0oo but yeah ref maybe used sometimes.

>>2676221
or he just got good with the anatomies

>>2675831
Meme tier artist who can't into subtlety

>>2675852
>>2675869
>>2675871
>>2675873
>>2675901
when-you-see-it-you'll-shit-bricks tier horror

>>2676233
everything doesn't need to be subtle you retard

>>2675832
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVrYbKBrI7o

>>2676310

but subtlety really helps when it comes to (an eerie) atmosphere. because it's these slight shifts from what we know is normal that can make it feel so uncomfortable. when it's not:" in your face. this is supposed to make you feel a certain way, because I draw skeletons and use dark colours"

>>2675817
Phil Hale's new work is pretty heavy: http://jonathanlevinegallery.com/exhibits/phil-halelife-wants-to-live/

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Exploiting primal fears.

Something artists should try more.

Like pic related.

>>2677135
Still better than anybody on /ic/ will ever be.

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>>2677316
oh god i hate dark water like that. thsi wasnt the pic i was looking for but its similar, in the one i was looking for there was a suba diver with a light on his head or something and behind him barely visible was Cthulhu's big ass hidden in the darkness of the water.
i'm terrified of ocean depths.

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>>2677332
another similar image but still not the same one .

>>2676198
>>2676207
It's just a retarded guro fetish.

>>2677322

I was just speaking in terms of atmosphere and elements that contribute to it. Not saying this guy isn't a good artist. i guess everyone's taste is different

(here are some observations)
an empty public place, optionally at night. empty rooms, cos rooms are rarely to never empty (i've moved recently, and that creeps me out as fuck). something familiar is wrong, it scares the most, esp if you can't tell what exactly wrong and why i.e you can't do anything about it and you don't know where the danger is going to come from.
it should be drawn pretty realistic, with familiar objects/setting, esp those that are referring to your home.
cold lightning, high contrast with black and white, unnaturally dull/vibrant colors. flat angles, no crazy lens distortions, keep it simple.
figures that are far from the camera, not looking at it, doing nothing, preferably standing.
highly regular, like perfectly align trees, no random damage on things, like scratches, "too perfect", very small amount of details, esp in nature.
looped space with no escape, not closed so you can't get out, but with no "out"
all that not necessarily scares me, but makes pretty desperate.

tl;dr something very familiar becomes wrong in indistinct way

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>>2675901

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Alex Colville
http://imgur.com/a/nPMAx

>>2675817
what about the whole uncanny valley thing?

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Some of Wayne Barlowe's stuff is pretty unsettling

>>2675831
that was beautiful more than unsettling but >>2675832
this one is a good example.

>>2676207
gibe de pusi b0ss

>>2675909
grow balls

>>2677988
I was just kidding you silly goose.

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>>2677316
>Primal fears

>>2677135
>subtlety

>>2675904
>Darkness

Plus eldritch horror of my part. Gotcha covered, guys.

>>2677316
>Something artists should try more.
You mean like just about all of the images posted in this thread?

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Or maybe just, you know... death.

>>2675866
This is just frustrating to look at. Brain is a pattern recognition machine. If you see an unfamiliar pattern and just fail to identify it - you rage quit. Would be better if you put something unfamiliar in a familiar environment. Or some property of a familiar environment that doesn't match with the image in your mind.

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>>2679652
That's a nice painting

>>2676207
>>2676198
>>2676196
Nah, these all play on the primal fears. You know what is going to happen. It is just like zombies - they are going to eat you, so you just run.

>>2678115
>subtle

no?