Archive for the ‘Whimsical and Strange’ Category

Commission: Ms D

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Ms D for Angel Sullivan, by Amy Crook

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
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Update: Cthulhu Divination Deck WIP

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Cthulhu Divination Deck, Card Mockup by Amy Crook

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
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Weeble April Winchell

Monday, August 29th, 2011

Weeble April Winchell cartoon by Amy Crook

Weeble April Winchell cartoon by Amy Crook

Sorry about the silence, I wasn’t feeling well at the end of last week. So, we’re starting the week with a Weeble!

April’s Army is an Etsy Street Team of fans of the site Regretsy.com. Every month, they take donations and open up the April’s Army Etsy shop with all manner of wacky crafts. This is my first contribution, the incomparable April Winchell (also known as Helen Killer on the site) done up in her most “whimsicle” finery and cartooned as a weeble.

I’m donating 5 cards and the original, because what says “I’m thinking of you” better than weeble fuckery?

Weeble April Winchell for April's Army charity shop by Amy Crook

Weeble April Winchell for April's Army charity shop by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Rude Goblins

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

Rude Goblins (with tiny wangs), sketch by Amy Crook

Rude Goblins, sketch by Amy Crook

I’m not sure what I had in mind when I sat down and started sketching, but I’ve managed to really amuse myself with these two guys. The very first line I drew was the round, fat curve of the short one’s pot belly, and I spent a ridiculous amount of time refining them before I decided it was time to declare them done.

And no, I have no idea what happened to their pants. And they’re not going to tell you, either.

Categories: Daily Art, Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
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Rain Crow

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Rain Crow, art by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, art by Amy Crook

A wonderful person who’d just found my site emailed me to ask if I’d done anything with ravens/crows or dragons, and I realized that, despite both of these being themes I really enjoy, I really hadn’t. After doing my little crow sketch the other day, I decided to actually google up what a real crow looks like (yes, still too lazy to look out the window, hush) and used those references to draw this.

All the color in the crow comes from ink pens, which I scribbled with delightful abandon to create the basic shape and color fill on the crow, and then after the salt on the beak had formed, I went back in with plain water and added the gorgeous watercolor-esque wash over the whole crow.

After I put in the ground, I decided it needed something in the sky around it, and the obvious choice for me was salt-pool raindrops in this soft aqua blue pen.

Rain Crow, 7″x5″ pen & ink, watercolor, and salt on paper, nfs (sold).

The real amazing part of this crow is actually the part you can’t actually see except from a very specific angle, this amazing salt formation right over its eye that’s actually in the shape of a fat little black bird, which I photographed framed by one of the water droplets that would later become a salt pool. This formation is incredibly fragile, so I didn’t even put the piece on the scanner, just took photos and have now put it in a shadow-box frame where it will stay protected.

Rain Crow, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, detail 1, by Amy Crook

The salt on the crow’s beak and eye formed with a really neat oil-slick sheen, which is totally lost in the closeup above, so I took another one for you below:

Rain Crow, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The frame I found is this soft silver shadow box, though I’m keeping my eye out for another frame that would allow you to pick it up and view the piece from the side, which is the best way to see its amazing secret.

Rain Crow, framed art by Amy Crook

Rain Crow, framed, by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange
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Cousin Godiva

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Cousin Godiva, cartoon by Amy Crook

Cousin Godiva by Amy Crook

This idea came to me when I was walking to meet a friend, my (ridiculously) long hair blowing in the breeze. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by the idea of Lady Godiva, and of course Cousin It is a theme anyone with long brown hair will find in their life. The combination of Addams Family and legendary lady was irresistible to my cartooning fingers.

With all the cartoons I do, I’m getting to be an old hand at drawing and coloring hair, so Cousin It was pretty easy overall. It’s the first time I’ve tried to weeble-ify a horse, though!

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Weeble Wednesday: Moody Businessman

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Weeble Wednesday: Moody Businessman by Amy Crook

Weeble Wednesday: Moody Businessman by Amy Crook

Once long ago I considered trying to make some vector stock art to sell on one of those stock art sites, and this little guy was one of my earliest weebles. Obviously, I’ve since given that up — the finicky requirements of doing vector art for stock uses just drove me batty. My moody businessman lives on as an example of how I really prefer natural media, though I keep myself from totally losing all my skills by occasionally doing something like my Super-Cute Squid.

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
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