Ed Emberly's Big Blue Metafilter Thread

January 29, 2005 12:50 PM

Of the few memories I still have of childhood, Ed Emberley is tops among them. Though I am to this day a miserable artist, his drawing books were staples of my young life. And I always thought he was my little secret. [via BoingBoing]
posted by absalom (15 comments total)

As strange as it sounds, I think my obsession with these when I was a kid explains why I was so good at geometry and so bad at everything else math related.
posted by absalom at 12:52 PM on January 29, 2005

Yeah! He was a HUGE formative influence on my artistic talents as a very young child. I remember those books fondly...I look at some of the pictures in those books today and I'm stunned to see some of the same weird little touches that appear in my own stuff.
posted by 40 Watt at 12:54 PM on January 29, 2005

Oh, and if you ever come across a copy of his book "The Wizard of Op", lemme know. I'll buy it in a heartbeat. There's some truly crazy headfuck illustrations in that...
posted by 40 Watt at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2005

I grew up with and loved Ed Emberley's books! Make a World and The Wizard of Op were my favorites--I'm certain he's part of the reason I started drawing and became a graphic designer.
posted by fandango_matt at 12:59 PM on January 29, 2005

Weird! I've been thinking about Ed Emberly (for no apparent reason) over these last two weeks - after a good 20 years of nary a though! It must be his time again...

My favorites were the themed notepads that featured a collection of how-to-draw-this illustrations on the inside cover. I must have gone through a couple dozen of those things.

I wonder if they're still available?
posted by Aquaman at 1:06 PM on January 29, 2005

I too was just thinking of Emberly a couple weeks ago, but couldn't remember his name. South Park is what reminded me of him -- after all these years, I finally twigged. I think it's totally obvious that Trey Parker and Matt Stone had Emberly books as kids.
posted by kindall at 1:11 PM on January 29, 2005

Here ya go, 40 Watt.
posted by rushmc at 1:24 PM on January 29, 2005

Hot damn!
posted by 40 Watt at 2:43 PM on January 29, 2005

damn they were good...i have all of the color books he did, except green (which was probably my favorite check out at the library as a kid)...what a wonderful man...
posted by es_de_bah at 3:19 PM on January 29, 2005

Did anyone else learn to draw with the books of Lee J. Ames?

I like how Ed Emberly's art looks, but I never drew anything with them.
posted by interrobang at 4:22 PM on January 29, 2005

Ahhh, this brings back memories. I recall special requesting the green book from the library and it coming all the way from upstate New York. My favorite things were the cars and plains and trains.

I might just go and buy all of the books from Amazon.
posted by smackfu at 4:35 PM on January 29, 2005

Ah....Ed Emberley's Big Green Drawing Book. I beat the shit out of that book. SUCH a blast from the past...thanks!
posted by ghastlyfop at 4:47 PM on January 29, 2005

I'd forgotten all about him until you posted this. Thanks for the past-blast!
posted by matildaben at 5:22 PM on January 29, 2005

I spent a lot of time poring over these as a kid, and like the previous comment noted, I am sure that Emberly (along with Richard Scarry) were probably the first influences to steer me toward graphic design, which eventually became my livelihood (and life).

I wonder if childrens book authors really know the amount of influence they have on so many of us? I am sure that without those people - Leo Lionni, Munro Leaf, Marjorie Flack, Robert McCloskey, Don Freeman, Lois Lenski, Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Ludwig Bemelmans, H. A. Rey, Virginia Lee Burton, Margaret Wise Brown, Judith Viorst, Beatrix Potter, Margery Williams, A. A. Milne, and Kenneth Grahame (and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head) - we'd all be much less ethical, kind, friendly, helpful, happy and constructive.
posted by luriete at 5:53 PM on January 29, 2005

Oooh, thanks for the post! I still have my cherished copy of Ed Emberley's Great Thumbprint Drawing Book, something I'll be grateful to have read the next time I'm cashing a check or being booked at the county jail.
posted by cobra libre at 9:52 PM on January 29, 2005