Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Sketches from a Nameless Land: The Art of the Arrival

Rate this book
Book by Tan, Shaun

50 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2010

3 people are currently reading
453 people want to read

About the author

Shaun Tan

72 books2,598 followers
Shaun Tan (born 1974) is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books. After freelancing for some years from a studio at Mt. Lawley, Tan relocated to Melbourne, Victoria, in 2007. Tan was the Illustrator in Residence at the University of Melbourne's Department of Language Literacy and Arts Education for two weeks through an annual Fellowship offered by the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust. 2009 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist. In 2011, he won his first Oscar in the category Best Short Animated Film for his work The Lost Thing.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
262 (74%)
4 stars
63 (17%)
3 stars
21 (5%)
2 stars
3 (<1%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Liz Murray.
635 reviews5 followers
January 29, 2014
I never cease to be amazed by the work of Shaun Tan. I feel my life is richer for having his books in it.
Profile Image for Metin Yılmaz.
1,083 reviews129 followers
October 29, 2022
Uzak nasıl oldu? Sorusuna cevap olarak yazarı tarafından hazırlanmış, pazarlama materyali tadında eskiz kitabı.
Profile Image for Ariadna Sanz.
Author 4 books11 followers
January 12, 2019
Álbum de bocetos y material que permite entender el largo proceso de creación de Emigrantes. A su vez, es una reflexión muy personal sobre el proceso de la migración y el viaje a lo desconocido.
Profile Image for Manisha ♡.
13 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2021
As an artist this book came in handy, it shows a lot of sketched of the artist and introduces how he tells story and how he creates his work. Definitely will miss looking through this book and the memories I had when I first looked through it all.
Profile Image for Fact100.
485 reviews39 followers
September 27, 2025
Shaun Tan'in "Uzak" adlı eserini, nasıl bir süreç ve çalışmalar sonucunda ortaya çıkardığını gösteren bu eseri, çizim yapan veya yapma arzusu olan sanatçılara öneririm.
Profile Image for İrem Hira Yuca Vurucu.
234 reviews73 followers
September 3, 2023
Uzak’ta vurulduğum sahnelerin, çizimlerin yaratıcısının kafasının içine girmek gibi bir his; sanatçı kasını gıdıklayan ve hemen bir şeyler üretme isteği oluşturan harika bir ilham kitap…
Profile Image for D.K. Mok.
Author 18 books57 followers
January 24, 2013
A gorgeous companion piece to Shaun Tan's masterpiece, The Arrival. It gives a fantastic insight into the research that went into the book, the inspiration for various locations/creatures/story elements, and an entertaining look at the processes behind creating some of the scenes. And lots of cute sketches, of course.
Profile Image for Rina.
17 reviews20 followers
May 2, 2024
I loved the Bird King, and I just adored The Arrival, so I was destined to love this book too.
This book presents the art work like Bird King does, but this time Tan also writes about his other sources of inspiration and his own takes on what it means to migrate, to belong, and more about the mysterious city in The Arrival.
Shaun Tan's works amaze me every single time, and I cannot get enough of his creative ideas.
AFTER you've read The Arrival, you should track down this book.
3 reviews
January 6, 2024
This book has lots of imagination and thoughts. We can follow the thought processes and everyone can find a close story in their life like in this book. Actually it is a book that is talk about the author's another book, original named "arrival". I did not read original one but I thought buy original one.
Profile Image for Ely.
1,435 reviews113 followers
December 4, 2020
Just like every other book Shaun Tan has put out, this is absolutely gorgeous and I loved it. I love the way Tan talks about his art and writing process, I always end up feeling inspired.
Profile Image for Sean Benson.
294 reviews4 followers
May 31, 2019
This is amazing. For a book with no word it says so much.
You really get a sense of how they are feeling with the otherworldly creatures, buildings and objects and strange lettering. You feel their confusion and sense of loss but you also feel their relief and wonder as they explore their environment more and get help and explanations and eventually help others who are as lost as they were
Profile Image for Christina.
499 reviews1 follower
November 16, 2016
Shuan Tan's _The Arrival_ is one of my favorite books. Reading through his sketches and notes made me appreciate the thoughtfulness and care with which he planned _The Arrival_ all the more. It was affirming and impressive to see how well he accomplished his goals, since so much of his intentions were matched with the impact each image had on my reading experiences. I'm so happy to own both.
Profile Image for Ted Lake.
49 reviews
January 29, 2015
I really enjoyed looking at the engineering behind the character, the world and the animals as well as the inspiration the artist was able to draw from his muses. I would truly love to visit this Nameless land one day.
Profile Image for Carlos Piélago Rojo.
204 reviews2 followers
April 27, 2015
Soy muy aficionado a los libros de bocetos de los ilustradores, y los de Shaun Tan son de los mejores, además en este tienes el extra de que Tan cuanta el proceso que realizó durante el libro.
Profile Image for Kit.
800 reviews46 followers
January 3, 2017
Shaun Tan can say more with one image than anyone should be able to.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.