LA/SF: A Sketchbook from California (Hardcover)

~ Christian Schellewald (Author), Scott Robertson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"You find yourself drifting when you become aware of the arrangement of trees behind a freeway sound barrier, when you wait for the container ship to disappear beyond the horizon, when you sit and listen to the ambient noise of distant traffic, unconcerned that most people would consider this a waste of time."

From the moments described above, emerges a captivating sketchbook from Christian Schellewald. Art Director Schellewald has taken time away from the world of entertainment design to create vignettes that capture his everyday observations of living in California, specifically Los Angeles and San Francisco. When viewing such delicate yet compelling sketches, one feels as though Schellewald's memories are his or her own traveling between these two cities through his eyes and artwork.

About the Author

Christian Schellewald was born in 1962 in Essen, Germany. He studied Communication Design at the University of Essen and subsequently was an illustrator for German advertising agencies and magazines. He moved to the United States in 1994 to work as an art director for the animation industry. He is currently with Dreamworks SKG and lives in Los Angeles with his wife Katrin and her daughter Karla.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Design Studio Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933492104
• ISBN-13: 978-1933492100
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 7.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,359 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing sketch book, June 21, 2006

By	Jose L. De Juan "Jose De Juan" (Los Angeles USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the flood of published sketch and artists books, this one stands as a real valuable and personal contribution. The artwork is loose, atmospheric and truthful in its portrayal of the real world, not the artificially contrived and prettyfied world of other so-called artists. Christian's artwork in the film production of "The Road to EL Dorado" or "Over the Hedge" is fantastic. Here we have a much looser version of the artist at work.

It is what is missing that forces me to take one star of the review. It doesn't explain the circumstances and media in which this sketches were made. The notes in each sketch are great to convey the sense of a diary but techniques and media are a mistery and for those who would like to learn something about the making of the artwork, there is not even a footnote. I think a technical prologue or epilogue would have rounded up a great book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bordering on abstract and being too personal, December 13, 2008

By	Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Length:: 0:12 Mins

Christian Schellewald is an art director. Some of the movies he worked on includes Over The Hedge and Shrek 2. He currently works for Dreamworks SKG.

This is his personal sketchbook with drawings of Los Angeles and San Franciso. The style is very loose and medium varied. It is perhaps a little bit too loose, which I think pushes some pieces over to being almost abstract. The ones I like best are those that I can see clearly what he's drawing.

Most are captioned only with locations and nothing else. This sketchbook is perhaps a little too personal. Art is also about showing people what to see.

The book itself is clothed hardcover, so it might attract dirt if not probably taken care of.

There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.