Posts Tagged ‘all rights reserved’
Felicitations
Thursday, January 23rd, 2014
Felicitations, a Star Trek parody comic
by Amy Crook for Tara Swiger
This commission was so fun! Tara Swiger came to me wanting a Trekkie birthday card with a Tara sort of twist, and we passed ideas back and forth via email until this finally gelled.
Spock’s holding a gift in what I think of as Tara colors, though really her pink is usually even brighter, and Picard’s got his usual “make it so” hand gesture going on. It was kind of fun mixing eras, too (though technically Spock did show up on Next Generation, he wasn’t in his TOS uniform). A little logic, a little illogic, and a lot of fangirl glee went into the image!
After Tara got her original in the mail, she sent me this fun little quote to share with you:
Hoorah! I just got my custom illustration in the mail (Amy sent the ORIGINAL! So fancy!) and it is so perfect!
I requested a customer birthday card, something funny + sweet to send Captains on their birthday. Amy helped me come up with the perfect idea, because I was a bit foggy about what I wanted.
I love that she got the geekery and she’s clever enough to make it funny.Amy’s super-easy to work with (this is my second custom order!) and I’ve been nervous (I have NO idea what’s involved), but she makes it easy!
If you’d like an illustration of your very own, just email me to get started!
Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: all rights reserved, birthday, commission, copic marker, nfs, pen and ink, picard, spock, star trek, tara swiger
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Holly the Organized Elf
Wednesday, December 18th, 2013
Holly the Organized Elf, a comic commission
for Beverly Army Williams by Amy Crook
When Beverly approached me to draw her an Organized Elf, at first I had a totally different image in mind. But she sent me some great answers and with a little bit of googling, we got our mental images to match. Holly is the mascot for Beverly’s excellent year-long Organized Elf Project, helping to keep you as organized as she is from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. Peace, not perfectionism!
Holly was really fun for me to draw, because I had carte blanche to put whatever oddities seemed to fit in her holiday kit. So, I decided on one of those fabric-lined craft project baskets, on which we put a lovely silver monogrammed plate, and then stuffed it with knitting, wintery fabric, sewing accessories, and even an emergency snowflake template. Because every elf has snowflake emergencies, right?
Beverly sent me the sweetest testimonial, which she’s letting me share with you:
“If we had worked together in person, in the same room, it would have looked something like this:
Me (waving hands in air): I see an elf. An elegant, swank elf. She’s organized. And pretty.
Amy: Here are ten questions to help you get more specific. I want to create your vision.
Me (studiously answers questions): Like this?
Amy: wonderful! (sketches) Does she look like your Organized Elf?
Me: You are amazing. She’s even better than I imagined. (hugs Amy. Kisses sketch.)
The reality is that we worked via email. Still, the process was that easy—I made some big sweeping statements about the ideas I had, Amy asked specific, thought-provoking questions, and from my answers, she sketched, inked, and colored a beautiful illustration that really is beyond what I imagined.
Amy’s professionalism is unparalleled; she meets (well ahead of time) the deadlines she set, and she is straightforward about what to expect. I can’t wait for another reason to work with her!”
If you’d like an illustration of your very own, email me to get started!
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: all rights reserved, beverly army williams, commission, elf, holiday, nfs, pen and ink
Diddy Wah Diddy Illustrations
Monday, September 30th, 2013
Diddy Wah Diddy by Corey Mesler, with interior illustrations by Amy Crook
This spring & summer I had the privilege to illustrate a literary novel! It’s been a really wonderful experience working with the editor, Jason, to add interior illustrations* to Corey’s richly-textured novel of Beale Street, Memphis, and the mythology of the blues.
Corey’s prose is full of rich character, and it was really easy to find images to go with it. Jason chose a scribbled black-and-white style of mine for the illustrations, and I did 9 images total, sprinkled throughout the book. He’d pick a story and have me read through it, then either ask for something specific, or something that went well with the story. I tried to keep everything as loose as a good blues jam, and capture the feel of each story.
The whole novel fits together to tell how a community went from its height of mythic glory, dipped down, and started building itself back up again. Everything is steeped in the language of the era and the feel of the blues, and I hope you’ll head on over to Ampersand Books and give it a shot!
illustration from Diddy Wah Diddy
Above, you can see a woman chilling at the bar, enjoying a legendary cocktail, helping to set the scene for the book. Below, I chose the author’s favorite of the group. I’ll let you read the book to find out how the werewolf ended up in the jar.
another illustration from Diddy Wah Diddy
If you’ve got a project that you think needs my illustrator’s touch, I’ve got info here about how you can hire me.
*Their designer did the cover, which is rich and red and beautifully sets the mood for the prose within.
Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: all rights reserved, book illustration, commission, illustration, pen and ink
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Words Wednesday: Interview with Tara Swiger
Wednesday, August 7th, 2013
Tara Swiger is an author, maker, and Starship Captain. She leads explorations into your mission, your marketing, and your enthusiasm…for teeny tiny art-y businesses (like mine!). Currently she’s putting together a very cool course called Explore You to help you boldly go.
Tara’s gotten two very different illustration projects from me, and she’s agreed to tell you how it went and what she’s doing with her art.
Q: Why did you decide to get commissioned art?
A: I think my first piece of commissioned art was the Starship*…and I got it because I wanted something to symbolize the space I was creating. A custom illustration made it seem so much more real (and professional!)
The second piece was a map for my Map Making Guide. I knew I wanted something really nice but don’t have the skills to create one myself! I wanted to create a better product, so I needed to bring in someone with better skills!
Q: How do you incorporate these illustrations into your business?
A: I use the Starship in the header of the actual Starship (a community site/forum), in my emails, and in a few ads!
The map illustration is part of the actual product of the map-making guide…so my customers use them to create maps of their goals!
Q: What did you hope an illustration would add to your projects?
A: My business is metaphor-friendly, but when those metaphors represent actual things (the community, the Guide) I need something other than words — I need the pictures to illustrate what I’m talking about! I felt that custom images would make it more professional and “put together” than anything I could make.
Q: How did the process work from your end?
A: It was so easy! I gave Amy a few ideas and she got it right away! I was so surprised, because I was super-nervous, but Amy made it easy!
Q: Have you had any unexpected awesome from your art?
A: Amy sent the original sketch of the Starship and it hangs in my hallway with all my favorite pictures! I love what it stands for (this amazing community of support I’ve created) and that I’m reminded of it every day!
Thanks for taking the time to share, Tara!
If you’re interested in commissioning an illustration for your own business, you can check out the details here.
*Starship Craftybiz by Amy Crook for Tara Swiger, all rights reserved
Stylin’ on her wall at home with her Instagrammed life!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, tara swiger, words
3 Service Dogs
Saturday, June 29th, 2013
3 Service Dogs by Amy Crook for Action Leashes
commission – all rights reserved
After I put these guys on my illustration commissions page, I totally forgot about posting them properly, oops! This trio of doggies were for a coloring book about service animals, and you can see they’re sporting a variety of service harnesses as examples. I have to admit, I found it harder to realistically draw dogs than I do to draw stick-figure humans, but once I got my eyes used to the idea, they came out quite clearly.
3 Service Dogs, 3 5″x7″ pen & ink drawings on paper, nfs (commission). All rights to this art are reserved for the client – no stealing the doggies!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, pen and ink
Kobold Curry Chef
Friday, June 21st, 2013
Kobold Curry Chef for Jefferson, by Amy Crook
commission, all rights reserved
This is one of those comic commissions that was just ridiculously fun to draw. He’s based on one of those in-jokey sort of anecdotes that are only really funny if you were there, but since I was there, I find him amusing. From the half-seen diagram of a chicken catapult to the blind albino cave chicken stiff with fear for his future as ammo, curry, or both, it all amuses me.
For those who wonder about such things, since he’s for personal, non-commercial use, I charged Jefferson the Be a Cartoon price, plus an extra fee for all the many extra props and details. Though not too much more, since I didn’t have to draw pants.
Kobold Curry Chef, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (commission).
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, commission, copic marker, jefferson, nfs, pen and ink
Licensing: Ear to the Wall
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013
Ear to the Wall by Carrie Causey,
cover & interior illustrations by Amy Crook
It was over 2 years ago that I posted my Victorian Wallpaper design, with all its scribbly whimsy. Recently Google brought the post to Jason from Ampersand Books, and he wrote to me asking to use the art for the cover & interior of one of their little poetry chapbooks. They went with a gorgeously intense (and hard to photograph!) red and blue for the cover, with faded greys inside and pure black and white in the inside covers.
I haven’t had time to read any of the poetry yet, but the book itself is very cool looking, in my totally biased opinion. Sherlock seems to find the titles intriguing, anyway!
Ear to the Wall, detail of cover art
Above you can see the rich color and linen texture of the printed cover art, with my tiny skulls still just visible in the design. You can get your own copy of Ear to the Wall by Carrie Causey here at Ampersand Books.
If you find yourself interested in licensing any of my work for commercial use, feel free to contact me here.
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: all rights reserved, licensing, words
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