One of my major influences for the art of Morbid Curiosities comes from gothic comic book illustrations. Not because we plan to structure the game in any way that’s similar to a comic book, actually all of my inspiration is found in the way that the panels and covers are drawn. I particularly liked the colours and linework in “The Sandman” by Neil Gaiman, “Gotham by Gaslight” by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola, as well as the rest of Mignola’s other work.
Mike Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who is best known for the creation of Hellboy. I love the way that Mignola uses shadow and simple colour palettes to create a scene, his work has such a sense of mystery and depth. I think similar colour palettes could work well with our game. If you look at Mignola’s work (it’s most noticeable in Hellboy) the world and the characters in it are typically cool-toned, so when something red appears (usually Hellboy or blood) it stands out significantly and really draws the reader’s eye. I think this would be something really cool to replicate in Morbid Curiosities to make the fleshy interior of dolls stand out even more. It would look out of place and it should. Dolls shouldn’t look like that when you crack them open.
I did a practice piece based on Mignola’s work, these are two versions of the same city skyline. One during a blaze, and then the aftermath. I really enjoyed using his colours and the thick black linework just makes me happy to do as a comic book fan. I also just feel like it fits thematically.
I’ll be putting my own spin on it, I like to do a bit more shading than Mignola is known for when it comes to my own art. But I like this as an inspiration or a jumping-off point.
Sam Bedson