{"id":2910,"date":"2011-05-25T08:34:06","date_gmt":"2011-05-25T13:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=2910"},"modified":"2019-11-25T16:51:18","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T21:51:18","slug":"34-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/05\/25\/34-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"34 Years Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yeah, Star Wars<\/strong><\/em> came out on this date 34 years ago, but something more important to me personally came out the same year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>How to Draw Monsters<\/strong><\/em> by Larry Evans came out in 1977. It is a how-to-do-it book, but it doesn’t have strict, step-by-step tutorials. Instead it’s filled with the author’s mainly black and white monster drawings and some instructional and inspirational text. It’s sort of like a sketchbook with some typesetting here and there. One of his best lines was something like “you have to first be able to draw the human figure before you take the guy’s head off and tuck it under his arm.”<\/em> The drawings were fun and kind of cartoony and not so masterfully drafted as to be intimidating. It also introduced me to technical pens, and my Dad and I went on a mad chase finding the darn things.<\/p>\n

I can’t remember if I bought it myself at a mall bookstore, but chances are, I received it as a gift, and what a gift! It opened up worlds to me all for $2.95!<\/p>\n

Down the road, I will scan some of Mr Evans’ work to show you how he haunts me still! Thanks, Larry, wherever you are!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yeah, Star Wars came out on this date 34 years ago, but something more important to me personally came out the same year. How to Draw Monsters by Larry Evans came out in 1977. It is a how-to-do-it book, but … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31,120,7],"tags":[191,392,391],"class_list":["post-2910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blast-from-the-past","category-curious-clutter","category-illustration","tag-191","tag-larry-evans","tag-monsters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-KW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3089,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/06\/14\/how-to-draw-monsters-by-larry-evans-undersea-monsters\/","url_meta":{"origin":2910,"position":0},"title":"How To Draw Monsters by Larry Evans – Undersea Monsters","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"More from the late, great Larry Evans' fabulous how-to book for kids from 1977. This is from Chapter II of one of the most important books I got as a kid. It was a fun art book rather than a strict step-by-step book. Mr Evans invited you to play and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/evans-octopus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/evans-octopus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/evans-octopus.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2972,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/06\/01\/how-to-draw-monsters-by-larry-evans\/","url_meta":{"origin":2910,"position":1},"title":"How to Draw Monsters by Larry Evans","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I wrote a post about the how-to-do-it book I got back in 1977 that has probably had the most influence over my illustration work. These visual ideas still rattle around my brain and often end up emerging from my pen in one form or another. I've decided to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"eyeball","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/htdm-p58-eye.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40404,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/04\/11\/second-thoughts-on-a-cheap-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":2910,"position":2},"title":"Second Thoughts on a Cheap Sketchbook…","author":"Joe","date":"April 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I may get my $3.25 worth out of the terrible little sketchbook from discount chain Five Below after all. I have stubbornly refused to put it aside, and I continue to doodle in it as I sit on the couch with a cat and a spouse. It's been more miss\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Teenage-Werewolf-at-the-Reunion.jpg?fit=640%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Teenage-Werewolf-at-the-Reunion.jpg?fit=640%2C578&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Teenage-Werewolf-at-the-Reunion.jpg?fit=640%2C578&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39873,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/01\/17\/werewolf-in-a-girls-dormitory\/","url_meta":{"origin":2910,"position":3},"title":"Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory","author":"Joe","date":"January 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"...doodling vampires, werewolves and bimbos in a cheap sketchbook while watching trash on television...","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"werewolf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-monster-approaches.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-monster-approaches.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/the-monster-approaches.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45514,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/08\/06\/terrible-movie-great-soundtrack\/","url_meta":{"origin":2910,"position":4},"title":"Terrible Movie – Great Soundtrack","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"August 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in the late 1970s, John Williams must have been the hardest working man in show business. I doubt if he took a day off since crafting the iconic soundtrack for Jaws in 1975. If there was a major movie, he seemed to have his name attached hoping he could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/disco-dracula.jpg?fit=750%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/disco-dracula.jpg?fit=750%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/disco-dracula.jpg?fit=750%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/disco-dracula.jpg?fit=750%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40721,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/06\/06\/go-big-or-go-home-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2910,"position":5},"title":"Go Big or Go Home!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I think I am finally reaching the limits of the tiny sketchpads I have been favoring over the past few years. I bought some heavyweight, toned, mixed media paper that I want to play with, and I thought something dynamic like a battle between monsters would be the subject matter.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Tracing-Paper-Frank.jpg?fit=525%2C774&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Tracing-Paper-Frank.jpg?fit=525%2C774&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Tracing-Paper-Frank.jpg?fit=525%2C774&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}