The mists roll in, the waves churn, and something ancient stirs from beneath the foam. In this Fantasy Art Workshop, we dive into the eerie depths of the how-to art book SCARED! How To Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters — learning to conjure the Sea Hag, a sinister creature born of saltwater and shadow.
This edition takes a more horror-inspired turn, perfect for the season — blending my own battle with Thought-Goblins (those little critics that whisper “you can’t draw that”) with pages from the book that explore the roots of pulp horror, monstrous comics, and the ghoulish lineage of fantasy illustration. So grab your pencils, brave the brine, and join me as we sketch something straight from the abyss.
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This Week’s Rediscovered Realms Theme Song:
Raise a tankard and mind the tide — this week’s tune drifts in from the salt-stained taverns of the coast! “S’anghela of the Shimmering Shoals” tells the tale of a trickster sea hag who toys with sailors, charms the bold, and vanishes with the dawn. A bawdy, whimsical doggerel sung by both sailors and S’anghela herself — half shanty, half curse, and all fun.
Before you grab your drawing implements and dive into how to bring the Sea Hag to life, let’s take a peek inside Scared! How to Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters — a how-to book that celebrates the spooky side of illustration. From pulp roots to comic-book ghouls, it’s a fun reminder that “macabre” doesn’t have to mean morbid — just monstrously imaginative.
The book is the collaboration of Steve Miller and Bryan Baugh. Miller is a veteran how-to and fantasy-art author whose earlier title Freaks! How to Draw Fantastic Fantasy Creatures helped launch his drawing-guide series, and he brings that instructional background to this horror-comic volume.
Baugh is an illustrator and storyboard artist whose creative work spans comics, animated TV shows, and character design; his co-authorship here brings a comic-book edge to the monster drawing lessons.
Together they offer both historical context and step-by-step visuals in this 2004 book designed to help artists create horror-style characters with the energy of comic panels.
A Sampling of The Company of Creeps
Can’t have a Sea Hag without a few friends from the depths of despair! Here’s a quick look at some of my favorites you can draw with “Scared! How To Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters” — a creepy cast of creatures that would make any classic monster fan grin with ghoulish delight.
Now that we’ve toured the eerie pages of Scared! How to Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters, it’s time to put those lessons to work. Grab your pencils & colors, steady your nerves, and join me as we bring one of its creepiest creations to life — the Sea Hag herself.
Conjuring the Crone of the Coast
Behold, The Salty Sea Witch!
And here’s how to draw her:
With just those 2 pages as a guide, we’re off! Here is my sketchbook progression (along with personal accounts of the Thought-Goblins who kept attacking me):
Loose, light lines to block in the major shapes.
Adding a few placeholders for the major details.
But now what?
Since the book goes straight from this stage to the finalized colored stage, I felt a bit of overwhelm.
There seemed no way I would ever achieve the detailed perfection of their finished piece, so to what level do I try, and at what point do I stop and just accept it as “good enough”?
Funny enough, I recall in childhood this being the biggest stopping point in trying to follow the “how-to” drawing books of the day. They were like, “you just need to draw some circles and triangles” . . . and in the next step . . . “voila! Instant Spider Man!” Yeah, not so much.
Now in adulthood, I remind myself of several things to not just keep encouraged, but have fun along the way:
There is no need to stress out about emulating things perfectly. 99% of the time, it will turn out cool in its own way and in its own imperfect style. Expect this. Trust this.
It’s ok to keep erasing and redrawing things (especially easy if I remember to draw with a light enough hand!)
Don’t quit whenever the self-critical Thought-Goblins encourage me to crumple, cry, and move on to something else.
Breaks give perspective. Stepping away for some time (or a day) gets my focus more macro than micro, and “refreshes” my eyes to appreciate what my amateur self has accomplished.
There was one time years ago when I was trying to learn how to paint with watercolors from a paint-a-day calendar and that day’s project was a simple apple. I was sooooo frustrated & disgusted with how my apple looked after painting over it again and again for seemingly hours that I wanted to scream. I thought it was the most terrible apple that had ever been appled in the history of mankind. The next day when I looked at it with fresh eyes, I couldn’t believe how I could have thought that way. It looked . . . life-like. I even wanted to bite into it.
And finally, it’s great to be inspired by other artists, but usually not so much to compare myself to them. As an amateur artist with no plans of ever going pro, I simply want to have fun with my creations and Comparison-Ghouls are the thieves of joy. Toss them off the boat and into the sea!
So I decided to use the authors’ finished illustration and pick and choose the details and level of coloring/shading I would aspire to.
I proceeded to pencil in most of the remaining specific details that seemed within my comfort level.
Not expecting perfection in any way, at this stage I decided to use ink for some of the major outlines and start coloring with magic markers to block-in broad sections.
Starting with her skin, then moving to her clothing, then cane.
Not having ever really colored my adult artwork with markers before, this gave me some anxiety.
I also realized that the colored markers were covering up my pencil strokes so that I could no longer see them. So time to stop coloring and pick the ink pen back up.
Would I ruin my sketch? Was it going to look dumb?
No way out but through . . .
Self-critic Thought-Goblin attack round twenty-two. “Where are you going with this?” “I think you ruined it.” “Ugh, there are gaps and marker strokes that look horrible.”
It’s ok. I’ll just keep using my pen to finalize the details, put additional layers of marker color to smooth out the offending strokes, and block in some of the darker colors for shading to see how that looks.
Hey, I’m kinda starting to like how she is turning out. Even if I stopped here, I would be proud of myself. But now that I’ve gotten through the major parts, I feel excitement for the last sprint of putting in some finer details.
“But the hair. Oh boy. Not sure how you’re going to do that. Won’t you ruin the entire illustration?”
“And the hatching on the hands and face? That could be dangerous as well.”
I’ll just try my best with all that, use my pen to re-ink any lines and borders that got obscured by the markers, and erase any stray pencil marks.
And so, after focusing on those individual sections one by one, here is my final illustration. Here is the part where I temporarily vanquished those pesky Thought-Goblins and decided this work was good enough for my taste.
Tremble and Behold,
MY Sea Hag!
Is it a masterpiece? Maybe not to you, but to me she is. I had fun and fought off my Thought-Goblins to stick with it. I learned a lot and feel a sense of creative fulfillment.
Plus, in its own cronish way, I find my Sea Hag quite a beautiful catch that I refuse to crumple up and toss back into the sea (where those Comparison-Ghouls now bob around).
So next time you’re sketching your creatures, heroes and dragons, remember — every great monster begins as a few brave lines on the page. The Sea Hag — with her gnarled fingers and tide-worn face reminds us that imagination, fulfillment & fun thrives in both the light and the murk.
Until next time, keep your pencils sharp and your lanterns lit, Fearless Adventurer, and be wary of the critical creatures that rise from the deep that try to conquer your creativity!
Do you enjoy drawing creepy or monstrous characters — or do you prefer the noble and heroic?
Do Thought-Goblins or Comparison-Ghouls keep you from starting or finishing creative projects? How do you deal with them?
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S’anghela of the Shimmering Shoals [Verse 1 – Sailors] Oh gather ‘round, ye briny dogs, and heed this sailor’s tale, Of S’anghela the sea hag, who’ll make yer courage pale! She’ll wink from out the water, her hair all green and long, And lure ye in with laughter — before ye’re dead and gone! [Chorus – All] 🎶 Yo-ho-ho, the waves they roll, S’anghela’s heart’s as black as coal! She’ll steal yer breath, she’ll drink yer soul, That witch of the shimmering shoals! 🎶 [Verse 2 – S’anghela] Oh hush now, lads, ye make me blush — I’m not so cruel a fiend, I only drown the handsome ones (and those who smell unclean)! I braid me kelp with moonlight strands, I sip the sailor’s tears, I kiss their lips, I steal their ships, and vanish for a year! [Chorus – All] 🎶 Yo-ho-ho, the waves they roll, S’anghela’s laugh could sink a shoal! She’ll flirt and flay, she’ll take her toll, That witch of the shimmering shoals! 🎶 [Verse 3 – Sailor #2] She rose one night near Port o’ Doom, all draped in pearly slime, Said, “Captain, you look weary, love — come rest a little time.” He leaned to kiss her wicked grin, she pulled him ‘neath the spray, Now his ghost still swabs her seaweed deck and hums this tune all day! [Bridge – S’anghela, teasing tone] I never meant to hurt ‘em much, I only meant to play — But when they flirt with sea-born queens, the tide takes them away! [Final Chorus – All, rowdy tavern reprise] 🎶 Yo-ho-ho, the breakers roar, No sailor’s safe from S’anghela’s shore! She’ll toast yer bones and beg for more, That witch of the shimmering shoals! 🎶 (optional tag, shouted over mugs) “Drink up, lads — before she drinks ye!”
Great work on the art there! And thank you for sharing the feelings you had. I do kind of remember those "how to draw" things you mentioned. And yes, there did seem to be a bit of a jump like the "then a miracle occurs" bit in the "Far Side" comic. Or like how LEGO set instructions used to be where the difference between one picture and the next felt like several dozen blocks- or a whole new item!
I totally understand the feelings and have (still do) experienced them time and again.
Your sea hag came out great. I've always had a soft spot for the pulp horror style. As a kid, it was scary but you knew a heroic knight or Doc Savage and the boys would swing in to save the day. Ha.
Great work on the art there! And thank you for sharing the feelings you had. I do kind of remember those "how to draw" things you mentioned. And yes, there did seem to be a bit of a jump like the "then a miracle occurs" bit in the "Far Side" comic. Or like how LEGO set instructions used to be where the difference between one picture and the next felt like several dozen blocks- or a whole new item!
I totally understand the feelings and have (still do) experienced them time and again.
Your sea hag came out great. I've always had a soft spot for the pulp horror style. As a kid, it was scary but you knew a heroic knight or Doc Savage and the boys would swing in to save the day. Ha.