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Train Your Brain: How to Develop Your Caricature Instincts (view source)
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, 01:38, 12 July 2020Created page with "{{Infobox book | italic title = Train Your Brain: How to Develop Your Caricature Instincts<!--(Article title goes here and in the 'name' field below.)--> | name..."
{{Infobox book
| italic title = Train Your Brain: How to Develop Your Caricature Instincts<!--(Article title goes here and in the 'name' field below.)-->
| name = Train Your Brain: How to Develop Your Caricature Instincts
| image = Screen Shot 2020-07-12 at 1.04.57 AM.png<!--(If no good single image is suitable, use a screenshot of the first page of the article)-->
| image_size = 260px
| border = yes
| alt =
| caption = <!--(If the infobox photo needs a caption, that can be put in this field.)-->
| author = [[Ed Steckley]]<!--(use {{unbulleted list|Author One|Author Two|Author Three}} to list multiple authors or subjects)-->
| illustrator =
| subject = <!--(who or what is this wiki entry about?)-->
| genre = {{unbulleted list|[[Article]],|[[Instruction]],|[[Caricature Theory]]}}<!--(acceptable genres include: Editorial, Op/Ed, Article, Interview, How-To, Member Spotlight, etc. Multiple subjects see multiple authors above)-->
| published = [[EF Issue 2009.2]]
| pub_date = Spring 2009<!--(Should match EF Issue Published date)-->
| media_type = {{unbulleted list|Print|Digital}}<!--(Digital or otherwise both {{unbulleted list|Print|Digital}} )-->
| pages = 18-19<!--(Page number(s) of the issue the article appears on)-->
| preceded_by = <!--(Previous article in the issue)-->
| followed_by = <!--(Next article in the issue)-->
| notes =
| website = {{unbulleted list|[http://wiki.caricature.org/wiki/EF_PDFS/EF2009.2.pdf Full Issue PDF],|courtesy of {{URL|caricature.org}}}}
}}
Article Description. Should include author, brief description, issue number and page number(s).
__NOTOC__
==Article Transcript==
[[File:EF2009.2_Page_20.jpg|266px|thumb|right|Page 18 as it appears in the issue.]]
[[File:EF2009.2_Page_21.jpg|266px|thumb|right|Page 19 as it appears in the issue.]]
No matter if you are a quick-sketch
party artist or an illustrator working
in publication, the fun really lies in
the whole drawing process by
building on the basics of caricature.
We all learn early on how to draw
a face, hopefully good enough to
make a decent living at it. Two
relatively side by side eyes, a
nose somewhere below them and
a mouth below that, and on and
on (indeed, if you can get a decent
likeness of a face that’s sitting
in front of you, you’re more than
welcome to stop learning right
there and coast through the rest
of your time as a caricaturist! I’ve
known many who’ve done this, but
hopefully you will want to rise above
the average cookie cutter caricature
shtick and push yourself to become
the best artist and caricaturist you
can be!)
The purpose of this article is to
build on the basics of caricature that
are already in place. The goal, of
course, is to bring more to the table
and create the best caricature of a
subject as possible. This means going
beyond being good at drawing eyes,
noses, mouths, etc, and diving deeper
into the character of the subject
you’re drawing. Simply ‘grabbing on’
to one physical attribute and blowing
it out of proportion is the easy way out
of thinking critically about caricature.
To begin thinking critically about
caricature then, you have to start 1)
by looking beyond the face and using
keen observation of the subject as
a whole, 2) by understanding the
importance of first impressions and
using your instinctive (and automatic!)
mental snapshot, you will use less
obvious physical attributes such as
posture, disposition and attitude to
your advantage, and 3) by leaving
your personal biases and agenda
at home you will make this all work.
(That last one is often the hardest for
most artists, me included!)
'''Trusting Your Instincts, or stop second guessing yourself and your abilities'''<br>
Picking up on the subtleties of an
individual is what we, as humans,
are instinctively good at doing.
Evolutionarily speaking, being able to
consciously and unconsciously read
people allows us to sense if someone
is a threat, if they’re approachable,
or even if they are someone we may
want to get to know better. (There
are probably some caveman/hunter/
gatherer evolutionary ideas in there
somewhere. This is the so-called
fight or flight response that humans
have acquired through the years. But
thinking about that hurts my brain
even more.) However, the ability to
harness this knowledge, bringing
it from the unconscious to the
conscious is what makes a mediocre
caricature artist a great one.
Trusting your instincts and remaining
objective, though easier said than done, is the key to getting to the soul
of the individual you’re depicting.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath
and relax for a few seconds. Open
your eyes, look at the subject and let
your pencil just draw. The more you
agonize over every little line, the less
successful the drawing will be.
'''The First Impression, or judging a book by its cover''' <br>
After you gain more experience
and learn to let your instincts guide
your abilities, you’ll appreciate the
importance of the first impression.
The mental snapshot you strike
up in your head in that first split
second is just as important as careful
examination and study of
the subject, regardless
of whether you’re
drawing live or
from photos.
In addition to that,
it’s impossible to
stress enough
the importance
of character traits
beyond the basic
eyes, nose and mouth. Physical
attributes such as posture and
expressiveness of head tilts, and
hands, as well as disposition and
attitude, are more important and
lead to a more successful caricature
than simply drawing a big nose
on someone with a big nose and
hoping for the best. The more unique
qualities you can pick up about a
subject, the more successful you will
be. And the first impression is where
you can find most everything you
need to know.
A good way to practice using the
first impression to your advantage is
by doing gesture drawings. Go to a
coffee shop with a sketch book (or I’ll
see you at the bar). Quickly glance
at someone across the room (who
doesn’t know you’re drawing—no
one likes a voyeur!) and immediately
do a five or ten second sketch of
that person’s silhouette, without
looking back up until you’re done.
Then try the same type of approach
with someone’s face, and alternate
between far away silhouettes and
close up faces. Be as sloppy and
sketchy as you want; the point of this
is to teach yourself to interpret the
instinctive mental snapshot and put
only that on paper. In doing these,
over time you’ll learn to trust your
eyes and trust yourself. With lots of
==See Also==
* [[Relevant Wiki Link]]
* [[Relevant Wiki Link]]
==External Links==
* [http://caricature.org/join-us External Link if needed]
<!--(check the issue number in the navbox template below)-->
{{2009.2Navbox}}
| italic title = Train Your Brain: How to Develop Your Caricature Instincts<!--(Article title goes here and in the 'name' field below.)-->
| name = Train Your Brain: How to Develop Your Caricature Instincts
| image = Screen Shot 2020-07-12 at 1.04.57 AM.png<!--(If no good single image is suitable, use a screenshot of the first page of the article)-->
| image_size = 260px
| border = yes
| alt =
| caption = <!--(If the infobox photo needs a caption, that can be put in this field.)-->
| author = [[Ed Steckley]]<!--(use {{unbulleted list|Author One|Author Two|Author Three}} to list multiple authors or subjects)-->
| illustrator =
| subject = <!--(who or what is this wiki entry about?)-->
| genre = {{unbulleted list|[[Article]],|[[Instruction]],|[[Caricature Theory]]}}<!--(acceptable genres include: Editorial, Op/Ed, Article, Interview, How-To, Member Spotlight, etc. Multiple subjects see multiple authors above)-->
| published = [[EF Issue 2009.2]]
| pub_date = Spring 2009<!--(Should match EF Issue Published date)-->
| media_type = {{unbulleted list|Print|Digital}}<!--(Digital or otherwise both {{unbulleted list|Print|Digital}} )-->
| pages = 18-19<!--(Page number(s) of the issue the article appears on)-->
| preceded_by = <!--(Previous article in the issue)-->
| followed_by = <!--(Next article in the issue)-->
| notes =
| website = {{unbulleted list|[http://wiki.caricature.org/wiki/EF_PDFS/EF2009.2.pdf Full Issue PDF],|courtesy of {{URL|caricature.org}}}}
}}
Article Description. Should include author, brief description, issue number and page number(s).
__NOTOC__
==Article Transcript==
[[File:EF2009.2_Page_20.jpg|266px|thumb|right|Page 18 as it appears in the issue.]]
[[File:EF2009.2_Page_21.jpg|266px|thumb|right|Page 19 as it appears in the issue.]]
No matter if you are a quick-sketch
party artist or an illustrator working
in publication, the fun really lies in
the whole drawing process by
building on the basics of caricature.
We all learn early on how to draw
a face, hopefully good enough to
make a decent living at it. Two
relatively side by side eyes, a
nose somewhere below them and
a mouth below that, and on and
on (indeed, if you can get a decent
likeness of a face that’s sitting
in front of you, you’re more than
welcome to stop learning right
there and coast through the rest
of your time as a caricaturist! I’ve
known many who’ve done this, but
hopefully you will want to rise above
the average cookie cutter caricature
shtick and push yourself to become
the best artist and caricaturist you
can be!)
The purpose of this article is to
build on the basics of caricature that
are already in place. The goal, of
course, is to bring more to the table
and create the best caricature of a
subject as possible. This means going
beyond being good at drawing eyes,
noses, mouths, etc, and diving deeper
into the character of the subject
you’re drawing. Simply ‘grabbing on’
to one physical attribute and blowing
it out of proportion is the easy way out
of thinking critically about caricature.
To begin thinking critically about
caricature then, you have to start 1)
by looking beyond the face and using
keen observation of the subject as
a whole, 2) by understanding the
importance of first impressions and
using your instinctive (and automatic!)
mental snapshot, you will use less
obvious physical attributes such as
posture, disposition and attitude to
your advantage, and 3) by leaving
your personal biases and agenda
at home you will make this all work.
(That last one is often the hardest for
most artists, me included!)
'''Trusting Your Instincts, or stop second guessing yourself and your abilities'''<br>
Picking up on the subtleties of an
individual is what we, as humans,
are instinctively good at doing.
Evolutionarily speaking, being able to
consciously and unconsciously read
people allows us to sense if someone
is a threat, if they’re approachable,
or even if they are someone we may
want to get to know better. (There
are probably some caveman/hunter/
gatherer evolutionary ideas in there
somewhere. This is the so-called
fight or flight response that humans
have acquired through the years. But
thinking about that hurts my brain
even more.) However, the ability to
harness this knowledge, bringing
it from the unconscious to the
conscious is what makes a mediocre
caricature artist a great one.
Trusting your instincts and remaining
objective, though easier said than done, is the key to getting to the soul
of the individual you’re depicting.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath
and relax for a few seconds. Open
your eyes, look at the subject and let
your pencil just draw. The more you
agonize over every little line, the less
successful the drawing will be.
'''The First Impression, or judging a book by its cover''' <br>
After you gain more experience
and learn to let your instincts guide
your abilities, you’ll appreciate the
importance of the first impression.
The mental snapshot you strike
up in your head in that first split
second is just as important as careful
examination and study of
the subject, regardless
of whether you’re
drawing live or
from photos.
In addition to that,
it’s impossible to
stress enough
the importance
of character traits
beyond the basic
eyes, nose and mouth. Physical
attributes such as posture and
expressiveness of head tilts, and
hands, as well as disposition and
attitude, are more important and
lead to a more successful caricature
than simply drawing a big nose
on someone with a big nose and
hoping for the best. The more unique
qualities you can pick up about a
subject, the more successful you will
be. And the first impression is where
you can find most everything you
need to know.
A good way to practice using the
first impression to your advantage is
by doing gesture drawings. Go to a
coffee shop with a sketch book (or I’ll
see you at the bar). Quickly glance
at someone across the room (who
doesn’t know you’re drawing—no
one likes a voyeur!) and immediately
do a five or ten second sketch of
that person’s silhouette, without
looking back up until you’re done.
Then try the same type of approach
with someone’s face, and alternate
between far away silhouettes and
close up faces. Be as sloppy and
sketchy as you want; the point of this
is to teach yourself to interpret the
instinctive mental snapshot and put
only that on paper. In doing these,
over time you’ll learn to trust your
eyes and trust yourself. With lots of
==See Also==
* [[Relevant Wiki Link]]
* [[Relevant Wiki Link]]
==External Links==
* [http://caricature.org/join-us External Link if needed]
<!--(check the issue number in the navbox template below)-->
{{2009.2Navbox}}
