October 14, 2007

DRAWING LESSONS


Here's a handy guide for drawing the spooky essentials straight from my childhood copy of Ed Emberley's Make a World, definitely one of the funnest books I grew up with.

(Oh, man. This post lead me to discover that he now has a whole book just about drawing Halloween stuff!)


UPDATE: According to reader Steven Finch, Attorney At Law, Emberley's Big Orange Drawing Book is far better, as it includes all of the stuff in his Halloween book and more...


Finch also pointed out that The Drawing Book of Weirdos also looks good...


Happy drawing.

11 comments:

Steven Finch, Attorney At Law said...

I'm a huge Emberley fan, and having said that--skip the Halloween book! Get his "Big Orange Drawing Book," as it includes everything in the Halloween book and more!

There's also "Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Weirdoes" which as a child I always saw listed on the back of his books but never could find in any of the libraries.

Really, all his books had something monstrous to draw, be it Buttercup the swamp creature from the Big Purple Drawing Book or Dracula's Dragster in the Big Green Drawing Book or...

Anonymous said...

I love the fact that most of the figures have been highlighted (except that poor clown). And the angel gets lumped in with all the other creepy ghouls!

savinoboy said...

I just bought this for my son. It's where I learned to draw way back when. I made a whole comic based on the "Shaggy Dog" figure.

Chris

John Rozum said...

I loved those Emberley books when I was a kid. I haven't thought about him in years, but may go and pick up those more recent volumes.

Flashfink! said...

If it hasn't happened already, somebody should hire Ed Emberley to design an animated cartoon series! It would be ideal for Flash, as his website demonstrates.

Monster-Maniac said...

This is the first I've heard of him. Looks great :)

Kirk D. said...

Thanks for the info Steve. Good to know. As you see I've adjusted the post accordingly.

travis- ha, yeah that sad sack clown isn't worth his weight in rubber noses.
And you've got to have the angel if you're going to draw massive angel/devil wars.

good to hear from you Chris. I'm definitely looking forward to using this book with my son too.

rozum- I'll be eagerly waiting to see your official Emberly store display.

Good call flashfink. I'd love to see all those little figures spring to life (and fight each other of course)

M. maniac- there's something very satisfying about drawing from these books. mainly because each drawing goes extremely fast and your drawing usually looks exactly like his.

mod*mom said...

i wish i'd seen this when i was a kid or atleast before halloween! i just saw him listed as one of s.britt's favorites + on childen's illustration blog too. i'm going to get some of these books for my 4 year old daughter (but i'm leary of influencing her style-she's very creative)

Kirk D. said...

Modmom your daughter should love them, especially being very creative.
When I drew the Emberley stuff as a kid, the drawings felt almost more like toys than art. I built houses,landscapes, and cities almost like I was playing with Legos or blocks. (So much fun.) I think I came away with a few new concepts, but I never felt like his teachings became a crutch.
(Very cool blog you have by the way!)

Obscure Reference said...

Thanks... I loved these books as a kid but couldn't remember the name of the artist who drew them!! Another dead brain cell recovered!

(Awesome blog, by the way.)

Kirk D. said...

Glad to hear it and glad you're enjoying the blog!