Fill in the Blank: An Inspirational Sketchbook - Softcover

Muratyan Varham; Elodie Chaillous

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594745803 ISBN 13: 9781594745805

Publisher: Quirk Books, 2012

Synopsis

With more than 100 different spreads to envision, design, and draw, "Fill in the Blank" lets you create everything from new products (cars, shoes, vegetables) to new works of architecture (houses, skyscrapers, and cityscapes), from new works of art (statues, masterpieces) to new graphics (posters, billboards, packaging), from new icons (flags, road signs) to new forms of entertainment (roller coasters, book covers) and much, much more! Each spread offers you a visual starting place, using photographs more often than illustration to add realism. Want to design a tattoo? Here's the body. Want to build a new castle on a cliffside? Here's the landscape. Want to create a new constellation? Here's your night sky. Simultaneously inspirational and fun for all ages, "Fill in the Blank" has great potential as a gift for aspiring creative types, and would even make a great icebreaker at corporate retreats.

About this title

Review:

Oooh now this is a fun book in essence a book to get you drawing! There are pages of 'prompts' to get you arty e.g. 'You are A Punk' page, you have a dozen bald heads to decorate, 'You are A Chef' Page you have 6 dinner plates to fill with food. I love the quirky prompts and the ease with which you feel drawn to get drawing. I think having 'several goes' (6 plates/ 12 heads) under one theme, gives you the opportunity to just go for it and not come up with 'one brilliant' design. 'One design', can be so intimidating, that you never put pen to paper. Also, the prompts are so broad, that you WILL find something that gets your pen itching. Definitely a book to stimulate creativity especially in those of us, who need a little help. --Lifeatthezoo, August, 2012

it's such fun..filled with prompts for ideas to get you doodling and sketching. Miss Dunnit was quite enthralled by the idea and I have to say, so was I. I love the sense of humour and the lack of pressure it presents....no blank page syndrome (pardon the pun) and no 'lessons' or star shaped 'top tip' boxes that always make me feel as if I'm dong something that's more worthy than having a bit of creative fun. It's not pretending to be an art lesson or a channel for your creativity Marge, it has that rare quality of not taking itself too seriously.If you doodle to the point of being confident about using colour, the black and white prompts really let your additions stand out - which is really quite a thrill when you leaf through it some time later, looking for another inspiration point or just giggling at some graffiti style drawing that you did on a fishbowl, false nails....you name it - some of the prompts are really fun...I particularly like the 'You are an American' page - a Statue of Liberty and a row of empty pedestals....we had quite a long to-and-fro about who deserved to go on our pedestals I can tell you. I mean, do Ben and Jerry get a plinth each? Or do I draw them hugging so as not to fall off? See, a prompt that causes creeping intellectualism....*ahem*! ....It's a handsome sort of coffee table book size and has the useful bendy card cover that we are still calling a paperback. I can think of a couple of people on my Christmas list who would enjoy this, and for the price it will make a great gift I must say. --Stamping Ground, Sept, 2012

takes the semi-anarchic view of kids' annuals and goes a step further as it allows full creative reign on each page. It's a clever concept and no doubt it will appeal to adults too. Michela was delighted with it. Drawing inside any book is not allowed since she defaced a number of annuals by scribbling everywhere, so Fill in The Blank was, for her, a breath of fresh air! The adult doodler will find plenty of scope too - this can truly be a cross-generational book for the whole family to enjoy. Each spread prods your creative bones by suggesting a scenario - Michela loved the 'cookery'challenges, especially the birthday cake spread as she loves decorating cakes and biscuits. I liked the branding exercises, where you are asked to come up with logos and images for a variety of products: from a footie team to soft drinks. My partner loved the 'You are a business person' challenge, where you can devise all sort of business cards for fantasy businesses. I had a go too and a Monty Python sketch came into my head. Parrot peddler, anyone? My partner, cheekily, turned the page to 'You are a control freak' and plonked the book on my lap. I showed this book to a friend who is a photographer and she found it highly creative and stimulating. I agreed with her that the design is very modern but with a touch of nostalgia in the use of black and white photos. .....offers 100 different spreads and carries on the bestselling tradition of Wall s Notebook from Quirk. Part doodle pad, design and drawing board, or inspiration --Fromr --Artfull Kids, Sept, 2012

We've been rooting for this one for a while so it was great to finally be able to take a look at it. Being slightly 'arty' (read: absolutely hopeless) and having a daughter whose artistic ability is far outstripping my own, this book is an absolute must. So why 'Fill in the Blank'? What's so special about another sketchbook? Well this one sets up various pages, designs and scenarios to give you a spark of inspiration for your drawing. Sometimes you'll get to design a billboard for an ad campaign, other times you'll be doing some fantastic tattoos on someone's back or drawing the most wild and whacky pair of shoes you can possibly imagine. For Charlotte, the only real sticking point was understanding the context of some of the designs but it was actually really great for her, and even when she made up her own versions of what the 'brief' was actually after, she was totally and completely absorbed in this book for hours (to the point where the only way my wife could get her to eat dinner or do something else was to take her pencils away!) A really brilliant and novel book / sketchpad. Perhaps aimed at older children but even for an inquisitive and artsy 4 year old, it's an excellent and original idea --readitdaddy dot com, October, 2012

About the Author:

VAHRAM MURATYAN and ELODIE CHAILLOUS are graphic designers who live in Paris, France.

About this edition

• Publisher: Quirk Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1594745803
• ISBN 13: 9781594745805
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208