In the book I teach beginners and novices how to draw caricatures better. I teach drawing techniques and tricks, but, more importantly, I teach people how to think about the process of caricature.
One of my biggest stumbling blocks as a caricaturist is getting loose.
My caricatures can change from lame to great in the span of about 1 second. It has to do with how free, spontaneous, and loose I am in my approach. If I'm not in the right mindset, I draw too slowly. My figures become stiff. The lines become uninspired. Why? Because I'm being too careful. Because I'm being too slow.
I decided to write about this topic because of an incident yesterday.
I was attempting to draw this guy:
Doesn't he look happy?
My first attempt at a caricature started out like this:
Ugh...barf. Too similar to the picture. Too uninspired. Too boring. When I'm not in the right mindset I become a slave to the photograph, which is a big no-no. I quickly got angry, remembered why my drawing turned out the way it did, and started over.
Wonderful! This drawing is much better. The lines look better. The image is funny. And it has some character.
I drew these 2 caricatures back-to-back. The only difference was mental state. It's amazing what a simple shift in your mood can do for your art.
There is nothing wrong with being careful. There is nothing wrong with taking your time. The problem occurs when you don't feel free to interpret...when you lose that feeling of whimsy. Set your drawing hand free, and let it move however it wants.
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