Archive for the ‘Whimsical and Strange’ Category
Alexander Nigel Frankfurt Benedict IV
Tuesday, February 13th, 2018
Alex Benedict, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper
In my first self-published novel, The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, the main character Alex whistles up some magic butterflies to impress the young man he’s courting. He also manages to acquire a flower fairy, though that comes much later. At no point would he actually put up with the coattails, though he is awfully fond of black with black and a side of black as his palette.
I drew this for Inktober in 2015, and colored it the other day as a warm-up to commissions. Because if I don’t do my own characters for FANbruary, who will?
Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: consulting magic, copic marker, courtship, julian st albans, pen and ink
Storm Dragon
Wednesday, February 7th, 2018
Storm Dragon, 8″x8″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper
Fans of Spirited Away will recognize the dragon flying off in the distance, though he’s color-shifted slightly bluer to match the gathering storm clouds.
The clouds are a celebration of filigree and fluffiness, looking heavy enough to squeeze rain out of and down onto the distant, unseen lands below. The sunrise is staining everything with the last of its bright mineral pink, and it sparkles off the hidden shine in the painting when seen from just the right angle.
Spirals small and large give the clouds their beautiful texture, adding dimension to the highlights as well as the shadows.
Storm Dragon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up on the far-away dragon, and the sun glinting off the iridescent paint like individual scales. Below, you can see it in a frame, just waiting to bring some gorgeous dreaminess to your home.
Storm Dragon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: clouds, dragon, for sale, interference, iridescent, spirals, watercolor
Harvest Moon 4
Friday, February 2nd, 2018
Harvest Moon 4, 8″x8″ watercolor on Arches watercolor paper
A colony of bats crosses a golden harvest moon in a graceful, curving flight. Dozens of batty forms flit their way from here to there, each one frozen in a single moment of time.
Bring these bats home to roost and you’ll never get tired of finding new ones to admire.
My Patreon supporters voted on what to add to this glowing golden moon, and bats won hands down. Sky puppies are popular!
What’s your favorite thing to see silhouetted against the moon?
Harvest Moon 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of a few of the many specific bat poses that are scattered in an curve across the moon. Below, the moon is trapped in a frame, forever frozen in its moment of fullness.
Harvest Moon 4, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: bat, harvest moon, moon, nfs, sold, watercolor
Teacups
Tuesday, December 5th, 2017
Teacups, 7″x5″ Copic marker and gel pen on paper
A lovely, solid seafoam green mug. Beautiful blue-painted china with gold accents. A standard diner cup. A travel mug that says, “I like my coffee more than I like you.” A fluted, delicate china teacup in dreamy lavender. And finally, a giant piglet mug.
There’s so many ways to take your tea and coffee, from to-go cups to a favorite mug, fine porcelain to hand-thrown pottery. Enjoy half a dozen vessels drawn with no sketches or linework in loose, graceful art marker and highlighted in white gel pen.
How do you take your tea?
Teacups, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a bit of detail on the cups, though the color is more accurate in the scan. Below, the teacups are displayed in a frame, taking up quite a lot less space than the real thing!
Teacups, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, for sale, gel pen, tea
Dragon Spiral
Saturday, December 2nd, 2017
Dragon Spiral, 5″x5″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper
This fierce dragon has fire in her eyes and ice in her scales. She’s spiralling downward in near-abstract swishes of amethyst, graphite, and interference blue.
Do you need to be reminded of your own fierceness?
This is one of those pieces that’s most beautiful in person, where you can turn the page this way and that and catch the highlights and shadows, pulling out details that are otherwise invisible.
Dragon Spiral, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the dragon turned so her fiery eyes and brilliant scales catch the light. Below, she’s tucked into a frame, just waiting to fly to her new home.
Dragon Spiral, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: dragon, interference, metallic, nfs, pencil, primatek, sold, watercolor
Disco Chibi Portrait
Tuesday, November 21st, 2017
Disco chibi, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper
More commissions! Yes, my queue continues to be full, and yes, it’s awesome.
One of my wonderful online friends wanted a portrait of her sparkly nerd lesbian self with her fancy new mermaid hair and cute yellow short-shorts, front and back to make the most awesome silly chibi thing yet – pillows! Plush Disco for all!
And of course we made them into Slack emoji, since that’s where we primarily hang out, and what is chat without a disco-dancing Disco?
These are drawn as close to a square aspect ratio as possible, so that they work as emoji on Slack (and pillows!). Their adorable 2-head-high chibi style conveys a lot of personality in a tiny space.
Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: be a cartoon, chibi, commission, copic marker, disco, nfs, pen and ink, portrait, sold
Inktober 2017, day 24-31
Tuesday, October 31st, 2017
Happy Halloween!
I can’t believe it’s already NaNoWriMo time. Here’s the final eclectic mix of commissions, Patron sketches, and spoopiness — next month I’ll be locked in a closet writing solarpunk, haha.
Inktober day 24: Dancing Disco
Inktober day 25: Inspiration Island
Inktober day 26: Otter Blep
Inktober day 27: Poison Apple
Inktober day 28: Spoopy Crow
Inktober day 29: Zero
Inktober day 30: The Good Candy
Inktober day 31: Knucklebones
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: brush and ink, chibi, commission, crow, disco, glitter gel pen, halloween, inktober, j herbin, nbx, nightmare before christmas, otter, pen and ink, skeleton
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