2,716
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Created page with "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..."
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''
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''
