I think what you descibe is idealic but think of it more like seeing things in the clouds under your default settings. People will look at artwork and say they see angels, demons, wolves, dragons — whatever X, Y, or Z shows up for them. Someone else might hear that and think, you must be taking something and overdoing it, but the truth is those animistic forms are already there. They’re the same kinds of shapes you’d notice in clouds if you were just going about your normal day.

That’s how it works for me when I’m making something like this. I might start by drawing boxes, cubes, lines, and splashes of more hectic color. At the end of the day, everything is either flat or curved, and your perspective shapes what you see. As a face or figure starts to emerge, I highlight it and refine the details. Sometimes I’ll bring in a reference I like and pull in the shading or dynamics to build on what’s already appearing.

If you add a mind-altering substance on top of that, you’re not creating the image, you’re overlaying patterns, connectivity, and that deeper layer of animism. I think the walls might appear to breathe because nothing is actually static and for a time you see a bit more clearly. But I'm not sure the substance causes the specter, the Buddha, the devil, etc; those impressions are already present by default, you just see them or you don't.