I dream of being this cool (Dream me a dream).

Ahmed Afazil’s Art Aesthetic is Alarming and Awesome

Slick Character Design and some Sinister and Spectacular Spectral Creatures to Contemplate

I do love urban futuristic themes and artworks; there’s just so much room for really cool color and design, with really crisp lines and futuristic style opportunities. On the complete other hand, I also love monster and creature design. Especially if it’s creepy. There’s something compelling about the mess that horror or monster design can make of natural forms and unabashedly saying, “Yep. It’s supposed to be like that,” presumably while wiggling its eyebrows suggestively.

Smooth segue, achieved (W I L E Y).

Suffice to say, when I started checking out Ahmed Afazil’s portfolio, my first response was excitement. I’ve been looking at a lot of really glossy, futuristic concept work lately, and while Afazil does have plenty of skill making art like that, I was pleased to see some skilled spooky stuff in the mix. It kind of snapped me back to a place I haven’t visited in a while, where my fond memories of really good horror game experiences live. He skillfully captures some of the really grimy or broken elements of body horror, as well as a good understanding of what can make older things scary (See: video of ol’ Wiley up there).

If you think this is bad, don’t ever look up what happens to ballerinas. Ballerinas are metal (Cauldron).

Afazil is a freelance character and creature artist with quite a few years of experience modeling. He mentions in his profile that he has a particular dedication to making sure that the designs he creates are, “both visually striking and mechanically sound.” There’s something really special about using anatomy and physiology to create horror that suspends disbelief in a powerful way, and Afazil does it well.

I had to include a pretty portrait like this (Auri).

I always enjoy watching tutorial videos, and the video he created showing how he modeled that grotesque set of feet was really informative. It has a really nice mix of specialized information for people who already understand what he’s doing and general information for the newcomer who may have a more tenuous grasp. I really like that he points out how much time he gives himself for some of the early stages to help himself be more decisive, which I may start to implement in my own art process.

My hands on a cold night, probably (Anatomy Study).

I’ve been really busy this week, so I really do think that I’m gonna start using some of the time management skills I’ve been learning from other artists.

Check out Afazil’s Artstation here!

Or, here’s links to LinkedIn, Instagram, and Youtube!