Learning to Draw with Ed Emberley

When I was a young child in the 1980s, all I wanted to do was tell stories. Along with writing, I tried drawing my creations, sketching out characters and settings. They were always simple; I remember some of my first stories being about characters called Starboy, who was a star with hands on two points and a hat on the top one, and Boneboy, who was a bone with the same stick figure limbs.

One of the biggest influences as a young artist was Ed Emberley. His art books, such as The Big Red Drawing Book, were filled with step-by-step instructions for drawing practically everything in the world. Every step was simple to follow, represented by a line, a circle, a box, drawn by itself underneath the growing image. It didn’t matter what you wanted to draw, it was in one of his books. An octopus? Oh yeah. A firetruck with the ladder extended? Yup. An alien? Pick one.

Emberley’s main drawing books were separated by color but that didn’t really relate to what you might find inside. He also released a book of animals, book of faces, a book of Halloween, and the best one, How to Draw Monsters and More Scary Stuff. 

In all, Ed Emberley published 26 drawing books between 1970 and 2002, and has collaborated on many more children’s books, frequently with his wife, Barbara, and his daughter, Rebecca. In total, he’s illustrated or contributed to over 100 books and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

I would borrow many of his books from the library and tell sprawling stories with the instructions inside. I remember one of the books (not which one unfortunately) that had a ton of circus stuff included: the tents, the clowns, the lions, the little cars. I loved following along with his art and how easy it was to customize it. Each page was filled with a dozen or so objects, and I copied everything I could find, while also learning enough to develop my own art beyond his examples. With just a few more extra lines or shapes, your art could be elevated, and I’m sure Ed would have loved to see it.

I recently bought one of his books again to share with my son. My son loves drawing, and I know he’d appreciate how much he could learn from them. Apparently, I’m not the only adult going back to collect them for their children as many of the books have been reprinted from their original publication.

Interest in his books isn’t limited to kids and their parents, as Ed Emberley has received awards for his illustrations in children’s books, including the Caldecott Medal in 1968 for Drummer Hoff, and as a runner-up for One Wide River to Cross the year before. Both books were collaborations with his wife, Barbara Emberley. The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist with the most distinguished picture book for children, and other winners include Jumanji in 1982 by Chris Van Allsburg, and Maurine Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are in 1964. I can’t recall if I ever read one of his collaborations when I was a child, but I can see that his art is so much more intricate in those than the instructional books I’m used to.

As I grew up, my own art evolved quite a bit. Over the years, however, when my opportunity to draw diminished, so did my talent for it. At least I know there are still some guides to help bring my skills back up if I never needed them.