Archive for the ‘Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths’ Category

Tentacle Reach

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

Tentacle Reach by Amy Crook

Tentacle Reach by Amy Crook

One of the colors I have in my flower-shaped Japanese watercolor palette is a vivid, almost fluorescent orange that makes a surprisingly subtle wash. I started doing another Tentacle Deeps with the red pen on the orange wash, but i liked the reaching-out gesture of the first crosshatched tentacle so much I decided to do something a little different.

I grabbed my Apricot fountain pen and brought another tentacle down from above, the two of them not quite touching as they try to cross the distance. The result echoes a lot of iconic images without actually copying any of them.

Also, there’s spirals.

Tentacle Reach, 7″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on paper.

Tentacle Reach, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Reach, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the crosshatched tentacles and the aching space between them. The red pen has a fatter nib, and its ink tended to bleed more where the paint wash was denser, which gives the orange tentacle a more ethereal feel by comparison. Below, you can see them tucked in a frame, hanging out with my jellyfish phone for scale.

Tentacle Reach, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Reach, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Tentacles
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Seekers

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Seekers, Harry Potter art by Amy Crook

“Who wins if It gets the Snitch?”
Seekers, Harry Potter art by Amy Crook

I’ve done so many paintings of tentacles rising up from mysterious depths that I thought it might be fun to do a set striving for the heights instead. These pale, half-translucent tentacles are reaching toward an errant Golden Snitch, and disrupting someone’s game of Quidditch.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Just ask Harry Potter.

Seekers, 4″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Seekers, detail, by Amy Crook

Seekers, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the Golden Snitch next to an ordinary dime for scale. Tiny, tiny scale. Below, for a different sort of scale, I’ve temporarily put the painting in a standard 8″x10″ frame so you can imagine how it would fit into your home. Because it totally would fit into your home. I mean, doesn’t everyone need tentacles?

Seekers, framed, by Amy Crook

Seekers, framed, by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Flying Polyp sketch

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

Flying Polyp sketch by Amy Crook

Flying Polyp sketch by Amy Crook

This is a completely ridiculous sketch of a totally bizarre monster from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

That guy had issues, man. Issues.

Happy Sunday!

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
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Tentacle Deeps 37

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 37 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 37 by Amy Crook

Today I bring you, in a completely unsurprising move, more tentacles! My computer really hates the color of these tentacles, so if you’re hoping for accuracy the framed photo is the closest. Photoshop and I just couldn’t come to an agreement here for some reason. Madness!

Anyway, these tentacles are painted with watercolor onto canvas board, which gives them an intriguing texture both in the background and the tentacles themselves, and causes the paint to dry slightly muted from what I expect, so that the blacks are soft and matte.

Tentacle Deeps 37, 8″x10″ watercolor on canvas board.

Tentacle Deeps 37, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 37, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see how the paint sinks into the texture of the canvas. Below, the framed shot for scale and color closest to the reality. Which is to say, not very, heh.

Tentacle Deeps 37, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 37, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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Tentacle Deeps 36

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 36 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 36 by Amy Crook

This week’s art is all full of color, and the tentacles are no exception! A soft, granular periwinkle background plays host to rich teal tentacles, seven of which reach up for whatever mysterious light shines down from above. All this rich color is hard to represent online, but I do what I can to be as accurate as possible, at least on my monitor.

It’s hard to believe I’ve painted three dozen of these, but the proof is in the tag. I have a few more planned yet before I give up the series, so don’t fear for Tentacle Tuesday just yet.

Tentacle Deeps 36, 6″x6″ watercolor on paper.

Tentacle Deeps 36, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 36, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see my tradition tentacles-up detail photo. Below, I’ve temporarily tucked them into an 8″x10″ desk frame for photographing, with my iPhone for reference. If you’re wondering where the sticker went, it’s a whole new phone – the old one had an in-warranty mechanical issue, and so I have a brand new one in its place. New sticker soon, this time with Jellyfish!

Tentacle Deeps 36, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 36, framed art by Amy Crook

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

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

Ogre sketch by Amy Crook

Ogre sketch by Amy Crook

Today’s sketch went into some nice person’s Cthulhu Coloring Book, or perhaps a Monster Heart one. It’s hard to remember sometimes. The Ogre was inspired by an episode of Grimm, one of the few shows I watch that wasn’t cancelled.

Happy Sunday!

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
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Mother Hydra Weds Father Dagon

Saturday, May 26th, 2012

Mother Hydra Weds Father Dagon, cartoon by Amy Crook

Mother Hydra Weds Father Dagon, cartoon by Amy Crook

When I was done coloring this and Monday’s zombies, I realized that I’d managed to do only 2 drawings, but color 4 figures with 7 heads between them. Whew!

This one was also done specifically to be a card, this time to bring a little Cthulhu to your wedding season. Dagon is the big bad from Shadows Over Innsmouth, and while Lovecraft’s Hydra doesn’t get a lot of description, it was easy to adapt the classic many-headed monster of myth to this purpose. I especially enjoy the boutonniere pinned straight to Dagon’s chest.

Yeah, I’m a little morbid.

Mother Hydra Weds Father Dagon, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic markers on paper.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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