Posts Tagged ‘illustration’

Diddy Wah Diddy Illustrations

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Diddy Wah Diddy by Corey Mesler, with interior illustrations by Amy Crook

Diddy Wah Diddy by Corey Mesler, with interior illustrations by Amy Crook

This spring & summer I had the privilege to illustrate a literary novel! It’s been a really wonderful experience working with the editor, Jason, to add interior illustrations* to Corey’s richly-textured novel of Beale Street, Memphis, and the mythology of the blues.

Corey’s prose is full of rich character, and it was really easy to find images to go with it. Jason chose a scribbled black-and-white style of mine for the illustrations, and I did 9 images total, sprinkled throughout the book. He’d pick a story and have me read through it, then either ask for something specific, or something that went well with the story. I tried to keep everything as loose as a good blues jam, and capture the feel of each story.

The whole novel fits together to tell how a community went from its height of mythic glory, dipped down, and started building itself back up again. Everything is steeped in the language of the era and the feel of the blues, and I hope you’ll head on over to Ampersand Books and give it a shot!

illustration from Diddy Wah Diddy

illustration from Diddy Wah Diddy

Above, you can see a woman chilling at the bar, enjoying a legendary cocktail, helping to set the scene for the book. Below, I chose the author’s favorite of the group. I’ll let you read the book to find out how the werewolf ended up in the jar.

another illustration from Diddy Wah Diddy

another illustration from Diddy Wah Diddy

If you’ve got a project that you think needs my illustrator’s touch, I’ve got info here about how you can hire me.

*Their designer did the cover, which is rich and red and beautifully sets the mood for the prose within.

Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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meh

Saturday, May 19th, 2012

meh Puppy t-shirt design by Amy Crook

meh Puppy t-shirt design by Amy Crook

I actually drew this little guy on my whiteboard a few weeks ago, and I was so fond of him I redrew him in Illustrator and put him on a t-shirt. Personally I have enough t-shirts to choke a small elephant, but I might have to buy one of him anyway, since there are just a lot of meh days to go around and my sad panda shirt can’t do all the heavy lifting.

meh Puppy, Adobe Illustrator & Wacom tablet.

Categories: Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange
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Ink Roses

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Ink Rose 2 by Amy Crook

Ink Rose 2 by Amy Crook

I drew these a while back as a set of clip art for a project that never got off the ground. I always did enjoy adding little illustrative touches to my designs, and of course I swear I covered half my notes in high school with drawings of roses. One of the dangers of being a young Goth, I suppose.

I really do like the brush pen work here, full of quivery, half-there lines that give a real sense of texture and delicacy to the flowers, leaves, and stems. Something good to remember next time I’m inking!

Ink Roses by Amy Crook

Ink Roses by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
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