Posts Tagged ‘pen and ink’

Flowers for Bilbo

Friday, July 26th, 2013

Flowers for Bilbo, a Hobbit parody commission by Amy Crook

Flowers for Bilbo, a Hobbit parody commission by Amy Crook

“Tears, Gandalf. Tears and murder.”

Yes, this is related to a fic. No, I’m not going to tell you where to find it. Just be amused by poor Bilbo getting courting bouquets by two infamous dwarves, Dwalin and Thorin. Don’t worry, I’m sure it all turns out all right in the end, no murder required.

Flowers for Bilbo, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).

Flowers for Bilbo, detail, by Amy Crook

Flowers for Bilbo, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see Bilbo’s worried expression and pink blush, and some of my carefully-researched flowers. I had to look up what most things actually looked like, though I did know how to draw Lily of the Valley already. Below, you can see it hanging out in a temporary frame, looking spiffy before it gets shipped off to its new home.

Flowers for Bilbo, framed art by Amy Crook

Flowers for Bilbo, framed art by Amy Crook

 

Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today?

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today? Cthulhu art by Amy Crook

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today?
Cthulhu art by Amy Crook

Cthulhu just wants hugs. And to devour your soul, but you know. Hugs first!

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today?, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today? detail, by Amy Crook

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today?
detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of Cthulhu’s huggable tentacles. Below, he’s in a frame, so you can get the full effect of being hugged by a tentacle monster.

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today? framed art by Amy Crook

Have You Hugged Your Tentacle Monster Today?
framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Giant Rats 1: Blogging Again?

Thursday, July 18th, 2013

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1, Blogging Again? Sherlock art by Amy Crook

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1: Blogging Again?
Sherlock art by Amy Crook

Ages ago, I started a little project combining the worlds of Sherlock with Edward Gorey and my own twisted mind, and I’ve finally gotten back to it! I scripted a 20-page story based incredibly loosely on the offhand mention in one of the original stories of the giant rats of Sumatra, and I have page 1 here for you. Page 2 is sketched, and hopefully this will start the ball rolling a little faster. I’d like to eventually publish them into a little book, which means that there’ll be front and back art, as well, but I think getting more than 2 pages done is the next step.

These pages aren’t for sale yet, because if I do make a book, I’ll try to use Kickstarter to fund it, in which case they’ll be a premium reward level.

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1: Blogging Again?, 7″x5″ pen & ink on paper, nfs (for now).

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1: Blogging Again? detail, by Amy Crook

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1: Blogging Again?
detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the fine pen texture on Sherlock’s chair. Below, I’ve got it in a frame along with one of my own volumes of Sherlock Holmes.

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1: Blogging Again? framed art by Amy Crook

Giant Rats of Sumatra, page 1: Blogging Again?
framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Works In Progress
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Tentacle Spiral 6

Tuesday, July 16th, 2013

Tentacle Spiral 6 by Amy Crook

Tentacle Spiral 6 by Amy Crook

This painting reminds me of looking into a pool of water that reflects the silvery moon. Not that I’ve ever been able to see writhing tentacles reaching in from all sides, slithering under the water and trying to capture the moon in their curls. The silver seems to float on top of everything else, even the details that were added after, though there’s little pen-and-ink details that scratch their way through the surface to add an extra bit of visual interest.

Tentacle Spiral 6, 6″x4″ Japanese watercolor, metallic watercolor, pen & ink and Sharpie marker on watercolor paper.

Tentacle Spiral 6, detail, by Amy Crook

Tentacle Spiral 6, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the secret coppery pen-scratches adding little halos of movement around some of the tentacles, and the deeper blacks etched into the silvery Sharpie curls as well. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, giving the tentacles a more otherworldly feel as they sneak in from all sides, grasping at moonlight.

Tentacle Spiral 6, framed art by Amy Crook

Tentacle Spiral 6, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books
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Not Dead Yet

Saturday, July 13th, 2013

Not Dead Yet, Captain Jack Harkness fan art by Amy Crook

Not Dead Yet,
Captain Jack Harkness fan art by Amy Crook

After doing all three of the new Doctors, I decided that Captain Jack Harkness needed a card of his own! It’s sort of a get well card, but could really be used to cheer up anyone who’s a bit down. Just don’t try to use it as a sympathy card.

I did, you will notice, get his cheeky wink this time.

Not Dead Yet, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper, nfs (sold).

Not Dead Yet, detail, by Amy Crook

Not Dead Yet, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a detail of his face, from cheeky wink to cleft chin. Below, he’s in a frame with a naughtily borrowed Sonic Screwdriver, and my iPhone for scale of course.

Not Dead Yet, framed Doctor Who fan art by Amy Crook

Not Dead Yet, framed Doctor Who fan art by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Horace

Monday, July 8th, 2013

Horace, an illustration from The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, by Amy Crook

Horace, an illustration from The Courtship of Julian St. Albans,
by Amy Crook

So, this is Horace! He’s a character from The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, which is a novel I wrote. I decided that one high-stress, low-paying creative career was enough, so rather than go through the normal channels of submission-rejection-etc, I just self-published it using Amazon’s CreateSpace platform. It’s available on Kindle or as a real, physical book, and you can even “borrow” the Kindle file if you’ve got Amazon Prime.

Even better, it’s available for free on Kindle today and tomorrow (July 8 & 9) as a special promotional thing! I’m also going to give away a copy of the physical book tomorrow, so if you covet a signed copy, that’s one way to get it.

The Courtship of Julian St. Albans is something of a hybrid book, a murder mystery in an urban fantasy setting, with a gay romance all wrapped up in the central plot.

Alex Benedict is the main character, and the mage who created Horace. Alex makes his living consulting on magical murders with the Agency, and he’s called in to consult on the murder of Julian St. Albans’ husband-to-be. Alex ends up a part of Julian’s formal Courtship, treading a deadly dance of manners, murder and magic. Horace is a magical artefact, rather than a clockwork machine. He’s hollow in the middle; he carries letters back and forth between the suitor and courted. He might just be my favorite character in the book, and was definitely the most fun to draw!

Horace, 4″x6″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Horace, detail, by Amy Crook

Horace, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see some of Horace’s details, both the filigree making up his body, and the runes that help him function magically. Below, you can see the bird with the book, and my phone makes three.

Horace and The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, both by Amy Crook

Horace and The Courtship of Julian St. Albans,
both by Amy Crook

Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Sunday Round-Up & Plant sketch

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

a whole week full of the artses

a whole week full of the artses

A whole week with no skipped days, whee! Monday a stingray swam into the sunlight for us, and Tuesday we dove deeper to look at Cthulhu’s house-anemone. Wednesday I showed off a preview of some of my many works in progress. Thursday there was a visit from Captain Jack Harkness, and Friday another fairytale sky made its appearance. Saturday three obedient service dogs showed off their harnesses for a client.

And now it’s Sunday, and I have another houseplant for you! This one in a proper pot, though its leaves are mysteriously see-through, showing a grey shadow of the pot wherever they cross paths.

another tentacley houseplant

another tentacley houseplant

 

Categories: Daily Art, Sunday Round-Up
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