Sketch Stack #9

Things Are Getting Ghoulish

Return to school: ✅

Return to quiet working hours: ✅

Return to making an absolute wreck of my studio: ✅

I’d been percolating on a new illustration piece for a couple of weeks now, and this week I was finally able get my hands messy and make it. The only problem is, it required drawing an old, spooky victorian style house, which, let’s just say is not my forte.

I’d like to think that there’s some alternate reality out there where another version of Amanda Crabtree exists. She likes drawing straight lines and can, well, do math. She works in sustainable architecture and affordable housing, and is happily making the world a beautiful, more livable place.

This reality’s version of Amanda Crabtree, however, gets very, very bored when drawing buildings and somehow manages to miscalculate her numbers even when using a calculator. So she happily makes silly pictures of imaginary things that, hopefully, make the world a beautiful, more livable place.

While I absolutely have mastered the art of avoiding math, unfortunately drawing buildings has become inevitable. So this week I drew houses. Lots & lots of houses.

Pinterest came through with plenty of reference images, and by studying those I designed a silhouette/structure for the house in my piece.

Eventually, all of these explorations became one simple stamp

Oddly enough I also get bored drawing trees, but not carving them, so I carved some wonky little tree stamps as well.

Once I everything was inked, printed & scanned, it all came together to make the background for my newest illustration… spooky right? I’m pretty excited about it.

Some might say that July is too early to start thinking about/planning for Halloween, but me & these ghosts respectfully disagree.

So, in the spirit of all things delightful, festive, and spooky, I wish you all a very happy weekend.

‘til next time,

-agc