Archive for the ‘Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths’ Category
Weeble Pumpkinhead
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Weeble Pumpkinhead by Amy Crook
Just a little something spooky to celebrate the coming of autumn! I was in a Halloweeny mood, so I drew this guy up in an afternoon and colored him in the evening, once the day cooled off. We’re having an end-of-summer heat wave here in the bay area, and it’s slowing me way down, so I cheered myself up with a bit of spooky goodness.
Weeble Pumpkinhead, 5.5″x8.5″ pen & ink and Copic markers on sketchbook paper, not for sale.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: halloween, nfs, pumpkin, spooky, weeble
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Tentacle Deeps 15
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 15 by Amy Crook
Days of work went into today’s piece, but I think they’re my favorite tentacles yet. I used the same technique of softening pen-and-ink with water as in Tentacle Deeps 14, but then I went through and grew salt crystals along the body of each tentacle. The cross-hatching used three different pens to create the sense of light and depth, and my friend Eric L suggested that it looks like the tentacles are starting to dissolve where the light is hitting them.
Tentacle Deeps 15, 5″x7″ mixed media on paper.
Here you can see a closer view of the texture and the way I created the effect of light fading to darkness.
Tentacle Deeps 15, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I love how this shows off the variation in the tentacle colors, and the way the salt crystals sparkle even with the dark ink suffusing them.
Tentacle Deeps 15, detail 2, by Amy Crook
I finally had the brilliant idea of putting something in the framed shots so you’d get a sense of scale, so enjoy this shot of the tentacles in their frame, hanging out with my iPhone.
Tentacle Deeps 15, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: brush and ink, crosshatching, for sale, orange, pen and ink, red, salt, tentacle deeps
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Commission: Ms D
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Ms D for Angel Sullivan, by Amy Crook
A triumph of Twitter! The wonderful Angel Sullivan tweeted asking if there was someone who could draw her fairy for her for a reasonable fee, and a few tweets and emails later, Ms D was underway. She wanted the dragonfly wings to have a “soap-bubble quality” to them, so instead of my usual Copic markers I got out the watercolors and mixed up some very pale purple, blue and green to go over the waterproof Micron lines.
Ms D, 5″x5″ pen and ink and watercolor on paper, not for sale.
I asked Angel to write a little bit about her experience working with me as her illustrator, and this is what she had to say:
Working with Amy was easy beyond my hopes.
I was, initially, a little bit worried about trying to convey the look that I wanted for the fabulous Ms D & having it translated to the page in the way I’d really hoped for. Turns out, there was no need to be concerned. Amy was totally open to the few changes that I wanted along the way (because it was so close to just right the first time, yay!) & Ms D came out incredibly well. Amy kept to the initial timeline that we’d gone over and remained in touch with me through the process… I’m so thrilled and grateful for the way it all worked & look forward to working with Amy again in the future!!!
-Angel Sullivan
Ms D is reserved solely for Angel’s use, but if you click on her you can see the detail in her wings much more closely.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, dragonfly, fairy
Update: Cthulhu Divination Deck WIP
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
Cthulhu Divination Deck, Card Mockup by Amy Crook
Progress is moving forward on my idea for a Cthulhu Divination Deck! I decided on a card size, a deck size, and got some price quotes. I’m planning to add some ornamentation to the card frame (and possibly change the layout a little), but this is the basic idea. So far I’ve decided that card #1 needs to be Cthulhu himself, and #42 (the last one) will be “The Stars are Right.” Now I just have 40 more cards to decide on. Then I’ll sketch out the art double the size it will be on the original cards, ink and color each piece, and somewhere in there I’ll put together stuff for the Kickstarter.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange, Works In Progress
Tags: cthulhu, lovecraft, nfs, sketch, tarot, weeble, wip
Tentacle Deeps 14
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 14 by Amy Crook
Just when you thought the tentacles were slumbering, my Tentacle Deeps series is back! I’ve had a few more ideas for them niggling in the back of my head, and this is the first of at least two new additions to the series. This one, despite the look, is entirely done with ink pens and water, no paint involved. I used brushes dipped in plain water to create the visual effects and the second layer of tentacles. There’s a hint of the original pen lines in each tentacle, fore- and background, and subtle colors are hiding in the black, added with scribbles of blue and purple before the water was applied.
Tentacle Deeps 14, 5″x7″ pen, brush and ink on paper.
Tentacle Deeps 14, detail, by Amy Crook
You can see some of the texture here in the above detail shot, and the soft variations of blue, green, and purple hiding in the black. Below, you can see how the simple black frame looks with the tentacles inside.
Tentacle Deeps 14, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: brush and ink, for sale, green, pen and ink, tentacle deeps
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The Stars Are Right
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
The Stars Are Right by Amy Crook
The dark skies framing the glowing salt stars are painted in my newest art supply acquisition, paint made from actual Bloodstone. The color looks a bit more brownish to my eye, but the scanner definitely gave it a green tinge more like the actual stone looks before it’s ground up and made into paint. I have a number of the oil paints from this line (I love the Amazonite green), but this is my first foray into the watercolors, and I love the granular texture the paint gets as it dries.
The arrangement of green salt formations really reminded me of a constellation, and the color of course made me think of Cthulhu, especially with the Bloodstone watercolor to ground it, so that’s where the piece gets its name. After all, Cthulhu is merely snoozing until the stars align and new reign begins. In a strictly fictional manner, of course.
The Stars Are Right, 7″x5″ salt, pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
The Stars Are Right, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see a bit more of what the paint looks like in the sunlight, the warm brown-black setting off the cool green quite nicely. Below, I’ve got the piece in a simple black frame that protects the salt crystals and brings out the color in the bloodstone.
The Stars Are Right, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
Tags: bloodstone, for sale, lovecraft, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
1 Comment »
WIP: Weeble Cthulhu Divination Deck
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Weeble Cthulhu Divination Card sketch by Amy Crook
Since it’s been a while since I released my two Coloring Books, I want to get back to my original weeble monster love and do another Cthulhu project. This time, I want to make a parody divination deck starring Weeble Cthulhu and his other creepy cute pals. This is inspired both by my love of tarot cards (they’re like little packs of themed art!), and the completely awesome Fantod Pack by Edward Gorey.
I’m still making a lot of the basic decisions, but I made this sketch as a motivator for myself. I love how his tentacles float up in the water, and the weird angles on his altar bed, though I’m pretty sure I won’t bother to show the surface of the water in the final, just shade it to give sense of being below the depths. I just felt like drawing a tiny sailboat.
Stuff that needs to be decided (feel free to weigh in!):
- What size should the cards be — playing card or tarot card size?
- How big should the deck be? (I’m thinking 42 cards right now.)
- Or, do I want to add a whole extra research dimension by trying to do an entire 78-card Tarot deck?
- If I did do a Tarot deck, how would the suits work? Obviously Tentacles would be a suit, but what about the other 3?
- If I did a 42-card “divination deck,” what should I do for the actual instructions for use?
- Either way I need to assign numbers and meanings to the monsters, which should be hilariously fun. I love the universal gloom of Gorey’s predictions, though mine will of course involve more tentacles.
- Where should I have them printed? How fancy should the accompanying booklet be?
- What other rewards should the Kickstarter off than packs and more packs? Originals, obviously, but what else?
I want to get at least half if not most of the art done before I even consider a Kickstarter, so that if/when it does fund it’ll be ready to send off to the printer very soon after. Having supported several Kickstarters now, I have to admit that the wait after funding is interminable, and the one that was ready for press right away and has already shipped to me has a very special place in my heart.
So, what do you all think, dear readers? Would you want to divine that you were destined to be detained by demons, tickled by tentacles or poked by psuedopods? Or have I lost too much of my sanity to be trusted?
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Works In Progress
Tags: cthulhu, lovecraft, tarot, weeble, wip
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