Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Tentacle Spiral 2

Posted on January 31st, 2012

Tentacle Spiral 2 watercolor by Amy Crook

Tentacle Spiral 2 by Amy Crook

As predicted, I’ve got a second installment for my Tentacle Spiral series. This started out as something else, but once I looked at the smudgy, swirly green background I just knew it needed tentacles. I mixed up a very dark green that’s a little translucent, so you can see some of the other colors where the tentacles grow thin, as though they’re not quite fully in this world.

Tentacle Spiral 2, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Tentacle Spiral 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Spiral 2, detail, by Amy Crook

These tentacle spiral pieces also look very cool when photographed at an angle like this, so much so I even made a wallpaper of this one. It’s been ages since I shared one, so I figured it was about time.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Free Wallpapers, Series and Books, Tentacles
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Abandon All Hope

Posted on January 30th, 2012

Abandon All Hope print by Amy Crook

Abandon All Hope print by Amy Crook

A perfect message for your Monday, really, this print reads:

ABANDON ALL HOPE
Ye Who Enter Here*

*If you have already abandoned all
hope, please disregard this notice.

I saw this quote on a LOLcat ages ago, which of course I totally failed to bookmark, and made a digital poster of it. I could never quite bring myself to list it in my Etsy shop, however, and I think that was because it just wasn’t really my style. So, I took watercolor and Sharpie marker and remade it by hand with scribbly Amy-style Sharpie calligraphy, and I liked it so much I’m keeping the original.

Abandon All Hope, 8″x10″ watercolor and Sharpie Marker on paper, not for sale. However, prints are available at my Etsy shop.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Words Words Words
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Flying Spaghetti Monster

Posted on January 28th, 2012

Flying Spaghetti Monster sketch by Amy Crook

Flying Spaghetti Monster sketch by Amy Crook

Have you been Touched by His Noodly Appendage?

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
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Harry Potter Valentines

Posted on January 25th, 2012

Harry Potter Valentine cartoon by Amy Crook

Harry Potter Valentine cartoon by Amy Crook

I wanted to make a silly Harry Potter Valentine card this year for my friends who love these characters, since not all of my friends got all fannish about Sherlock the way I did. One of them suggested Snape teaching Harry to brew those candy message hearts, and after googling for some bad Latin, this is the card front.

Of course, I couldn’t stop there, we had to see the results!

Harry & Snape's Candy Hearts

Harry & Snape's Candy Hearts

As you can see, someone’s got a bit of a crush on his teacher, but Snape’s still in denial. I’m sure it’ll have a happy ending, though.

Apericordis, 7″x5″ pen and ink and Copic markers on paper. You can get your own copy of this silly little card here on Etsy.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Tentacle Deeps 24

Posted on January 24th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 24 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 24 by Amy Crook

It’s Tuesday the 24th, which is the perfect day for Tentacle Deeps 24, don’t you think? It’s a good thing I’ve got it all ready to go.

I have really been enjoying my block of 4″x8″ watercolor paper, especially for the tentacles, although it means I’ll need to figure out a framing and matting situation for them sooner or later. I like the sense of depth it gives them with the extra vertical space above, in this case where the yellows shine in and then filter down through the textured space into bluer greens at the bottom. The tentacles are scribbled in with fountain pen on the black and brush pen on the grey.

Tentacle Deeps 24, 4″x8″ pen and ink and watercolor on paper.

I have to admit, I think every single one of the Tentacle Deeps paintings looks cool photographed this way, so I will probably never stop adding in the gratuitous creepy detail shots.

Tentacle Deeps 24, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 24, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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Moon Valley

Posted on January 23rd, 2012

Moon Valley watercolor by Amy Crook

Moon Valley watercolor by Amy Crook

I’ve been working for many months now on the re-launch of Moon Valley Astrologer, and it’s finally up, huzzah!

I used watercolors to create both the Moon Valley header art and the background of stars, though as you can see there was some Photoshop tomfoolery on her final header to make the moon more like a proper orange harvest moon. Not to mention the cropping and text!

Moon Valley Astrologer header by Amy Crook

Moon Valley Astrologer header by Amy Crook

This site was a huge undertaking, but I’m really happy that it’s all come together in time, and I look forward to continuing to work with Celeste as the site continues to grow. And of course Michael, who does the heavy lifting of implementing my designs with best practices.

The painting itself went through several practice versions, including the very creepy-sky study Mountains of Madness. This final has a peaceful, luminous quality that I think really goes well with her site and personality. Although it’s not really a portrait of the actual Moon Valley where she lives, it conveys the feeling we were hoping for in subtle, inviting colors that we then echoed into the rest of the site.

Moon Valley, 14″x8.5″ watercolor on paper.

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
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Tentacle Heart Cyclops

Posted on January 21st, 2012

Coloring Book Doodle 48 - Tentacle Heart Cyclops

Coloring Book Doodle 48 - Tentacle Heart Cyclops

I scanned #49 today, too, and it’s hard to believe I’ve done that many of these doodles. I don’t always manage to draw in books (wholesale orders don’t get them, or last-minute-zomg ones), and sometimes I draw and forget to scan, but still. Nearly 50! That’s a lot of tentacles.

And yet, this guy is unimpressed. Isn’t that always the way?

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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