Archive for the ‘Words Words Words’ Category
Christmas Palette
Sunday, December 23rd, 2012
my holiday palette for a festive season
It seems like most of my “slice of life” posts this week have been art-oriented after all, but it’s been an art-focused sort of week (at least when it wasn’t focused on the sort of client projects that make terrible photo posts).
I wanted to paint something Christmassy to post on the day of, and this is the palette that was left when I was done with Tuesday’s (tentacle-free) art. I used my ridiculously awesome scented Christmas watercolors, so my art table smelled of pine trees as I worked, and then peppermint afterward. And of course I watched Nightmare Before Christmas while I was painting, just to get in the proper spirit.
Soon. Soon!
(And for the record, no, the paint doesn’t still smell of pine once it dries. Alas.)
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: words
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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