10 Incredible Pieces Of Silent Hill Concept Art You Have To See

Horror can come from many things throughout fiction. Most notably they have come from films dealing with the likes of Dracula and Frankenstein. Over time, horror has begun to evolve whether it’s the more recent slasher flicks, or in the video game industry.

One of the most prominent horror game series to ever exist is the Resident Evil franchise, which primarily deals with zombies. But for years its main rival was Silent Hill, which is incredibly beloved thanks to its atmosphere and terrifying dichotomy on human psychology. This is in due part thanks to the concept art for the series, some of which braver souls can explore below.

10 Abstract Horror

The creepy Larval Stalker that has appeared throughout the Silent Hill franchise, and here is one of its earliest designs. Although they have more of a form thanks to the 3D models that are in the games, it seems to have initially been intended to look more abstract and almost two-dimensional.

It may be terrifying to have a creepy baby crawl over to the main character, but by having the abstract elements of the enemy, it opens up a sense of dread and unknown for the player.

9 A Different Take On Character Design

Created by concept artist Takayoshi Sato, it is a very interesting take from standard character art. Normally in video games, the concept art is often full of color or digital paint. However, many times the artist begins with traditional sketching, as can be seen here. In this early form, Sato was able to capture the humanity of the character as well as their hidden insecurities.

8 The Parent And The Child

A gorgeous piece created by Masahiro Ito, this one is based on Silent Hill 3 and was one of the illustrations within the novelization. Here it depicts the original main character Harry Mason as he is holding hands with the protagonist of the third game, Heather Mason. Done in a black and white manner similar to charcoal, there is plenty of strong form and depth that makes the characters stand out incredibly well.

7 Pyramid Scheme

A sharp contrast to the previous art, this is another piece created by Masahiro Ito. Differing from the charcoal aesthetic of the novel, this one is digitally painted and shows the Silent Hill franchise’s most iconic monster, Pyramid Head.

The background is a simple blood red but the added blacks and browns give texture to further increase the horror elements of the monster. Of course, Pyramid Head himself is well painted with the blade in particularly being finely detailed.

6 Crawling Monstrosity

Concept art that appears during Silent Hill: Origins, this is an unused design for the game. In spite of this, it does show some of the creative directions the developers were willing to take with their designs. Here, this monster has this really grotesque design that shows the beast intertwined with a wheelchair

Unlike a lot of Silent Hill art, this isn’t completely gory, effectively going for a more mummified and burned look to the creature.

5 Beyond Understanding

Going along with the disgusting monster designs is the worm for the game Silent Hill: Homecoming. Here, the artist put in simple elements to make this somewhat simple design very effective.

From the subtle details of shadows within the anatomy to the color scheme, it really leaves a lot to fear and be disgusted by for anyone that comes across this monster.

4 Deep In Thought

One of the most prominent themes behind the Silent Hill franchise is the humanity that is felt across all the characters. The town of Silent Hill is a way for the characters to look into the worst aspects of themselves and dealing with them. This is shown quite clearly with Shattered Memories as that game’s updated version of Harry Mason is looking at the photo of his daughter.

3 Trapped

In contrast to Harry Mason is the character Murphy Pendleton, shown here inside a jail cell. What’s interesting about this concept art is the color choices as it isn’t completely black and white, instead having bluish hues to show the night time aesthetic and dreary mood. The best touch may be the writings that are all over the wall, always a creepy touch in a horror game.

2 Welcome To Silent Hill

The next piece of concept art doesn’t come from any of the games, but from the first Silent Hill movie. Although video game movies often get a bad rep, it can’t be denied that the art direction at least tried to do right by the look and feel of its source material.

Here was see the classic Silent Hill town sign and its signature fog emanating all over the town and setting the stage for a truly unsettling visit.

1 Serene Beauty

Finally, the last entry to end off the list is the background forest from P.T. Although not Silent Hill in name, the teaser was a taste of what could’ve been Silent Hills as worked on by Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear) and starring The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus.

Although circumstances resulted in the playable demo being removed from stores and Silent Hills being canceled, it is interesting to see what could’ve been based not only on the demo itself but in concept art like this.

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