What is Tiny Terrors?

Concept

Tiny Terrors is my collection of kawaii styled designs of cryptids, monsters, creatures & spooky folklore!

I’m such a huge fan of horror and kawaii/cute styles, so I wanted to combine the two into adorable designs.

My ultimate plan is to do a design of every cryptid that I can; while also adding some of my favorite iconic monsters and creatures throughout movies, books, tv, and folklore!

Origin

Tiny Terrors was formed when I was messing around with a design for a mothman. I had originally made it to be something that would get added to my Legends in Panel collection. The only problem was that it felt super out of place. It didnt fit the iconic character profile; in my opinion. So I needed to rethink what I wanted to do with it.

I then decided to delete a lot of the design and start oversimplifying the shapes and overall narrative. While sitting there not sure what I should do, I then decided to lean more into the cute / kawaii style instead of trying to make a fantasy portrait version of mothman (as cool as that would be). Once I had that plan figured out, the design came fairly quickly. I now had a cute Mothman that I could make into stickers and such.

This then gave me the idea to make little cute designs of spooky things ranging from all media. I had decided at that point that I was going to take my favorite creatures and monsters & make them into tiny versions of themselves. This was perfect! Now I didnt have to add everything to my legends in panel collection / I could just keep that separate and make only monsters / creatures for my tiny terrors!

Visual Style & Influences

As you can probably tell, the overall visual style is based heavily on Kawaii art styles. I’ve always been a sucker for these adorable aesthetics. Each and every one has a definitive look and presentation that’s so gorgeous and cute! So I definitely wanted to tackle this aesthetic and incorporate my own personal taste into the scene.

Apart from direct Kawaii influences, I love Pokémon. I love the way the artists show their amazing talent.

With a combination of these type of illustrations, I found a way to mix my heavy line work and simple shading into a kawaii style that shows my love for the community.

Narratives & Meaning

Since I’m a huge fan of horror, it was a no-brainer that I would love to make artwork and designs of cryptids, monsters, and spooky folklore. I’ve always been a massive fan of cryptids, Mothman being my personal favorite, but I wanted to present them as cute designs rather than actually creepy or spooky.

When I started making the first sketches and ideas of what I wanted to do, I quickly figured out that I wanted the designs to be something more than just the creature / cryptid. This turned into wanting to build tiny snap-shots / scenes of the cryptids / monsters (like as if they’re in a snow globe, with their own little world). Once I established this narrative, I starting spending more time creating a full tiny environment that this cute terror would live in; resulting in Tiny Terrors.

Design Process

Because I wanted the designs to be tiny environments with the creatures just doing their thing, I quickly needed to figure out the best way to show this! Many different iterations spawned while I was finding what I ultimately landed on. I started making them like I usually do (which involved full vertical artworks like my legends in panel; with created logos, full dynamic environments, and poster-like design). But the more I looked at them, the more they didn’t fit the vision I wanted.

I then started simplifying the designs and figured out the best look was to think of them in regards to being tiny 3D models done in a 2D. This started working immediately and I fell in love with the design of them.

I finally ended up realizing that these were perfect for stickers, which allowed for me to get exactly how I wanted these cute creatures to be created!

Why The Tiny Terrors Name?

“Tiny” is meant to portray a miniature version / diorama of the overall design. A little cute 3D model of a full scene that displays the monster in its environment; but done in a 2D style.

“Terror” is that every being im making a design for is pulled from an overall horror aesthetic. This ranges from folklore, cryptids, movies, books, old tales, video games, etc. They just have to be related to something spooky for it to belong in the collection!

The Future!

I plan on having so many of these cute guys! My notes tab has a list that’s so long and I can’t wait to make them all. The beauty of these little designs, is that they’re not super taxing on making. They are some of my easiest designs and I have a blast making them.

So for the future, be prepared to see so many of them! I plan on tackling pretty much any iconic horror monster that exists (old and new)! If there’s one you haven’t seen yet, either send me a message asking for one specifically or it may just show up one day! I’m not entirely sure which ones I’ll do first, but if you ask for one, I can move that up the list and start working on it sooner than later!

Curious About More Info?

Feel free to contact me & ask me any questions you have! I’m a super open book & absolutely love engaging with amazing people! Just head over to my contact page & send me a message! :)

Tiny Terrors Portfolio Breakdown

The Jackalope V2

The Jackalope is a mythical creature from North American folklore, described as a jackrabbit with antelope or deer antlers. The lore originated from a taxidermy joke in Douglas, Wyoming. It’s known for being fearsome, able to mimic human voices, and lured with whiskey.

The Yule Cat

The Yule cat is a mythical cat in Icelandic Christmas folklore. It is said to be huge, vicious, to lurk in the snowy countryside, and eat people (mainly children) who do not receive new clothing before Christmas Eve. It’s also been perceived to be a means to teach people to make clothing so that they can survive the upcoming winter weather.

The Yeti

The Yeti, or “Abominable Snowman” is a legendary ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan mountains, deeply rooted in Tibetan folklore. Often described as large, bipedal, and hairy, it’s portrayed as a reclusive creature. Yeti’s also looked as a guardians against evil spirits, however, hearing or seeing one is often considered a bad omen.

The Mothman

The Mothman is a legendary winged humanoid creature with glowing red eyes, first reported in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, between November 1966 and December 1967. Witnesses described a 7-foot-tall man-like bird, often associated with impending disasters like the 1967 Silver Bridge collapse. It remains a major figure in American folklore and cryptozoology.

The Kaiju

Godzilla is a giant monster, or kaiju, that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. Godzilla is a colossal, mostly 100 m tall, prehistoric reptilian or dinosaurian monster that is amphibious that resides partially in the ocean, awakened and empowered after many years by exposure to nuclear radiation and nuclear testing.

The Clown

Derived and inspired from It. The Clown, also known as Robert "Bob" Gray, commonly known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, is the titular main antagonist of Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It and its adaptations.

The Scarecrow

A scarecrow is a human-shaped decoy, typically stuffed with straw and dressed in old clothes, used by farmers to deter birds like crows from damaging crops. Historically originating in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, they rely on a bird's natural fear of humans to protect fields. Modernly, they are also popular autumn decorations and a classic staple in horror culture.

The Jackalope V1

This was my first Jackalope design while I was still trying to figure out the best style I wanted for the Tiny Terrors. Given that I’ve made a 2nd Version, this has been technically replaced. But, it still has a place in my heart for it being the second ever Tiny Terror I ever designed.

My Process on How I Design a Tiny Terror…

  • Brainstorming / Border

    Because I know I need to have a final shape established for cool looking stickers, I start by figuring out the best border; while also implementing something that immediately pops into my head *example being these evergreen trees for the yule cat*

  • Foreground / Starting Environment

    I then needed to get a grasp of how the environment foreground should be. When imagining the full concept in my head, I wanted a path for the tiny town I wanted in the yule cat design.

  • Mid-ground / Environment Building

    After getting a sense of what I wanted, I started designing 2 little Scandinavian town houses which give a feel for the whole mid-ground 3D look to the design. I already knew for this design what I wanted, so I just kept working the shapes until it came into what I liked.

  • Adding Character / Background

    Finally I now have a main basis for where I wanted to put the main focal point (the creature / character im designing). I can then work out a background that captures the full scene I wanted!

  • Coloring / Lighting / Front Design

    Now that I’ve got a good understanding of the line work, I started adding coloring and shading to get my lighting setup and the overall feel for the scene itself.

  • Mid-Ground Coloring / Editing

    This is where I knew how i wanted to separate the different layers of foreground to mid-ground to background using shading and lighting.

  • Main Character Coloring / Shading

    This is where I finally get a good envision of what I saw in my head. This is typically the part of the process that takes me the longest. I consistently go back and forth with color ideas, shapes and re-designing how things should look.

  • Finishing Color & Finalizing Design

    I then get to the final background elements, allowing me to get the overall design to where it needs to be! Here’s where I make the most changes by leaving the art and coming back to see if I ultimately want to change something!

  • Final Design Layout

    Now we get to my favorite part of the design…..finalizing it and making it ready for printing. Here’s where I finally add an outside sticker border and give it a print background. This is also where I add whatever effects and extra sauce to bring the design to its final form!

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