Archive for the ‘People, Figures and Faces’ Category

Sherlock Sketch 3

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Sherlock sketch 3 by Amy Crook

Sherlock sketch 3 by Amy Crook

This time I only allowed myself about 10 minutes to work on this sketch, so I spent a lot of it trying to bring out the unusual things about Sherlock aka Benedict Cumberbatch’s appearance. First, of curse I roughed in the basic shape, face and hair and that ridiculously long, well-postured neck of his, and then I concentrated on the unique shape of his mouth, the Cupid’s-bow upper lip and full, squarish lower lip. The eyes are his other most striking feature (well, after the cheekbones), and one of the hardest to capture. His nose got sort of roughed in and left there, I’m afraid, but it does all right.

I think the drawing would benefit from another five minutes, but the point of the exercise was to get something recognizable as the actor in a short amount of time, and I like to think I’ve succeeded.

Sherlock sketch 3, 2.67″x4″ pencil on notebook paper, nfs.

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


Weeble Wednesday: Zombie Hearts Brains

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Zombie + Heart by Amy Crook

Zombie + Heart by Amy Crook

This charming fellow is another of the creepy cuties in my Monster Heart Coloring Book. His “heart” is a brain, which is a zombie’s real favorite thing, showing the real depth of his love that he’s willing to share. Of course, he’s got his heart in his hand as a spare, just in case brains aren’t your style.

Zombie 6 and Zombie’s Heart, both 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper. $129 for the pair in a double frame, with free shipping.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: , , , , , ,


Bonus Weeble: Sherlock & John

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Weeble John and Sherlock by Amy Crook

Weeble John and Sherlock by Amy Crook

Since I’ve been drawing Sherlock, I figured it was high time I also gave John a go, not to mention time to Weeble-ify the pair of them. These guys were complicated! That textured wooly weave on Sherlock’s coat took forever, and I spent a long time watching episode 2 trying to get a good look on the exact arrangement of pockets and patches on John’s jacket. Such torment, I know.

It being cartoons, I exaggerated the height difference (5.5″ in real life), and gave weeble Sherlock a thinner build than my usual weebles while drawing John Watson as dead average. It amused me to find out when I looked it up that the actor’s actually an inch shorter than me! John’s sweater was the perfect thing to use my “warm grey” markers on, where Sherlock’s done all in cool greys. Sherlock’s skin is the palest of the skin tones I have, where John got a much warmer, pinker hue, to reflect his home-from-Afghanistan tan.

Ironically, I think this is the most recognizably Sherlock of the 3 drawings I’ve done of him. Cartoons are always easier. (And you know, if you’d like to Be a Cartoon, they’re still available!)

Weeble John and Sherlock, 7.5″x6.5″ pen and ink and Copic markers on sketchbook paper, not for sale.

Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , , , ,


Sherlock sketch 2

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Sherlock sketch 2 by Amy Crook

Sherlock sketch 2 by Amy Crook

After my first sketch of Sherlock from his new BBC Series, I decided to challenge myself to get the face right (or at least more right, heh) and do a potrait. I can still see that there’s something slightly off here even after erasing every single facial feature at least twice and redrawing it, but after 3 sessions of work on it I’m actually pretty happy with the result. It’s recognizably him, there’s just a few details that aren’t quite perfect.

I’ve been thinking that I need to spend time learning how to draw character faces with different expressions, not just the expressions but the faces themselves, as a lot of cartoon-style art involves drawing the same person over and over and making them look consistent, so expect to see more Sherlock and probably his incarnation of Dr John Watson as well.

And yes, I’m already working on the weebles. What, like you’re surprised?

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


Weeble Wednesday: The Mummy

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

The Mummy + Heart by Amy Crook

The Mummy + Heart by Amy Crook

I got laid up yesterday by illness and missed my 2nd art post of the new year! Not the best way to begin, but there wasn’t much else I could do. Still not feeling my best, but I got my new coloring books done!

Today I have the fully-colored Mummy illustration from my new Monster Heart Coloring Book. He was fun to color despite the simplicity, I got to use some techniques to age his bandages without making him totally yellowed. I even have a marker called “old linen” that I used.

You can get him for your mummy-loving Valentine at Etsy, or buy the original below.

The Mummy and The Mummy’s Heart, both 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper. $129 for the pair in a double frame, with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: , , , , ,
1 Comment »


Sherlock BBC Sketch

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

Sherlock BBC, sketch 1, by Amy Crook

Sherlock BBC, sketch 1, by Amy Crook

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I took most of last week off here, just posting Frankenstein’s Monster on Weeble Wednesday, and otherwise relaxing and taking care of end-of-year things.

One of the things I did was watch one of my Christmas presents over and over, that being the new BBC series Sherlock. I really love the dialogue, and all the little references to the original Holmes, and the wonderful rapport between the two main actors. Also, I have a desperate, hopeless lust for the coat Sherlock wears — it’s everything I’ve longed for in a coat, except that it’s wool, so I couldn’t wear it even if I could afford one (it’s a very pricey designer brand from Britain, and last year’s line on top of that).

In honour of my newest fangirlish obsession, my first post of the new year is Sherlock Holmes, as re-imagined by the BBC in modern times. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good start — I’m sure I’ll do at least one or two more, and a couple of Dr. Watson as well. I have some Moleskines lying around that could be easily Holmes-ified.

Also coming up for the new year is another coloring book (with all-new art that’s very nearly done), weeble monster Valentines, the opportunity to be a Zombie, and a window full of art up in a local book shop for the month of February.

Happy New Year! What are you all up to for 2011?

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: , , ,
2 Comments »


Spirit Cruicifix

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Spirit Crucifix by Amy Crook

Spirit Crucifix by Amy Crook

I’m always frustrated by how hard it is to get beautiful, intense blues and reds to shine through in an electronic image. This monoprint retained a lot of the brush-stroke feel of the original plate, only slightly softened by its trip through the printing press.

This is my favorite of the small series of cruciform images I did at the time. It has an intense burst of sunset color with the rich, calm blue floating above it, almost like someone floating on a pool of water. There’s a real sense of peace and spirituality to it that suits the season.

Spirit Crucifix, 18″x14″ monoprint on 22.5″x15″ watercolor paper, $399 with free shipping.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books
Tags: , ,
1 Comment »


« Or Head Back That Way Drip divider More Art This Way »