Childrens fiction
Carroll, Anderson, Kipling and Potter and the lesser-known authors of Pinocchio, Goldilocks, Red Ridinghood and Mother Goose have created magic worlds. 1 Gulliver's Travels, offers giants, dwarfs and horses that talk. Adult literature The horror stories of Poe, Shelley, Lovecraft and Stoker or the fantasy of Burroughs, Conan Doyle, Wells, Verne and Tolkien all provide strange and bizarre images. 2 Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein has spawned hundreds of pictures and portrayals on TV and film.
The human form
Either as costumes or statues, ancient and primitive societies used the human form as a starting point for the depiction of the unimaginable. Their Gods are transformed into variations of the human figure. 7 Chinese carving of a female deity 8 Classical Greek fertility goddess In the mind of a master artist images float to the surface of his consciousness and are captured for eternity in his art. You should never be embarrassed about copying their discoveries for your own use. They, too, have...
Superimposing pictures
One successful way to achieve fantasy pictures is by superimposing images. This is frequently done with the photographic technique of double exposure. Alternatively, two matching images can be successfully combined without a high degree of sophistication by the use of tracing paper overlays. 1 Michael's pencil study self-portrait is made menacing by the addition of a snarling lion copied from a nature magazine and the surprised creatures protruding from his ears. 2 The ghoulish face produced by...
Demonic creatures
Popular tales of devils that tempt young girls or old hags who have power over lives were used by artists to stir up secret fears. 1 The discovery of witches, a 17th century book on detecting witches. 2 The devil and the disobedient child, an 18th century American storybook illustration on morals. 3 A bewitched groom, a 16th century German illustration on the source of illness. 4 Witches' trail sign opposite . The tourist highway sign in Salem, USA, commemorates the time when its bigoted...
Art
There is strength through mystery. A picture produced from the images within the mind can be a more accurate portrayal of human perceptions than one based entirely on observations. When we look at the work of a fantasy artist we can respond to the mystery on a number of levels the source of the ideas, the constituent parts, and the subject matter of the picture. The construction of the composition, its use of the elements of light and shade, and its depictions of imaginary forms are all...
Animals as people
Attributing human characteristics to animals has been a long tradition among fantasy artists. The fictional animal world of popular children's literature abounds with human-style walking and talking animals. Bears blow their noses on spotted handkerchiefs, dogs quote Socrates, elephants go to the barber's shop and foxes eat their supper using knives and forks.
Montage distortion
6 Cut into circular strips and re-arranged. 7 Duplicated at a variety of sizes and super-imposed. 8 Montaged with negative elements.
