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A review by lthe7th
Zen Pencils: Creative Struggle by Gavin Aung Than
5.0
Big fan of Gavin Aung Than's comics so when I saw this at BookXcess in 2019, I had to get it. I initially didn't know if I was going to gift it to my colleague who was a designer. Then I ended up keeping it and only got around to reading it today.
Well, let's just say this book is very inspiring because after reading it halfway, I decided that I shall draw in my sketchbook. Today! The first comic really made a strong impression on me (Van Gogh on tackling The Blank Canvas) and I went YEAH and just doodled a self-portrait with new pens that I got. That's how inspiring this book is.
I also really like that each comic comes with a write up on the person's background like how's their thought and creative process like as well as their life. It's really nice to read as it's not just quotes. Granted Gavin's work is always an expansion of the quote through his comics to bring greater nuance to the meaning. Honestly, he has really good storytelling skills to be able to pull off what he does with the amount of research he put in towards each person.
Additionally, I feel inspired to try out maybe drawing a comic ala Gavin's style as one of his tips (at the back of the book) mentioned setting deadlines with small projects. Mainly because I'm curious to see if I can add more women into the selection. Not to say Gavin doesn't as he has Mary Shelly, Marie Curie, and Frida Kahlo in his repertoire and wow they're fantastic. So fantastic that I want more women.
Other notable creative people covered that I REALLY took inspiration and reminders from are Stephen King and Akira Kurosawa as they're writers and I relate better to them. Akira's quote is the BEST (but not going to spoil it as it's quite a nice punchline)
Well, let's just say this book is very inspiring because after reading it halfway, I decided that I shall draw in my sketchbook. Today! The first comic really made a strong impression on me (Van Gogh on tackling The Blank Canvas) and I went YEAH and just doodled a self-portrait with new pens that I got. That's how inspiring this book is.
I also really like that each comic comes with a write up on the person's background like how's their thought and creative process like as well as their life. It's really nice to read as it's not just quotes. Granted Gavin's work is always an expansion of the quote through his comics to bring greater nuance to the meaning. Honestly, he has really good storytelling skills to be able to pull off what he does with the amount of research he put in towards each person.
Additionally, I feel inspired to try out maybe drawing a comic ala Gavin's style as one of his tips (at the back of the book) mentioned setting deadlines with small projects. Mainly because I'm curious to see if I can add more women into the selection. Not to say Gavin doesn't as he has Mary Shelly, Marie Curie, and Frida Kahlo in his repertoire and wow they're fantastic. So fantastic that I want more women.
Other notable creative people covered that I REALLY took inspiration and reminders from are Stephen King and Akira Kurosawa as they're writers and I relate better to them. Akira's quote is the BEST (but not going to spoil it as it's quite a nice punchline)