Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Weirdos: 09/21/12

Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Weirdos by Ed Emberley is a collection of some of my favorite how-to draw monsters, weirdos and other magical creatures from his 1970s era of drawing books.

As a child I was addicted to Ed Emberley's books. I had nearly every one and the few that I didn't have, I kept checked out from the library on a nearly permanent basis. These books are brilliant because they take simple shapes: circles, triangles, squares, rectangles and a few wiggly lines to draw things. At their most basic, they are stick figures. At their most complex, they are intricate things like trains, buildings, and in the case of this book, creatures like Frankenstein's monster.

In the old days the books were grouped by color: The Little Book of Green, for example. You had to remember which color the thing was to find the right book. Horses, for example were orange. Frankenstein, was green. Witches were blue.

Now my children are learning a thing or two about drawing from the reissues of his books. It's fun to see what they come up with after being inspired by his step by step instructions.

Five stars

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Monday, September 24, 2012 at 00:52:10

Judy Sammis

What a cool looking book! I'd love to check it out when I get to your house again. I would have loved it when I was younger - actually - it looks nifty now.

Comment #2: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 22:30:05

Pussreboots

It is nifty now. I still love these books. If I remember, I'll bring it down on our next trip.