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.
5. Though it's funny, this is not a joke. You could be working for hours, maybe all night, so drink lots of fluids and keep your nutrition and blood sugar up. Yum! I like music too, and I personally put the cat out!
6. After covering all the skin and hair with a layer of paint, I proceed to paint a light layer of color over everything else except anything I want to remain white. Teeth, the white of the eyes or white clothing are good examples. I let the white paper be the white of the painting.
7. The circle is the most powerful graphic shape known to man. I use it whenever possible. I employ a circle template for pupils, the iris, suns, moons, buttons, beads and bubbles. I love bubbles! Why wouldn't you use perfect circles every chance you get? Ovals too? Thank me later.
8. Everything is going to look pretty flat at this point. Black creates a hole right into another dimension within the art. Here is where I find all those perfect little places where black ink can serve me in adding depth. Black is perfect for pupils, nostrils and well placed gaps between teeth.
9. Now it's time to add some magic to the hair. Here I'm putting in what I call "directionals," which are lines that help make the hair look like it's flowing. I use a round brush with a flexible tip to make dozens of long strokes that can be extremely thin or extra thick at the same time during the same stroke.
10. For a softer, more believable painting, I'm not going to use a lot of black lines in this piece. I'm going to use color lines instead. For instance, I'm painting dark brown lines around light brown hair. For the faces I have here, I've used a dark orange burnt umber for the line work.
11. It's OK to turn the art at any angle necessary to get the brush stroke just right.
12. Though this is a color painting, I use Higgins Black Magic Ink anywhere I need a little punch. Bam! There it is!
13. The piece really starts to come together once all the line work is done. If you have a good drawing, you will have a good painting. Why? Because just like a coloring book, lines will hold everything together. Dang...maybe I didn't learn anything about painting except to stay inside the lines and that impressionism is stupid! Arrrrrrgh!
14. Don't forget the details.
15. Just like using perfect circles, using perfectly straight lines will add an irresistible strength to the piece. I've opted to put a black border around the art, but I'm letting some elements break through it just for the fun of it.
16. Now it's cleanup time. I use a kneaded eraser to clean up unwanted pencil lines remaining in the art. This especially holds true in the white areas of the eyes and teeth.
17. Use a cover sheet to protect your new “baby” before you abandon it in a basket down the river. I even cut my tape neatly to make sure the protective flap looks as professional as the art. It's things like this that separate the men from the mice.
18. If you must ship the art, do it right! I take my work to a local pack and ship company, where I can choose the best rate and best service to deliver my work safely. I let them pack it professionally, and I always insure and track the package. If this sounds expensive, it's not—especially if you make the client pay for it. You are in the art-making business not the art-shipping business, so just add that expense into the original quote. Always remember “CHARGE ENOUGH TO MAKE IT WORTH YOUR TIME, AND WORK HARD ENOUGH TO MAKE IT WORTH THE CLIENT'S DIME.”
See more of Michael's work or get in touch with him at http://michaelwhiteart.biz
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