Archive for the ‘Words Words Words’ Category
Sherlock on the Light Table
Saturday, December 22nd, 2012
Sherlock on the light table getting wallpapered
I love the wallpaper from this particular wall in 221b Baker Street, ridiculous velvet flocking and all, but it’s definitely not something I’m inclined to draw freehand. I used this same method with the light table to do the wallpaper on my Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, interior, except there I used a very fine pen for the messy crosshatching. Here I used a brush pen to scribble in the basic shapes. It made sort of a cartoon parody of the original design, much like sulking Sherlock there is a cartoon parody of Benedict Cumberbatch’s iconic portrayal.
I used heart-shaped post-its to hold down the page so it wouldn’t damage the drawing or go slipping all over the place while I worked. I use the same silly hot pink post-its to put handwritten thank-you notes in all my Etsy packages for that extra bit of appreciation.
Now that the holiday madness has quieted down a bit, I’m back at it with art, so next week you’ll definitely have a few new pieces of art to look at. Plus, my Valentines will go up, so you can take a peek at this year’s new designs.
Have a great weekend!
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words, Works In Progress
Tags: wip, words
It’s beginning to look a lot like…
Friday, December 21st, 2012
Presents!
I was going to take a photo of the mulled wine we made tonight, but I got too distracted drinking it! So, instead enjoy some of the lovely wrapped presents awaiting their chance to go visit my clients (and never return, heh).
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: words
Weds Night Gaming
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
I won at Eclipse, yay!
So, if you didn’t already know I was a complete nerd, here’s another brick in the wall. Every Wednesday evening that we can manage it, my BFF and I have a quick dinner and then head over to Endgame in Oakland for their Open Boardgaming. The crowd there is largely into the sort of games most people have never heard of, but which I greatly enjoy. This isn’t Monopoly — for one thing, there’s usually a much steeper learning curve (and a bigger price tag).
We played Eclipse ($100 and well worth it if you’ve got the cash and nerd friends to support it — this is not my copy, heh) tonight with 4 players, which took about 3 hours total including the 30 minutes Jeff spent teaching us the rules at the start. We explored space, colonized planets, and kept our space empires from going bankrupt in our quest for victory points. I played black, and as you can see we started out in four different quadrants and explored towards the middle, and out to the edges. And I won! Mostly because I built 3 monoliths, yes, just like the ones you’re thinking of. They’re worth points in this game! Also, my supernova exploded, but not until the end when it didn’t matter. Whew.
I hope you’re finding time to do the stuff you love to do, with the people you adore, too!
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: nerd, words
Bilbo at Home
Wednesday, December 19th, 2012
Bilbo hanging out with my other holiday decor
I finished my hobbity Valentine this week, and I’m so delighted with the way the art turned out that I put it up with the rest of my holiday decorations. Halloween and Christmas do rather run together at my apartment, well, to be honest every day is Halloween here, heh. I’d say a lot of my decor is my own art, but really I have so much stuff from action figures to plushies to a skull in a paper crown that my art is only a percentage of the total volume.
Dusty though they are, my many, many shelves are a source of wonder to all who behold them!
For the curious, pictured above are some mini Christmas stockings, part of a set of pewter Endless from The Sandman, a Malfoy family crest pin, a portion of my wee duckie collection (it’s small but it’s fierce), my tentacle egg, and a random wacky Halloween toy my roommate gave me.
Hope you’re having a great week, and enjoying this brief respite from people asking you to buy their stuff.
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
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Holiday Progress
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012
holiday cards and Valentine designs in progress
Given Instagram’s lovely new TOS, I figured I’d continue my week of silly posts with the alternate photo tools on my phone. I keep wondering what will happen when someone’s photo of a third party’s copyrighted designs (say, a car, given that all car designs are legally protected in every which way they can) ends up being used for a commercial purpose by Instagram, when the person who took the photo didn’t own the copyright of the thing in the photo in the first place, and therefore couldn’t actually pass it on to Instagram. This is a bit different than everyone else’s likeness rights worries, but then, I never take photos of my likeness, so it makes sense I’d think of it another way.
Other companies’ idiocy aside, I saw The Hobbit and I unabashedly loved every minute of it. I pretty much spent any slow time trying to remember which dwarf was which, and therefore the nearly three-hour movie passed in a blink for me.
Today’s photo is one of my personal holiday cards (yes, some people got tentacles), and the inks for one of next year’s Valentines. Ironically one of my designs was Instagram-centric, so I’ll probably be scrapping that idea and sticking with the other nerdy concepts. It’s too bad, too, because I loved the silly wee painting I did for the front!
I hope you’re staying warm, dry and happy this week, whichever holidays you love best. Personally, I’m a fan of Halloween, Christmas, the solstice, and of course the New Year! How about you?
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words, Works In Progress
Tags: wip, words
221b Becomes Tattoos
Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, exterior, by Amy Crook
Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, interior, by Amy Crook
Remember these? The wonderful Nicole & Mo wanted a pair of tattoo designs that were part Sherlock, part Holmes, and part Edward Gorey. They took my artwork to their tattoo artist, who promptly told them “no,” hah! I guess I should’ve used bigger pens.
They each got to choose one section to fit on their arms for the final tattoos, which you can see below.
Baker Street Tinies tattoos, design by Amy Crook
Nicole, left, has an eerie outside view of 221b Baker Street on her forearm. She had it drawn as it might look if it were a single townhouse instead of part of the larger building, and also transported to a rather spookier version of London. Mo, on the right, got the fireplace at 221b as her tattoo, minus the intricate wallpaper. We moved the skull from another wall to join the skull on the mantel, but otherwise hers is more faithful to Sherlock‘s actual set.
I really love the way their tattoo artist interpreted my delicate linework into her own art form, preserving as much of the detail as possible while keeping the designs clear and clean so they’d age well.
But the best part is that the tattoos went to London! Nicole sent me the best photo, below, of her tattoo outside the building they actually used for 221b Baker Street in the show. Sadly the Sherlock set wasn’t hiding inside for Mo to get a photo of hers. Wouldn’t that be something awesome?
Tattoos go to London!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Words Words Words
Tags: 221b baker street, all rights reserved, baker street tinies, commission, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, tattoos, words
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How to Ask for Art as a Gift
Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
So, what if you’ve got your heart set on a piece of art you saw in a gallery, online, or elsewhere? How do you let it be known what you’re hoping for?
Well, part of this depends on whether you’re the sort of people that give each other a Very Specific List, or Broad Hints. For the former, you’ve got your answer — tell them! For the latter, it’s important to think about whether you have a specific piece you want or you just like anything by the artist in a certain style.
If there’s just one piece you want above all others, you can put it as your computer and phone wallpaper, forward the email or web page about it to the people in question, and generally talk about it in glowing terms. The phrase, “I know just where I’d put it,” is an excellent clue.
You can find out if the artist offers gift certificates and what their terms are. (I do! They’re generally good for a year from date of purchase.) Getting a few people to give you a gift certificate for an artist’s shop is a good way to get an original that’s out of reach of any one person.
Try to keep budget in mind.
Don’t ask someone who normally gives you a $20 gift card for a $2000 painting. Instead, you could ask them for a print, or a $20 gift card to that artist’s shop or gallery. You can hint to your friend who likes to organize these things that you’d love the piece, and if everyone chipped in you might be able to cover the balance. A lot of artists will help you out with payment plans, too, so you could use your friends’ generosity to make a head start on the painting of your dreams.
The group gift plan works really well for office Secret Santas, too, because you can casually say, “Oh, I’m asking all my friends for gift cards for this artist I like,” at work.
Make sure they know where to buy.
If your Mom’s not so great with the internet, make sure she knows how to call the gallery or contact the artist in a way that feels safe for her. If your friend in Buffalo wants to give you something from a gallery in San Diego, make sure they’ve got a site where they can order online. If it’s a local artist that shows in your favorite cafe, take your friends to coffee and then ask in front of them how one buys the art.
Figure out the seller’s policies.
If your gift-givers are the sort to want to feel clever and get you something kind of like the thing you asked for that they think is entirely superior, make sure the gallery or artist will exchange it. This also applies to things like gift cards, prints or crafts. The one original you want might also sell before your loved ones can buy it, so you need to figure out if the gallery or artist will help you find something to go in its place, or refund the money.
You can read more about my policies here, but remember I’m only one artist, and every small business is a little different.
Think about giving art to yourself.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in holiday madness we forget to take care of yourselves. Consider giving yourself the gift of art, something you can see every day and smile over during the busy season and after. Hints and lists aside, sometimes it’s good to just go for what you know you want and not have to worry about ending up with the ugly green one instead of the pretty blue one, or something from entirely the wrong artist.
Art can be a real mood-booster, especially if you buy it when you see it instead of worrying someone else will snap it up. A bit of self-care goes a long way during gift-giving season!
No matter what, remember that they tried.
If you do get something a bit disappointing, try to remember that, at least to most people, gift-giving is hard. It happens to be my super power, but even I have a harder time with some people than others. Even if you end up with something more worthy of Regretsy than your mantelpiece, smile and hope they put in the receipt.
It’s a cliche, but it really is the thought that counts. Even if that thought is a little bit awful.
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: info, words
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