Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Not That Kind of Dwarf

Posted on September 26th, 2014

Not That Kind of Dwarf, parody comic by Amy Crook

Not That Kind of Dwarf, parody comic by Amy Crook

“Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to Erebor we go!”

“I’m not that kind of dwarf!”

The last of my friends’ silly sketch prompts, though I admit to taking liberties with the intent of “Thorin and his minions.” This is sort of a three-way crossover, with the Disney song sneaking in a third fandom. Because reasons.

You can get Thorin and his Minions on a card at my Etsy shop, to add a bit of surreal pop culture to the day of a very deserving friend.

Not That Kind of Dwarf, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Not That Kind of Dwarf greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Not That Kind of Dwarf greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , , , , , ,


Q. Holmes

Posted on September 24th, 2014

Q. Holmes, a fan art comic by Amy Crook

Q. Holmes, a fan art comic by Amy Crook

The second of the silly sketch prompts, proving my friends deserve me, is the crossover known as Bondlock, wherein Bond’s Q is the third Holmes brother. I imagine he’s making that face because his big brothers are giving him crap about his fashion sense, though honestly being related to those two is cause enough.

The original was sold in last month’s Floating Gallery, but you can get cards at my Etsy shop, should you so desire. They frame beautifully, or so I’m told.

Q. Holmes, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Q. Holmes greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Q. Holmes greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Continuations

Posted on September 22nd, 2014

Continuations, commission art by Amy Crook, all rights reserved

Continuations, commission art by Amy Crook

Sometimes the love of cephalopods really brings people together! Zack was looking for a squid to use in a client-side interface, and ended up becoming a patron to boot. These little guys are anthropomorphic representations of programming concepts I won’t try to explain – he says it much better than me what they’re useful for:

When working on a problem, sometimes you stumble onto a solution that you don’t quite have the words or theory to adequately describe.

I asked Amy to help me document four primitives that I found useful in composing small units of code across time and space.

And now the primitives live on my desk in a framed illustration and I don’t have to worry about forgetting them or which notebook they were documented in.

Curiously, I like looking at her illustrations, whereas, as a harsh self-critic, I don’t enjoy reading my own technical work.

I liked the outcome so much that I immediately engaged her to draw up my next design, at a much earlier stage in the process.

I would definitely recommend Amy to anyone involved in creative technical work, and I hope others would be open to the incorporation of art into technology.

Symbolic abstraction doesn’t have to be limited to the greek alphabet.

-Zack Galler, Mathlords

Continuations, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Read more here about how to get your very own commissioned art, for work or play.

Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: , , , ,
1 Comment »


Seven More

Posted on September 17th, 2014

Seven More by Amy Crook

Seven More by Amy Crook

The wonderful patron who owns Seven for a Secret wanted a similar painting to send as a gift for someone who needed cheering. I painted a lighter, bluer sky with greener, more summery trees for him. The whole painting has a much more cheery sort of sky than the original, with my new favorite flock of crows flying in the distance. I’m really starting to get the hang of the tiny crows, I think, which is why I’ve been painting bats and geese instead. Perhaps October’s trees will get some crows to go with them.

I have reports that it’s been well-received and the recipient was much cheered by it, so hooray.

Seven More, 8″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: , , , , , ,


Kittenish

Posted on September 15th, 2014

Kittenish by Amy Crook

Kittenish by Amy Crook

A while back I asked some friends for sketch prompts, and this is the first of three quite adorably silly suggestions I was given. After I sketched them, I couldn’t resist inking and coloring them, and so we have James Bond getting a face full of kitten fur from his Quartermaster.

Remember, real men head boop kittens.

The original was sold in September’s Floating Gallery, but you can get a card in my Etsy shop.

Kittenish, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

00Q Kittenish greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

00Q Kittenish greeting card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , , , , , ,


Step Into the Light

Posted on September 8th, 2014

Step Into the Light by Amy Crook

Step Into the Light by Amy Crook

I challenged myself with this piece to start with pink instead of blue, and still make something that spoke to me visually the same way Invent the Universe does. The light ended up in the center, more of a tunnel than a pathway, inviting you to step through and see what it’s like out in the light.

Step Into the Light, 8″x8″ Japanese, traditional, and metallic watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Step Into the Light, detail, by Amy Crook

Step Into the Light, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the gold lettering catching the sunlight and putting the white of the paper to shame. Below, you can see the painting in its frame, waiting for the right wall.

Step Into the Light, framed art by Amy Crook

Step Into the Light, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Words Words Words
Tags: , , , , , ,


Say My Name

Posted on September 7th, 2014

Say My Name, a Hastur parody comic by Amy Crook

Say My Name, a Hastur parody comic by Amy Crook

The King in Yellow showed up recently in pop culture True Detective, though we never did get a properly otherwordly connection to Hastur and his pallid mask. Names have power, and saying someone’s name three times has long been a traditional way to summon that which you perhaps didn’t really want in your living room. But Hasur is there for you this holiday, whether you like it or not.

Say My Name, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. Visit my Etsy shop and get a card with a relatively harmless Hastur of your very own.

Hastur holiday card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Hastur holiday card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , , ,


« Or Head Back That Way Drip divider More Art This Way »