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Style Workshop 001: Creepy Critters
About the style: This is a good style for new artists to start with, or people who feel they can't draw. It allows you to see how some small details can change a picture and how to start drawing right away using simple shapes.
 References for this style: This style was inspired by many things including Tim Burton movies (such as Nightmare Before Christmas), the how to draw manga book on occult and horror art, gothic clothing sites (like Hottopic.com), comic books, and cartoons.
Using Simple Shapes: There's a lot you can do with simple shapes. Simple shapes like the ones shown here can be used for heads, bodies, tails, arms and so forth.
 The Eyes: Creepy eyes are very simple and there are many styles. Eyes are one of the most major elements for characters and help you to tell characters apart. Some things to keep in mind:
Plain solid shapes such as circles and triangles work fine for eyes. They can be filled in dark or left light (or a combination) and create a creepy "blank" look.
Circles with dots in the middle create a creepy "stare" look.
X's for eyes create a dead or doll look.
Spirals for eyes can create a crazy look.
Shadowing/messy lines make the eyes look sunken (for dead or tired eyes)
Varying the SIZE of eyes and making them different sizes, as well as how close or far apart you place them can create different looks. 
 Stitches: Stitches can also add a lot of atmosphere and detail to a character (for dolls, toys, and undead characters). Experiment using even or uneven stitches. Stitches can be used for many features too, most commonly the mouth.
Stripes: Adding stripes is a great idea, these can be on socks, or for arms, legs, necks and so on.
 Mouths: Draw simple stitches or lines, or create a more crazy look by making an oddly shaped mouth. I often use distorted squares for creepy grins. To draw a more normal mouth just draw a very wide m and then put a flattened u shape under it. Another thing to keep in mind about mouths is their width. For some really creepy characters draw stitches for the mouth that go all the way across the face, or draw the mouth curving up the side of the face.
Noses: Noses can be left off, or be simple small shapes or stitches. Skeleton noses are normally two dots or a ^ shape.
Putting the features together
Some interesting effects can be achieved by leaving OUT features, for example you can draw a character with just eyes. Or with just eyes and a nose, or with just eyes and a mouth (I often leave out the nose).
 Bodies, hands etc.
When drawing smaller, cute/creepy characters you don't necessarily have to include as many connecting shapes. For dolls or animals I often leave out the neck and sometimes the hands and feet too. If you do want to draw hands try making them up of simple shapes.
Other tips
Here are some samples of characters created with this style. You can also incorporate elements from this style (such as the stitches, eyes, and stripes) into more realistic styles. One good way to create cute and creepy characters that are memorable is to draw creepy characters with a cute element. For example add hearts or flowers, or make a creepy doll saying something cute like "Love me" or holding a sign that says something cute or nasty like "drop dead".
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