Posts Tagged ‘pen and ink’
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
Fairy Flower
Saturday, December 7th, 2013
Fairy Flower by Amy Crook
Our week of the Floating Gallery is almost over! It closes Sunday night, and all the art floats away, leaving me to relax and enjoy my holiday season.
As part of my long month of working on the sequel to The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, I decided to do an illustration for the cover. There’s a lot of plants in the second book, but the fairy flowers feature in both of them, and I wanted to give a visual to them.
They’re described as a common flower, so I wanted something that reminded me of the wildflowers I picked as a kid, but that had a bit of magical whimsy to them. You can just imagine the butterfly fairies that are attracted to these little blossoms, giving luck to your home as a reward for letting them grow.
Fairy Flowers, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Fairy Flower, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the flower’s five fat little petals, and the way the purple ink wanted to bleed out past the lines. Tricksy blending. Below, you can see the piece in a frame with Horace, the bird from the cover of the first book.
Fairy Flower & Horace, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: apprenticeship, consulting magic, copic marker, for sale, i made this, julian st albans, pen and ink
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Still Life With Fandom 1: Who?
Thursday, December 5th, 2013
Still Life With Fandom 1: Who? by Amy Crook
It’s Thursday of this December Floating Gallery week, and today I have an actual still life for you. I have a lot of nifty things, knickknacks and props and oddities, and I thought it would be fun to use some of them to explore the idea of a still life.
A lot of things we’re fans of evolve over time, reboot themselves, or just make changes, so it’s interesting to me to also see this as a reflection of the way our own love for things evolves with them. I have the 10th Doctor’s sonic screwdriver prop because that’s when I was interested enough to get one, but then the show’s moved on and the prop itself is only still current because of the 50th anniversary special.
This painting started with the deliberately loose, wobbly pen-and-ink outlines, and then it sat for a long time until finally I was inspired by The Day of the Doctor to finish it. I even added a little homage to the white paper in the foreground to help fill the big empty space.
Still Life With Fandom 1: Who?, 8″x8″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Still Life With Fandom 1: Who?, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the sonic screwdriver and its soft blue glow. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, ready to bring a little grown-up fandom to your walls.
Still Life With Fandom 1: Who?, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: doctor who, for sale, pen and ink, watercolor
Cthonian Skies
Monday, December 2nd, 2013
Cthonian Skies by Amy Crook
The Floating Gallery has touched down for December, and I thought I’d start your Monday off strangely.
The swampy greens in this strange sky are laced with shimmering iridescence. The moon shimmers darkly beneath spirals of gold, and strange salt-formation stars radiate yet more gold into the gloomy mists of night. Perhaps this is what Cthulhu saw in his native skies, or what he sees now in the slice of reality he occupies as he slumbers deep beneath the waves — beautiful, maddening dreams of a night that never was.
Cthonian Skies, 5.5″x8.5″ pen & ink, salt, watercolor, and iridescent watercolor on acid-free embossed paper.
Cthonian Skies, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight making long shadows from the salt crystal stars, and the textures of paper and paint interacting. Below, it’s loosely attached to a frame for size. The final product will be properly matted and framed for shipping, to protect the nifty salty bits.
Cthonian Skies, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: for sale, gold, green, iridescent watercolor, lovecraft, moon, more cowbell, pen and ink, salt, spirals, watercolor
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good
Friday, November 15th, 2013
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good,
a Sherlock parody comic by Amy Crook
I’m still hard at writing with NaNoWriMo, but yesterday’s card demanded a companion.
Mycroft Holmes is Santa Claus. It makes perfect sense, in a creepy sort of way, he’s already got Minions to do the work and everything. I’m especially partial to the candy cane striped tie, an everyday acknowledgement of his very special secret role. Even more powerful than being the British Government, sort of!
He Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. Buy this as a holiday card at my Etsy shop!
two Sherlock holiday cards and a spooky pen made of bone
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: christmas, copic marker, etsy, holiday, john watson, nfs, parody, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watson
Secret Santa
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Secret Santa, a Sherlock parody comic by Amy Crook
Despite NaNoWriMo taking over my brain, the holiday cards continue to trickle out of my pens! This one ended up inspiring tomorrow’s comic, in the way that these things do.
It’s Christmas morning at 221B Baker Street, and John’s a bit mystified by the extra gifts that have appeared under the tree overnight from “Santa.” Sherlock is merely disgusted that Mycroft can’t seem to keep his fingers out of Sherlock’s life for one single holiday.
Secret Santa, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper. Buy this as a holiday card at my Etsy shop!
two Sherlock holiday cards and a spooky pen made of bone
Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: christmas, copic marker, etsy, holiday, john watson, nfs, parody, pen and ink, sherlock, sherlock bbc, sherlock holmes, sold, watson
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis
Thursday, November 7th, 2013
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis
pen and ink art by Amy Crook
If you’ve never experienced sleep paralysis, this particular Uncanny Fear might not quite make sense to you.
You’re lying in bed, just on the edge of sleep, and your body has descended into some nether region of unresponsiveness. A fear grips you along with the strange paralysis, and you look around as much as your frozen eyes will allow. Dark figures loom all around, watching, waiting, though you don’t know what for. You probably don’t want to know.
Although I enjoy the pattern on the rumpled bedding immensely, I think the staticky quality of the shadowy figures if my favorite part of this one.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis, 5″x7″ pen & ink on paper.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the spooky, swirly footboard on this narrow bed. Below, the piece is in a frame, with my iPhone for size reference.
A Series of Uncanny Fears: Sleep Paralysis, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: a series of uncanny fears, crosshatching, edward gorey, for sale, gorey, pen and ink, uncanny fears
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