Archive for the ‘Whimsical and Strange’ Category
Creature Cards
Friday, October 15th, 2010
Creature Cards by Amy Crook
Last month I posted a pencil drawing I called Friendly Card Game and mentioned I was thinking of doing a watercolor version. I traced the basic outlines onto some thick watercolor paper using my light box, so I’d still have the delicately pencil-shaded original, and then it sat around on with my works in progress for a month.
Sunday I got out my watercolors for a tiny client project, and used that chance to experiment with painting up these two. I’d originally pictured them in soft, washed-out colours but I ended up with a much richer palette. I especially like the way the mushroom came out. I’m still pretty new to watercolors, so it was fun to experiment with the different methods of shading.
Creature Cards, 7″x5″ watercolor and gouache on watercolor paper
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: made-up myths, nfs, sold, watercolor
Chibi Catherine Caine
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
Chibi Catherine Caine by Amy Crook
The latest of my cartoons is the awesome Catherine Caine! She asked for a chibi, which I haven’t gotten to do many of, and I had a lot of fun drawing her irresistible grin while she gave the world a big giant hug. I find this wonderfully appropriate, since Catherine’s enthusiasm for everyone and everything is unassailable by anything but rain.
She’s an Aussie, so instead of a cartoon North America as is usual around these parts, I got to draw a cartoon Southern Hemisphere, which was an interesting challenge since I’m less familiar with the necessary features of the geography there. One of my deep dark secrets is that I’m terrible with the whole social studies realm — geography, history, the works.
Catherine’s red corduroy trousers were striped with one of my awesome refillable Pilot fountain pens from Japan, which is my new favorite place to get art supplies. I almost forgot her awesome spiky ear plugs, since they were hidden in her hair in the photo I’d chosen for drawing her face, but she reminded me.
I love the bright, primary look of this piece, simplified and full of every bit of cheer that Catherine herself showers us with on a regular basis.
Stay Awesome, Catherine!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, catherine caine, chibi, commission, copic marker, nfs, pen and ink
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Random Recipe: Pancakes
Monday, October 11th, 2010
I made delicious banana pancakes the other night, and I thought perhaps you’d like the recipe. It’s taken from the King Arthur Flour website, and then altered to make it extra delicious.
1.25 cups (5.25 ounces) self-rising flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 dashes of cinnamon (depending on the fruit)
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) melted butter
1 banana, 1 peach, or a bunch of berries (about a cup)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. I have a totally awesome heavy ceramic mixing bowl that I use that has Piglet on it, the smallest of a set of 3.
Measure the milk in a 2-cup measuring cup, then add the egg and whisk it in. While whisking, pour the melted butter into the measuring cup, and whisk them together until blended.
Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.
Cut up the fruit. Bananas can be sliced, peaches should also be sliced into flat chunks, blueberries can just be tossed in as is, but strawberries also need slicing. Flat is good, so it doesn’t make weird lumps.
Lightly grease a skillet and heat it over medium heat until a drop of water dances or you get too impatient to keep waiting. I use a one-third-cup measuring cup to pour batter onto the skillet, making one pancake at a time. Place the fruit, if using — I usually get about 4-5 banana slices per pancake, or half a dozen berries, or 3 blueberries and 3 chunks of peach (heavenly).
Cook until the bubbles on the surface begin to break and the edges are starting to look dry. Turn the pancakes over and cook until lightly browned, about one more minute. This will also deliciously caramelize the fruit.
Remove from the pan and eat while you make the next one. The last pancake is always either really big or really small. I usually make an extra big one to eat with a big grin at the end.
I usually get about half a dozen big, delicious pancakes, eat half, and save half for the next morning. And yes, I eat them with syrup so they’re extra super sweet.
Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: food, pancakes, recipe, sharpie marker, yum
Better Than Snail Mail
Saturday, October 9th, 2010
Better Than Snail Mail by Amy Crook
I drew this snowy owl several years ago for the program book at a convention, and then ended up making Cafepress swag out of it on a whim. I have it on a coaster and some greeting cards, actually, though I never bought the t-shirt for myself.
It also was the basis for my shoulder tattoo, although that owl is carrying a book rather than a letter.
Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: Harry Potter, nfs, owl, pencil
Naomi’s Jack, and her Monster
Friday, October 8th, 2010
Naomi's Monster by Amy Crook
Back in May I offered three slots to draw people’s Monsters, so I could by Havi’s Monster Coloring Book. It’s taken a while to get both of us connected (she’s a busy one!), but I finally have the third one done, for Naomi Dunford of Ittybiz.
Naomi didn’t have a specific Monster she wanted colored, so she sent me some pictures of Jack and we talked a little, and I did a sketch for her of this friendly little hill monster offering Jack a pink rose (Naomi has a thing for pink roses. Who knew?). It took a while to get it from idea to finished product, but I love the cheerful green and pink result, a non-creepy monster for her to hang on the wall.
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, commission, copic marker, monster, naomi dunford, nfs, pen and ink
Weeble Wednesday: Dagon
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Weeble Dagon by Amy Crook
Today I’ve got another of HP Lovecraft’s creations, made into a creepy-adorable weeble. Dagon has his very own eponymous short story, but he also is alluded to in “Shadows Over Innsmouth,” the short story from which I illustrated a fishy Deep One earlier in the year.
Lovecraft had a real horror of all things fishy and oceanic, and it shows in the tentacled, scaley (and often quite overblown) descriptions he gave in his stories. I’ve tried to mix the macabre with the cute in my depictions, and I’ve had a lot of fun choosing which creature to cartoon next.
I’ll be adding him to my series of Lovecraftian Greeting Cards on Etsy as well, which are perfect for this spooky season.
Weeble Dagon, 5″x7″ pen, ink and copic marker on watercolor paper.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: coloring book, copic marker, etsy, for sale, lovecraft, pen and ink, weeble
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Whiteboard Doodles
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
I got a whiteboard! Well, a stick-on whiteboard, which I’ve put on the back of the linen closet door.
I also acquired a rather odd assortment of marker colors, though I’ve bought a more normal set to supplement with now. The bright ’80s turquoise especially was hard to photograph, so it’ll be nice to have some boring blue.
Today I thought I’d share some of the silly doodles I’ve done on the whiteboard, with the to-do lists, reminder notes and other randomness carefully cropped out.
Sorry about the picture quality, poor lighting + iPhone camera = even more meh than usual.
Whiteboard Cthulhu by Amy Crook
Whiteboard Violets by Amy Crook
Whiteboard Weeble Vampire by Amy Crook
Whiteboard Skulls by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: cthulhu, doodles, nfs, silliness, skull, vampire, violets
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