Dance of the Octopi
Posted on April 1st, 2011
Dance of the Octopi by Amy Crook
I can almost imagine sleeping in a room with one wall papered with dancing octopi, squid and jellyfish, all swimming in their Victorian frame of swaying seaweed. Though, actually, once I get the colors adjusted to my satisfaction, I may upload the design to Spoonflower and see about making some pyjama pants out of it, so I can sleep cool in my underwater dreams.
I drew the individual pieces up with pen and ink, and then scanned them in simple black, adding color as I worked with the design. There’s no original per se for this one, just a bunch of sketches in a couple of sketchbooks. At some point I’ll need to crop just one panel out for repeating properly, but I want to adjust the blue background and purple squid first.
Now you can better imagine the Octopi as wallpaper/curtains: Click here!
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: fish, jellyfish, octopus, pen and ink, photoshop, squid, wallpaper
3 Comments »
Salt Cell 2
Posted on March 31st, 2011
Salt Cell 2 by Amy Crook
After exploring the combination of salt and watercolor last week, I picked up some larger crystals of sea salt. Wanting to do something else that echoed Salt Cell but incorporated some pen-and-ink work as well, I decided on a rather tedious methodology. The process affected the outcome because the paint began to dry before I was done putting the salt back on the little circles.
I think I might try it again, but with fewer salt crystals.
Salt Cell 2, 5″x5″ pen and ink and watercolor on watercolor paper, $229 with free shipping.
You can see more about how this piece came together below the cut.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pen and ink, purple, salt, watercolor
1 Comment »
Weeble Wednesday: Brides of Dracula
Posted on March 30th, 2011
Brides of Dracula by Amy Crook
Now that I’ve got my super-pale-skin marker refilled, I’ve finally started coloring the bonus brides from my Monster Heart Coloring Book. These toothy gals are inspired by the many movie depictions of the three brides that I’ve seen, and some judicious image googling to figure out what styles would have been appropriate for the era, for 50 or 100 years before. I liked the idea that they might still dress in the fashion of their own times, and that each one had been born in a different era.
Brides of Dracula, 7″x5″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper. $89, with free shipping.
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: cartoon, coloring book, copic marker, Dracula, for sale, monster, pen and ink, vampire, weeble
Tentacle Deeps 7
Posted on March 29th, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 7 by Amy Crook
This piece most closely reflects the very first Tentacle Deeps watercolor I did, I think –the same paper, no fancy salt or pen-and-ink effects, just the layers of watercolored tentacles reaching up from the bottom of the page. The wash was a bit more layered and random, and whenever a tentacle “breaks through” the upper right corner, there’s a little bit of a skip as though it’s breaching the surface of a pool, or slipping between realities.
Tentacle Deeps 7, 5″x7″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Tentacle Deeps 7, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: for sale, green, tentacle deeps, watercolor
Texture in Brown
Posted on March 28th, 2011
Texture in Brown by Amy Crook
Everything about this piece is a combination of deliberation and randomness, letting my choice of materials dictate the final product.
I didn’t like this when I started it out, at first just the red-brown leaf shape at the center of the page. then I added the redder wash down at the bottom, and an even softer red wash in the upper area, and used salt to give a rough texture to the lower area. I let that dry and sit a few days before coming back to it with a quill and some ink that used to be black, but has aged in its bottle to a soft, walnut brown. The quill caught and stuttered on the rough paper, giving the lines a rough look as the ink bled.
I think the end result looks like some sort of landscape, each piece working together to create a rich field of texture and earthy color.
Texture in Brown, 7″x5″ watercolor and pen and ink on watercolor paper, $129 with free shipping.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: brown, for sale, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
Twining Snakes Moleskine Volant
Posted on March 26th, 2011
Twining Snakes Volant, detail, by Amy Crook
This bright green Moleskine Volant notebook has been hand-decorated with a pair of twining snakes using Sharpie markers. A black snake is biting his own tail in a double-looped ouroboros while his green friend slithers suggestively through his loops.
Moleskine’s colorful notebooks are ideal for customization, turning the high-quality book into a work of art in which to wrap your ideas. The acid-free ruled paper is a creamy ivory color, and a delight to write on. The large size Volants have 96 pages between their soft vinyl covers. The design is in permanent Sharpie, and should last as long as the notebook it’s drawn on.
Twining Snakes, 5″x8.25″ customized Moleskine Volant notebook, nfs (sold).
Twining Snakes Moleskine Volant by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: green, moleskine, nfs, sharpie marker, snakes, sold
4 Comments »
Yarr! Bonus Michael
Posted on March 25th, 2011
Yarr! Bonus Michael by Amy Crook
I turned Michael into a cartoon a while back, and since he’s been a completely awesome programmer for me, I couldn’t resist tossing this little 10-minute bonus doodle into his package. I’m reliably informed he doesn’t actually have a wooden leg, he just wanted his avatar to be more piratey.
And really, who wouldn’t want to be more piratey? Well, aside from Ninjas…
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, nfs, pen and ink
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