Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals

Maybe you’ve heard of them….Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals is one of my favorite drawing books. There are myriad of other books as well, just as amusing.

This isn’t ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain‘ kind of drawing we’re talking about here.  Ed Emberley’s drawings consist of basic shapes connected together in ways that create animals, robots, vehicles, bug and monsters to name a few. Shapes like triangles, rectangles, squares and squigglies are all he uses.

Matisse’s Blue Lady was pieced improvisationally yesterday and playing with that piecing technique had me thinking….  Ed Emberley’s drawing instructions are perfect for improvisational playing around with approachable quilt shapes. (Going from a master’s work that influenced much modern art to come… to an alligator is kind of a leap, but that’s the way it goes in my brain)

Here’s Ed Emberley’s instructions from Make a World for an alligator:
And here’s my try at piecing him:
I think maybe he’ll need a friend.