Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category

Cartoon Sherlock & John 2

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Cartoon Sherlock & John 2 by Amy Crook

Cartoon Sherlock & John 2 by Amy Crook

I couldn’t resist drawing up full-body color version of my Sherlock & John cartoons, though I’ve rather exaggerated their height difference here. Somehow it just seemed appropriate to make Sherlock a million miles tall and rail-thin compared to the more solid John Watson.

They’re supposed to start filming the new series next month, with new episodes coming out in the fall, and I’m absurdly excited. I’ve been slowly working my way through the original Holmes novels and short stories (in order, of course!), and I always enjoy spotting something from the show in the books, since the writers are both huge Sir Arthur Conan Doyle geeks. It makes me feel a little better about my own fannish obsessions.

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

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

Burning Planet by Amy Crook

Burning Planet by Amy Crook, $169

A circle is such a simple form, and yet I feel like I could find an infinite variation in them. This one, too, looks the surface of a planet to me, or maybe some alien sun, the swirls of almost neon yellow marked by orange and red patterns.

This time I used my Windsor & Newton watercolors rather than the Japanese pigment inks, and it’s really interesting how the different media react differently to the addition of the salt. Rather than drying to a fine powder, each little spot of orange-red on the yellow paint is actually a salt crystal formed with the pigment-rich water as the salt on top dissolved, and then dried. If you look closely you can see the flat, squarish shapes of the salt crystals (click the image to enlarge). It even sparkles in the sunlight.

Burning Planet, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on watercolor paper.

Here’s a terrible iPhone photo of the painting at an angle, so you can see the sun sparkling off the crystals:

Burning Planet, detail, by Amy Crook

Burning Planet, detail, by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Weeble Wednesday: Bride of the Mummy

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Bride of the Mummy by Amy Crook

Bride of the Mummy by Amy Crook

This poor lady was stuck as inks for many weeks, waiting for me to get a refill on my colorless blender so I could properly fade the wear and tear on her bandages. I had fun making her as a counterpart to the Mummy, especially since I gave them opposite eyes freed of bandages.

She’s one of the bonus brides from my Monster Heart Coloring Book, of course, and I have just one illustration left to color before those are all done.

Bride of the Mummy, 5″x7″ pen and ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper. $89 with free shipping.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Salt Cell 2

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Salt Cell 2 by Amy Crook

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.

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Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Weeble Wednesday: Brides of Dracula

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Brides of Dracula by Amy Crook

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
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Tentacle Deeps 7

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Tentacle Deeps 7 by Amy Crook

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 art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Deeps 7, framed, by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
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Twining Snakes Moleskine Volant

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

Twining Snakes Volant, detail, by Amy Crook

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

Twining Snakes Moleskine Volant by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books
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