Finding a Balance Between Scary and Sexy?

[AdventDestiny]

To me, monsters are basically the physical manifestation of fear. From are most primal fears of the past, to our modern day concerns and phobias, there's a monster that represents that...

So I feel that the best form of monster girl that blends the aspects of human beauty and sexuallity, with the fearsome and animalistic quality of a monster. And that's what I'd really like to do on Daughters of Pandora, whether it becomes the premise for a game, the script for a film, or a simple literary series.

Of course, here lies the problem; I know what I want... I just don't quite know how to pull it off! I have a whole list of potential classes and species. I want to combine aspects of classic monsters from film, with elements of the archetypal enemies from video games. I have an catalogue of tips and instructions on developing both film and game monsters, the former being more informative, but the game style being my preference, because of class diversity and clearly defined roles.

It's just that I have little to no experience when it comes to finding a balance between something that can feel terrifying, like a traditional monster, and also make it attractive and sexual, like the more Japanese themed Mamono from Kenkous Cross' Monster Girl Encyclopedia. I was kinda hoping that some members here could help give me an idea of where to begin. Honestly, what is it that you guys consider is beautiful about monster girls in general?

[Drazzimyr]

As a part of the teratophilia community, who says scary and sexy can't be synonymous?

Then again, that's a little biased on my part.

I'd say look into what people consider attractive and then what they consider scary. Look across different cultures around the world and see where these features can be intersected without canceling each other out.

[AdventDestiny]

As a part of the teratophilia community, who says scary and sexy can't be synonymous?

Ironically, some of the monster making advice I've researched discourages making monsters sexy, because it's supposed to kill the fear element of it... I can understand the concept in regards to general monster fans, though I have to question that statement with the simple fact that there are people who are afraid of things like sexuallity and nudity, so saying that a monster can't be attractive and also scary is just stupid to me! That said, the principle of making something sexy and scary is easier said than done.

Approaching the two concepts seperately is a really good idea, thank you for the advice Drazzimyr. Though I still have the problem of figuring out how to blend to two together; the biggest problem I face is there are very few examples of the concept I'm trying to create, in any media format... which is why I'm so determined to achieve my goal despite the challenges, because I've become weary of endlessly trawling the web, searching for something that is rare, when I can instead create what I'm searching for!

[Creator_Drake]

I'd say look into what people consider attractive and then what they consider scary. Look across different cultures around the world and see where these features can be intersected without canceling each other out.

You could also go at this the opposite way, look at what people consider scary first, then attractive. Also, looking at how a situation is made scary helps as well. Playing games like Outlast or Alien:Isolation would be great for atmospheric study.

What's the monsters behaviour when it hunts? Is fear instilled by being that shadow you see fro the corner of your eye then disappears when you turn to look at it?

How is the fear perpetuated? Does the monsters human 'prey' have any chance of returning to their friends or no? How hard must humans work to combat the monster if confronted?

[Drazzimyr]

thank you for the advice Drazzimyr

You're welcome, glad to help.

I'd say look into what people consider attractive and then what they consider scary. Look across different cultures around the world and see where these features can be intersected without canceling each other out.

You could also go at this the opposite way, look at what people consider scary first, then attractive. Also, looking at how a situation is made scary helps as well. Playing games like Outlast or Alien:Isolation would be great for atmospheric study.

What's the monsters behaviour when it hunts? Is fear instilled by being that shadow you see fro the corner of your eye then disappears when you turn to look at it?

How is the fear perpetuated? Does the monsters human 'prey' have any chance of returning to their friends or no? How hard must humans work to combat the monster if confronted?

What Creator_Drake said as well. You can look the other way and see what makes people afraid of things first. Also, if you want to reach a wider audience, look at combining aspects of scary/sexy across different cultures. Find where what's considered attractive in one country and see where it can be combined with what's scary in another.

Also, read up on some horror literature for inspiration. For practice, find out what's scary about Cthulhu and combine that with aspects that are considered attractive in an area where Cthulhu is read about a lot.

Let us use Godzilla for an example on the scary/sexy combination spectrum. Godzilla is an atomic bomb with legs and covered in scales that makes every area he walks through uninhabitable. Try to combine the deadly nature of Godzilla, with the power woman can have.

[AdventDestiny]

Love the Godzilla suggestion, been trying to create a monster girl using that premise for over a year now! I've also looked up some information in regards to universial qualities of beauty and phobias, bit hap hazard, but there's plenty of stuff for me to work off of, thanks for the tip!

What's the monsters behaviour when it hunts? Is fear instilled by being that shadow you see fro the corner of your eye then disappears when you turn to look at it?

How is the fear perpetuated? Does the monsters human 'prey' have any chance of returning to their friends or no? How hard must humans work to combat the monster if confronted?

The hunting behavior for the monster girls I definitely want to be very scary, very monster movie-esque. I'd have to say that in regards to escaping once captured is pretty slim, but it does depend on the person captured.

As for how hard they have to fight, it'd be pretty hard; with a diversity of specialized species of monster girl, each with some sort of weapon or attribute meant to aid in capturing humans, and always being in some way stronger or faster than us, the chances of getting away from a monster girl without some sort of weapon is about as slim as the chances of the hooker in a horror film managing to escape the masked slasher pursuing her!