Children Fear Me...

Zoey Tiefenthaler "Children Fear Me"

24 x 24”, Acrylics, 2023 

My inspiration for this piece came from a request from my teacher.  He wanted me to make something as a gift for my history teacher, and seeing as I hadn’t made artwork for someone in a while, I agreed.  This piece is inspired by the Demon of Christmas, Krampus.

Project planning started with sketching a concept for how I wanted the Krampus-like character to look.  I searched for several different images of Krampus and his different depictions.  I knew going into this project that I wanted to mix the ideal features of Krampus (the horns, menacing look, and fur coat) with the characterization of my history teacher (i.e. his iconic suits and mustache).  Once the concept sketch was complete, I got my drum head canvas and started shaping out the character with a pencil.  From there, I used a black paint marker to do the lineart.  Afterward, I began painting the drum head, starting with the background.  As time went on, I wanted to make the Krampus-like be the main standout of the piece, therefore I left the background with a single color, except for the fog surrounding him.  The overcoat, fur, suit jacket, and tie were next; like everything else, these parts required multiple layers to give it that solid look while not muddying the similar colors together.  Around the same time, I painted the horns.  The character’s skin was last to begin painting, as I wasn’t sure what color I wanted it to be.  Ultimately, I chose to go with a “gray-red” look so as to add some contrast without appearing too garish or out of whack.  Finally, I did a lot of touch-up work with lighting on all parts of the piece and accentuated the location of the light source by adding more brightness to the colors.

This piece is supposed to represent the long-lasting legend of Krampus and the fear he still exudes to this day.  From a 12th-century German Christmas tradition to a worldwide phenomenon, Krampus has become a literal character with all kinds of visual portrayals.  I wanted to encapsulate the intimidating presence of the creature with this Krampus-like and what things may look like if you were to encounter this monster (and what that could mean for you).

Out of everything in this piece, painting the skin was probably the most difficult.  This was mostly because I was unsure how I wanted the skin to look (some red, more or less boldness, etc.).  Shading it was another obstacle in this project.  Luckily, I used some references in the perspective this head was in to figure out how to shade it.  If I were to start this project over, I probably would have done more with the fog by having it appear cloudier.  I also would’ve added some more bright yellows to the horns like with the fur and overcoat.

This style of art is one I’d consider a mix of Abstract and Surrealism, with a comic book-like undertone to it.  The animated look and bold lines are parts of the piece I believe resemble my own style the most.  Overall, I’m very proud of the composition and outcome of this piece, as well as how the primary colors all shine in their own respective ways without becoming too overpowering on the drum head.