Beastheads
Article Transcript
Legend has it that the end of times will be near when four horsemen are born out of a whale’s “belly” and wreak havoc on the world. I guess that time is now, because the Beastmen have arrived!
Aaron Philby and I got our start working at Cedar Point, Ohio and Sea World, Orlando. I worked in portraits and fell into caricatures by drawing in bars and restaurants with Aaron. We transfered over to Sea World, San Diego in 2006 with Beau Hufford as our manager. In 2007, he flew Brian Oakes in from Buffalo, New York to join our team as supervisor, bringing with him ambition and experience. Andy Urzua also joined us and became greatly inspired after going to his first caricature convention that same year.
Working in retail caricatures enabled us to draw a lot of faces. Before the economy tanked, making commission was much easier. Because there wasn’t a fear of having to make money to survive (even in Southern California), getting a few rejects here and there wasn’t a big deal. We could take more chances because we were almost guaranteed to have more willing subjects.
From the start, I was never happy as an artist drawing “tame.” I found my likenesses were better after exaggerating a lot. I noticed that I actually had more rejects from drawing tamely, and that pushed me to go further in exploring exaggeration and likeness. We used the term “beast it” to describe the action of creatively exaggerating a subject and still maintaining a likeness. There was a creative energy that was passed between everyone that encouraged us to try to top each other. We would egg each other on, have fun, and make a lot of money. Most customers had a good time because they could feel the creative energy affecting them subconsciously. Of course, there are times when people don’t know what to think, or we don’t end up drawing quite what we were hoping, and some get angry or have no reaction. However, when we “beast it,” we are not intentionally trying to hurt a person’s feelings (as most of you know, being caricature artists). We just want to do a great piece of art and give them more than what they’re paying for.
‘’When I’m honest about what I see and how I see it, somebody out there will get it and enjoy it, and I would rather have ten people enjoy a piece of mine to the millionth degree than have a million people enjoy a piece of mine to the tenth degree,’’ says Aaron Philby. It’s the artist’s job to show what he feels. Beauty is truth. Beauty hurts. (Hint: If a guest ever asks, ‘’Does anyone ever get mad?’’ say, “No, most people have a sense of humor”−it works SO WELL.)
Creative energy is a big part of us being able to do what we do. A lot of energy is used up in doing a good piece. When you work with people who share the same passion, keeping that energy up is much easier, and you can come out with awesome pieces. Caricature conventions are a place to find that energy and get inspired. I went to my first ISCA convention in 2006 with Aaron. Brian was there the same year, although we didn’t know each other yet. It was an amazing experience to share artistic energy with great people, and there were many established artists that year. It felt like a world where we all understood each other. I was inspired to push my limits, which carried over into my retail sketches after the convention. I then started a blog, along with other artists. We could keep in touch, show our pieces, get critiqued, keep a record of progress, and continue to be inspired as we checked out other artists’ work, worldwide.
Andy joined us in later conventions, and as our group had grown, we called ourselves “The Beastheads.” We constantly tried new things in our artwork, as well as bringing craziness and fun. Slowly we gained recognition, encouragement, and even excitement. People seemed to respect us and our artwork, although some might not understand the creative decisions we make in our art.
I was drawing a family, sitting them one by one as the rest stood to watch. In the park, children always watch in amazement, wishing they could draw too. My coworker didn’t have business at the time, so he let a little girl draw him. I looked over, and to my surprise, her drawing really felt like him. At 4 years old, this little girl showed that her observation was organic. With no formal training, and using only simple lines, shapes, and color, she managed to capture his essence. It was all based on feeling. Any portrait artist can express physicality, but only you can express the way you can feel someone, realistic or not.
Likeness is, of course, the most important goal of caricaturing. Many people seem to think that a well-rendered piece rooted in realism always achieves a good likeness, and therefore is a good caricature. But going just for a physical likeness, you may not feel the soul of the subject. To really understand a lot of what we do, you have to take the time to observe and absorb our work. Not only in caricature, but for art in general, form is not the only element that should matter. The physical structure of a face should only be a part of the decisions made to achieve likeness. Color, sound, composition, expression, and movement can all be exaggerated and used to achieve likeness creatively. You can see a person in a piece, but can you feel, taste, hear and smell them too? The same analogy can be expressed in music: you can hear it, but do you truly feel it? Does it inspire you?
The way I see The Beastheads is, we’re just a group that wants to stay inspired and inspire others to see that there are many ways to approach a subject. We can’t teach you how to exaggerate or get likeness. We just want to spread beastly energy and creativity to help artists not feel trapped into thinking that there is only one way they could, or should, express a subject. As artists, we should explore, experiment, and push ourselves without fear of mistakes. I feel that even if I miss a likeness, at least I took a ballsy approach to draw something unique. Beastheads is more than caricatures. It’s a way of making any subject interesting and fun to look at.
Beastheads is about being a more passionate and creative artist, inspiring and being inspired. Doing what you do as well as you can do it and being with friends and having fun. Join the movement!
Beasted: The Book
one collection to be seen in a new light. Their faces have been twisted, melted, stretched, gone to another planet and back. They have been “Beasted”!
“Beasted” is a very “extremely” different approach to pushed exaggerated portraits of famous people. As you observe a finished piece, the face may seem unrecognizable at first, but once you absorb what you see then you may feel the subject completely. A majority of us have seen these celebrity faces, not to mention you can go on the internet and see pictures or watch videos of them if you haven’t.
An important part of the book is based off the progress it took to get to the final piece. Sketches and progress shots are a fun way to look at ideas and direction of how the final piece evolved. I am attempting to make the viewer absorb the idea and understand the reason for the final decision. Bad or good, sketches carve the piece and gradually smooth it out. In this book, I will have my personal thoughts on sketches, progress, exaggeration theory, failures, and much more.
The high levels of exaggeration are unique in an attempt to break the structured barriers of realism, creating likeness out of organic reactions that the brain produces based off sound, color, energy, motion—all things you can find out about someone present in about 1 minute. Going to a BEASTED extreme is not easy; it takes ambition and knowledge of people and their elements to capture the soul of someone at a uniquely high level. “Beasted” means: destroyed, over exaggerated and/or owned. In my book, the most exaggerated are on the BEASTED level, which are more of the pieces at the end.
BEASTED is full of mixed media, ranging from pencil and ink to acrylic/oil-digital. A growing artist is what I strive to be. Trying different approaches to all my works has made me understand that there is no one way to produce a unique piece of art. This book has been over 3 years in the making and I believe that this book will shine light on the unique importance of seeing and/or feeling a face through much progress and evolution in exaggeration. - Nate Kapnicky
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