Archive for the ‘People, Figures and Faces’ Category

Treasures

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Treasures, art by Amy Crook

Treasures by Amy Crook, $199

I only added a few minimal details to the original tea wash on this piece. I took brown pen and gave the face I saw dark eyes, so it looks like a mysterious veiled creature curled possessively around the lighter space in the center. Then I gave it something to be possessive of — I used the same brown ink to make spirals for the salt crystals to rest on, and then went through the process to make salt pools.

I took some photos of the process so you can see it below.

Treasures, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $199, framed, with free shipping.

First we have the dried tea wash, ink, and carefully chosen crystals of salt. There’s a lot of size variation in the bottle of coarse sea salt I bought, so I make sure to choose appropriately for the effect I want. In this case, I went for small to medium crystals so the pools would stay discrete and relatively flat.

Treasures, work in progress part 1, by Amy Crook

Treasures, work in progress part 1, by Amy Crook

Second, I drop on the water with an eyedropper. The water washes the dust and scratches off the salt right away, leaving clear crystals that are hard to see, and the ink immediately starts to curl up into the water as well.

Treasures, work in progress part 2, by Amy Crook

Treasures, work in progress part 2, by Amy Crook

Here the salt and ink have dissolved as much as they’re going to, making a fluid made of brown ink, salt, whatever tea dissolves back in, and of course tap water.

Treasures, work in progress part 3, by Amy Crook

Treasures, work in progress part 3, by Amy Crook

And finally the water evaporates overnight, taking sometimes as much as a full day and leaving behind salt crystals imbued with the ink and tea. These crystals grow onto the paper, and so they’re quite well-attached. The tea gave the salt a very subtle bluish tint for some reason, though the brown ink really covers that up.

Treasures, work in progress part 4, by Amy Crook

Treasures, work in progress part 4, by Amy Crook

I found a lovely wood frame that matches wonderfully with the warm browns of the tea wash. Below you can see the final piece in its frame, with the mysterious figure looming protectively over the 7 sparkling piles of salt.

Treasures, framed art by Amy Crook

Treasures, framed, by Amy Crook, $199

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
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Shrinky Dinks 1

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Shrinky Dinks, set 1, by Amy Crook

Shrinky Dinks, set 1, by Amy Crook

Do you remember Shrink Dinks? I had forgotten all about them until I ran across the Klutz Press book on them, which of course I bought, and then proceeded to store away for years with my art supplies. Well, today is the day they finally got put to use.

I used about 1/3 of a sheet for these guys, and wow, they got soooo wee. Seriously, I was somehow not expecting them to shrink quite so much, but I have future wicked plans for making more. Here you can see them with a dime for size comparison — on my screen, they’re actually larger than they are in real life.

Shrinky Dinks, set 1, by Amy Crook

Shrinky Dinks, set 1, by Amy Crook

Dark-colored Sharpies are still quite dark on the semi-transparent plastic, though you can see the colors clearly above with the lights shining through. I’m definitely going to have to experiment with some more of these, and then figure out how to price them and what for. Perhaps a set of ninja stitch markers? Zombie zipper pulls? Cthulhu on a cord for a necklace?

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Weeble Wednesday: Me 3

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

Cartoon self-portrait by Amy Crook

Weeble self-portrait by Amy Crook

Weeble Wednesday brings you more me! My red dye is fading, and I decided to do a new one to reflect my current style. Of course, I’ll have to ditch the cardigan and boots now that the weather’s warmed up, but nothing’s perfect, right?

I think this is my most accurate cartoon-me to date — as I was working on it, I actually pulled up some photos and realized that I have very sarcastic eyebrows. I suppose one needs to be naturally good at something, right?

I couldn’t figure out what I wanted the shirt to say, and I’m happy to take suggestions. I want something clever but work safe, which nixed most of my ideas one way or the other.

If you want to be a cartoon yourself, you can click here to get your very own weeble, chibi, fairy or just silly cartoon!

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles
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Nefarious Parent

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Nefarious Parent cartoon by Amy Crook

Nefarious Parent by Amy Crook

When my friend Bkwyrm approached me to ask about doing a logo for her new forum for parents with an occult bent, Parentes Nefarii, we tossed back and forth a couple of ideas. In the end, we decided that her budget and needs were best suited to a cartoon — but not of her. This weeble cultist (yep, Weeble Wednesday is back!) is carrying a rather dubious-looking baby, from tentacles to horns.

The innocent baby-blonde curl of hair really makes it for me, especially contrasted with the bald cultist and his bluer-than-blue eyes.

Nefarious Parent, 7″x5″ pen and ink and Copic Marker on watercolor paper, not for sale (commission). This, and all my other commissions, aren’t for free use per the Creative Commons license below — all rights are reserved for the commissioner*.

*And the Commissioner always has Batman on his/her side.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles
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Thanks for the Sketches!

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

My little sketch sale was a success – I had a lot of fun doing a bunch of quickie art pieces, and I still have two left to go. I even sold most of the sample pieces I did, so I’m quite pleased overall. If you missed it, there’ll likely be a repeat again around the holidays. I’ve been told they make lovely gifts.

Snape sketch by Amy Crook

Snape sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

Sphinx sketch by Amy Crook

Sphinx sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

King's Speech sketch by Amy Crook

King's Speech sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

Thanks again to everyone who participated, whether by looking, buying, Tweeting or replying!

Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Sketch Sale Revisited

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Sale done! Thank you to everyone who participated and made it a success.

After a week, I’ve sold a few sketches and, as is the way of things when there’s pens and paper out ready to be used, made a few more. The sale will go on for one more week, until the end of May. If you’d like to get your very own wee little sketch from me in the mail, there’s still a bit of time.

Here’s what I’ve been up to this week. Somehow, they all turned into cute fan art, go figure.

Two little $10 sketches:

Snape and Harry sketch by Amy Crook

Snape and Harry sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

Harry and Draco sketch by Amy Crook

Harry and Draco sketch by Amy Crook

Two little $20 sketches:

Bertie and Lionel sketch by Amy Crook

Bertie and Lionel, the King’s Speech, sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

Mycroft and Sherlock sketch by Amy Crook

Mycroft and Sherlock, brotherly love, sketch by Amy Crook

Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sale Post, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Sketches and Sales and Sherlocks, Oh My!

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Sale done, thank you to all who participated!
I’m doing a sale! Until the end of May, if you’d like to get just a wee little sketch from me in the mail, you can.

This is the sort of thing you can get for $5:

One figure, sketchy style!

Wren sketch by Amy Crook

Fluffed-Up Wren sketch by Amy Crook

John Watson sketch by Amy Crook

John Watson sketch by Amy Crook

This is the sort of thing you can get for $10:

One figure, with more detail & shading:

Snape sketch by Amy Crook

Snape sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

Or two figures, sketchy style. No, they don’t have to be cutesy. What?

John and Sherlock sketch by Amy Crook

John and Sherlock sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

This is the sort of thing you can get for $20:

Two figures, with more detail & shading:

Aziraphale and Crowley sketch by Amy Crook

Aziraphale and Crowley sketch by Amy Crook (sold)

Thanks!

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sale Post, Things I'm a Fan Of
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