Archive for September, 2013
Diddy Wah Diddy Illustrations
Monday, September 30th, 2013
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
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
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
Tags: all rights reserved, book illustration, commission, illustration, pen and ink
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Beetlejuice
Friday, September 27th, 2013
Beetlejuice, parody comic by Amy Crook
Say it once, say it twice, third time’s the charm… Iiiiiit’s showtime!
It’s the season for cheerful Halloween movies (okay, every season is the season, but hush), and I decided to render the Ghost with the Most in my signature “fancy stick figure” style.
I haven’t decided yet if he’d be fun on a card, but he’ll be showing up on Tuesday in October’s awesome Halloween Floating Gallery.
Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice! BEETLEJUICE!!!
Dammit, that trick never works.
Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: beetlejuice, copic marker, for sale, parody, pen and ink
J is for Journey
Tuesday, September 24th, 2013
J is for Journey, commissioned illuminated capital by Amy Crook
Predictably, one of the first letters in my Illuminated Alphabet to sell was the J is for Juxtapose. After a lot of wembling and waffling, I’ve finally completed another J for a wonderful patron who commissioned one. He was trying at first to stick to the typographical theme of the finished alphabet, but in the end it just wasn’t working with the elements he wanted.
Instead, I snuck off and finished up the sketch this way, knowing that he’s got a love of maps and using the requested orange for the main capital. The smaller letter is in Tengwar, one of Tolkien’s invented alphabets, and a letter long-beloved by my patron. The squiggly red map-line was added near the end, though usual the glitter gel pen was saved for the very last. The faux Celtic decorations on the J were added in freehand, and you can see them better in the below photo, along with a clearer idea of the orange color behind them, which my scanner tended to oversaturate.
J is for Journey by Amy Crook
Categories: Completed Commissions, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: alphabet, commission, glitter gel pen, nfs, pen and ink, watercolor
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A Hobbity Birthday
Thursday, September 19th, 2013
Hobbit Birthday Traditions, parody art by Amy Crook
Happy my-upcoming-Birthday to you! On Sunday I’ll be properly 40, and in grand hobbit tradition I have some little gifts for you.
- If you get a set of Sherlock or Doctor Who bookmarks in September, you’ll get an extra bonus bookmark. Just don’t blink.
- You can use this coupon code all through September to get 20% off anything in my Etsy shop: WHATDAYISIT
- My novel will be free on Kindle from Sept. 20-22, approximately midnight to midnight Pacific, though their servers are sometimes a bit slow to update.
- I’ll be offering something special to my Art Patron’s list as well, so keep an eye on your inbox!
Bilbo is of course available on a card, being his grumpy old self. I really enjoy antisocial old Bilbo Baggins and his dismissal of everyone else’s gossip about him. Though he still knows how to throw a party!
Bilbo Baggins Birthday card by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Card Design, Sale Post, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: bilbo baggins, birthday, copic marker, hobbit, pen and ink
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September’s Works in Progress
Monday, September 16th, 2013
abstract watercolor work in progress by Amy Crook
The month’s halfway done and so is some of the art. Above there’s a piece that’s done in a similar style as Edges, in greens and golds. It feels very map-like to me, all the tiny intricate fjords that I outlined with my smallest Micron pen.
Below, there’s a piece that waited quite some time between start and finish. I kept working on it and stopping, waiting to see what it needed, until in the end I realized what it needed was a TARDIS.
Both these pieces will be available in October’s Floating Gallery. I do hope you’ll stop in and visit!
Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey, work in progress by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Works In Progress
The Floating Gallery: How to Buy my Art
Saturday, September 14th, 2013
So what is a Floating Gallery, you ask?
Well, Dear Reader, it’s an itinerant art show of a sort, a virtual pop-up shop of strange surprises. Bimonthly for barely more than a week, the gallery floats in and sets up, offering an assortment of art originals both rare and strange.
- The Floating Gallery is open from the 1st through 8th of every even month, approximately midnight to midnight Pacific time.
- Original artwork will be displayed in the Floating Gallery for those 8 days only, and each piece is one of a kind. Once the Gallery floats away, those pieces will not be for sale again.
- My Art Patron’s List gets a few days before the 1st to sneak in and get a preview of the Gallery, and buy before the general public sees it.
- You can buy art from the Floating Gallery either by using the buy buttons on the page, or arranging a payment plan with me, but you have to decide before the 8th.
- You’ll see the little airship in the sidebar to the right if the Floating Gallery is open. Just click on it to go view the show!
- Other than commissions, this is the only way to buy my original art if you want to take a piece home. If you’re new and want to see what sort of art I make, check out my Portfolio of recent works.
Questions? Email me! I’m always happy to talk to my Dear Readers and Future Patrons.
Categories: Floating Gallery
Tags: floating gallery, info
Lucky Podsworth
Friday, September 13th, 2013
Lucky Podsworth by Amy Crook
It’s Friday the 13th, and Pod wanted to have his portrait painted, from his tentacle tail to his pink jellybean toes. He’s feeling very elegant and refined here, so clearly I’ve taken liberties.
I put him on a card with the message, “Make Your Own Luck.” I felt like in this picture he was saying something rather superior, so you can add whatever tone pleases you.
Make Your Own Luck greeting card by Amy Crook at Etsy
Categories: Card Design, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: basement cat, cat, pen and ink, pod, watercolor
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