A caricature is a drawing of someone that highlights features of the subject in an exaggerated manner, typically for humorous or satirical purpose. The goal of a caricature artist is to emphasize specific features of someone in such a way that the original subject is easily recognized by anyone who knows him. Besides basic drawing skills, a caricature artist should have an eye for detail and the ability to capture those specifics in a portrait of his subject. With practice, you can turn your passion for drawing and your eye for detail into a work of caricature art.
Instructions
1. Study your subject before you begin your drawing. Caricature artists typically draw quickly and create their work with the subject present and posing. In the beginning, you may not be so fast and may find it easier to work from a photograph. As you progress, you will learn to pick out details faster. For now, study a photograph of your subject and decide which details you want to emphasize. Ask yourself what about your subject defines her appearance. This could be hair, eyes, a pointy nose, or any number of other details. Select two or three details at most. Those are all you will need to create your caricature. Decide whether you're doing just a face or a body as well. If your subject has a particular way of dressing, or body parts that bear emphasizing, include the body in you caricature, typically smaller than the head.
2. Draw a basic outline of your subject. Try to get the general shape of the head, the eyes set at the correct distance, and his nose and mouth positioned correctly. Having the correct position of everything first, in a more realistic proportion, will help you as you begin to develop the exaggerations. Draw this initial sketch lightly with pencil to allow for erasing as you develop your caricature.
3. Erase the details you plan to enhance. For a caricature, the eyebrows, nose, lips, ears, and chin are elements typically worth overstating or emphasizing. Jay Leno's chin is a prime example. Caricatures of him always extend the chin and deepen the cleft. This is because his chin is long to begin with. By extending it and shadowing the cleft, a caricature is created without altering the features that make Leno recognizable.
4. Draw in the elements of your caricature you erased, this time enlarging them. Once you've drawn in large, flappy ears, crossed eyes or big lips--the caricature features of your drawing--shade the elements to help lift them away from the page and add to the emphasis. Make the shading and your lines dark so they will stand out after you add coloring to your caricature. Apply pressure to keep these elements dark and prominent.
5. Color your caricatures with colored pencils. Keep the color application light to allow the darker details of the caricature. Colored pencils are ideal for caricature coloring because the colors are vibrant but have a low opacity.
