Today, I’d like to take a look at
the illustrations of Ed Emberley. I discovered
Ed Emberely’s Drawing Book: Make a World (Little, Brown and Company,
1972) when I was a bit older than the book’s intended age target, but I
remember being charmed by the multitude of things he drew with just a few
simple shapes and lines. As I have been
seeking ways to get people to not be intimidated by drawing, I recently
purchased my own copy of Make a World.
His drawings are in the realm of
stick figures, however, he shows how to put lines and shapes together to make
many recognizable things. The animals,
buildings and objects show how one can abstract something to a simple form without
losing the identity. Textile artists,
think applique or free motion quilting here.
If you can get a copy of Make a World, study it for the breakdown
of forms to their bare essentials, then try making your own near-abstract
creations of everyday objects. Draw
them, or cut pieces of colored paper.
Isn’t it fun to be a kid again?
Here is a free-motion thread
sketch of a train that I did in Emberley’s style.
copyright RPS, please do not copy or repost
I made some changes from Emberley’s
instructions, I didn’t like the look of his caboose at all, and my coal car is
quite different too. Had I not been
running late with this post, I would have looked at some pictures of real
trains to get the images I wanted. Then,
I added color to my quilted train:
copyright RPS, please do not copy or repost
If you want to make your own
folk-inspired or applique designs, take a good look at Emberley’s drawings.
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