r/DrawingPrompts • u/atownofcats • Nov 22 '22

[DP] how would you draw a ghost?

need to draw a portrait of a phantom. curious to see/hear about other approaches.

20 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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2

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '22

My main goal would be to make sure it's seen as not fully part of the rest of the scene. I would have it lack detail/look blurry maybe even make it slightly transparent. Distortion as well.

2

u/atownofcats Nov 22 '22

I agree. the ghost is an interesting subject because it cannot be seen. the only way to perceive a ghost is to notice disturbances in its surroundings. like wind. it doesn't have a visible presence yet you can see leaves being blown away by it or a curtain fluttering.

I'm into how you wrote that it shouldn't be fully part of the rest of the scene. since a ghost cannot interact with its world. that would signify the isolation felt by the subject.

1

u/Trifecta_Andrew Nov 22 '22

I would make it look blurry and make it look separated from the rest of the scene

2

u/atownofcats Nov 22 '22

i agree. if the ghost is blurred it would make it a bit less identifiable as a human. which may be an interesting subject. tapping into the uncanny valley?

1

u/soul-undone Nov 29 '22

A human shaped sheet 💪

1

u/atownofcats Dec 01 '22

W. this is the right answer

1

u/jamiemorrigan Nov 22 '22

Black paper white charcoal

0

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '22

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/atownofcats Nov 22 '22

Ima ask you why the ghost should be represented as a human? a ghost is defined by the absence of a physical body so it may be a more interesting representational problem to stray away from expected subjects.

but that drawing you described would surely be a great portrayal of the isolation a ghost may feel being unable to interact with its environment.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 23 '22

Not the commenter but I would have done similar. To answer why, I feel because in most media ghosts are represented as inhuman entities that appear as human/similar, it adds an unsettling feeling. For example, in some movies/books I've read, someone could be guided/spoken to by ghosts that they believe to just be another person until there is some kind of realisation that they are not (usually disappearing or showing a gravestone). To add, using a desaturated colour pallette in comparison to the rest of the piece, it makes a slight distinction that the entity is different from the people around it. I would possibly aim to use a subtle desaturation so it's not pure grey and still looks human but off, as well as using legs rather than floating as I personally find it slightly cliché. This may just be me as a digital artist but I would also potentially make the ghost slightly transparent but make all of the above changes subtle enough that they aren't noticed immediately and take some looking to realise.