Prove yourself as the best artist for the week

Greetings, friends!

I am @emmaboy23 from Nigeria.

Drawing has always been my favourite medium of expression because it allows me to transform imagination into reality with the simplest of tools. While many drawings celebrate beauty and peace, I wanted to walk a different path — one filled with fear, suspense, and the darkness of imagination. For this week’s contest, “Prove Yourself as the Best Artist This Week”, organised by @dequeen, I chose to create a horror-inspired piece that brings together two powerful contrasts: the holiness of a nun and the terrifying aura of a demon. The result is a haunting figure with horns, hollow eyes, and a scream that feels alive on the page. Below, I will share the creative journey and the step-by-step process I followed in making this piece.

Materials needed

• A4 paper

• HB pencil

• charcoal pencil

• graphite pencil

• eraser

• sharpener

• black pen

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1

I wanted to draw something that would combine two worlds: holiness and evil. So with my pencil, I began by lightly sketching the head shape and the horns placed at the top of the head.

Step 2

Once the structure was in place, I started adding details to the face. Wrinkles and skin folds were drawn to give the character an aged, decayed look. The eyes were left empty, without pupils, to create that haunting, soulless effect. I then shaped the gums and teeth, making them sharp and terrifying to strengthen the horror expression.

Step 3

After the face, I sketched the nun’s traditional robe and veil while also giving details to the horns. This was important because the black veil frames the face and makes the monstrous expression stand out.

Step 4

Next I added the beads. Around the neck, I added rosary beads with crosses, a small but powerful detail to contrast the demonic theme with a symbol of faith.

Step 5

This is the last stage where I added cross-hatching and darker tones around the wrinkles, mouth, and horns. This gave the drawing depth and a three-dimensional appearance. I cleaned up leftover pencil marks and refined the rosary to make sure it stood out clearly. Then my pencil drawing is now complete; below is my final result.

Here's a selfie of me and my drawing.