Drawing Caricatures in Five Minutes

If you have always admired those artists that sit beach-side and charge you ten bucks to draw a silly looking version of you or your buddy, then you know what it takes to become a caricature artist. Most people think that it takes oodles of talent, and perhaps it does - to make money at it. You can, however, do it regardless of talent and have a heck of a fun time doing it.

Drawing a quick five minute caricature takes only one real talent - the interest in doing so. Most anyone can create a caricature that will be spot on as far as recognition without much talent at all. The key is to be able to observe people.

First, sit down with your own picture. You do not want your first ones to be of people that you care about, because quite honestly they might stink. Practice first with yourself. You can use a picture or you can look in a mirror. The mirror is the best option because you will be drawing a live model when you do others.

The key as you begin is to not worry about what it looks like. Simply move your pencil over the paper and make the drawing. Forget the silly looking nose and eyes, and move on instead to completing the drawing. Your first one should be a quick sketch of your face as you see it.

Now that you are warmed up, you are ready for the five minute caricature drawing lesson. First take about thirty seconds to observe yourself in the mirror. What stands out in a funny way? For some it will be big ears. Others might be known for a huge smile. Still others might have crows feet or a cleft chin that stand out. Everyone has something and finding that is the key to a great caricature. Once you zero in on that, the rest will fall into place.

Once you have the feature picked out, you should then draw that feature on the page. Make it large, and let it stand out. You will find that drawing a facial feature oversized makes it easier to do. Quick, clear lines should be the order here. You can fine tune it at the end.

Once you have the feature that stands out on the page, then fill in the rest normal sized. This will be easier than you think, because the oversized feature will dominate the drawing.

Once you have the face in place, and the feature in place, then you should go in and fine tune it to the best of your ability. Go over the feature that stands out with a bit of a darker outline than the rest of the drawing. This will make it jump off the page a bit more.

That's It! You have now made your five minute caricature and you will find over time that you will get very good at it. You never know...you might just end up beach-side doing caricatures yourself.

Source:

Personal experience of drawing caricatures for years.