A Traditional Caricature Commission in 18 Steps

Article Transcript

When I was 12, I took a painting class. I had been drawing my whole life and had gotten pretty good, but painting just didn't come as easily. I needed help. I ended up in a class with a gaggle of older ladies and a bitter, middle-aged-man teacher. After the first class, he told us all to go home and paint something, anything we liked. My mother had been working on an impressionistic puzzle by Monet. I thought ,“Hey, that must be what painting looks like.” I started plopping thick acrylic paint all over a canvas board. I used every color. The next week, when I took in my "monsterpiece," the teacher said, “Son, you should never paint again!” That comment could have destroyed me, but it only fueled my desire to master the art of painting. Therefore, this article is more about painting techniques than drawing. So here's how I do it now.

1. After getting a job, settling on a price and doing the sketch, I start with a relatively tight drawing. I make certain it has been approved by the client. I always show the drawing at this stage in case the client wants changes. Everything can be modified easily at this point, plus it lets the client feel the power of being in charge.

2. Using a 1/2 or 5/8 flat angular brush, I wet the skin areas on the cold press illustration board. I use clean water to wet one section at a time. Notice I've avoided wetting the teeth and whites of the eyes. I allow the water to soak in some but seek to keep it at an even level of wetness. I get hungry at about this point.

3. I paint all of my studio commissions with gouache, which is an opaque water color. We used it in art school and I love it for its versatility. The Winsor & Newton brand offers a premixed color named “Flesh Tint.” I use it as a departure point when painting light skin subjects. I continue to use a flat angular brush to spread the paint out. I leave more pigment around the nose, cheeks and ears so it dries darker than the thin areas. Even if the paint starts to dry unevenly, it remains malleable. Therefore, you can manipulate its smoothness and create the same effect as airbrushing if you just work wet paint around on the damp surface. Sometimes I also dab or rub a dry paper towel into the damp painted areas to create the illusion of highlights.

4. It doesn't do you any good to paint anything else until you get the heads right. That's why after the skin has dried, I move on into the eyes and hair. Be careful to avoid painting wet eyes or hair near wet skin or they will bleed into each other. Once you are sure that's not a problem, cover the eyes or hair with one generally close value and color. Little or no modeling is necessary.