ToonHeadz Tips
 | |
| Author | A.J. Jenson |
|---|---|
| Subject | Drawing Tips |
| Genre | Article, How-to, Tips |
| Published | EF Issue 2019.2 |
Publication date | Spring 2019 |
| Media type | Digital |
| Pages | 13-15 |
| Website | caricature |
Article Description. Should include author, brief description, issue number and page number(s).
Contents
Article Transcript
Page One
Text blurb 1
Howdy-Doo, fellow caricature artists! I’m super thrilled to have the opportunity to teach you folks about a great caricature tip that I regularly use! This is just one of the many ideas you can apply to caricature. I have always said, “a brain packed with ideas packs cool caricatures.” Well...I’ve Actually never said that, but HEY! I’m saying it now. Because it’s actually quite true. I would say the most vital part about caricature is having ideas originate from the subject you’re drawing. It can be tricky trying to establish an idea or concept that matches with the individual you have to draw. Therefore, it’s always wise to collect as many ideas you can along your caricature journey.
Text blurb 2
So let's get started! I call this caricature tip Direction. Direction is the gesture of how a shape will flow according to the subject’s features. This idea allows a shape to have a certain motion, instead of having the shape seem lethargic or idle. Direction creates a dynamic feel of how a feature can act, which in turn establishes an idea of how you can exaggerate a feature. Direction will also tell you how much you can pull or pinch a feature. By following the shape’s direction, you will be able to get a sense of how much a feature can stretch or shrink.
Text Blurb 3
As caricature artists, we know that shapes help us construct a basic form according to an individual. Although, when taking this idea at face value it can lead an artist to create stiff or unbalanced drawings. I have always found it best to appreciate shapes as having a behavior. Shapes can be energetic, sharp and angular or, they can be wispy, curvy, and plump. Sometimes stretchy, pinched, or droopy. Either way, shapes have a certain personality to them, and finding the direction in which these shapes act will give you so many ideas on how to exaggerate them.
Page Two
Text Box 1
Let’s take a look at this, very weird, dynamic shape. No this isn’t a Rorschach test to see if you have an uncontrollable fear over Cinnamon Toast Crunch. No, this shape is to give you a perspective on how a shape can have multiple personalities. As you can see, it has a lot going on, from curvy figures to very sharp, angular edges. For demonstration purposes, let’s call this dynamic shape Steve. Of course, we can break Steve down into simple shapes, like circles, triangles, etc. But what happens if we examine how each basic shape behaves within Steve?
Text Box 2
First, let’s find the direction of the curves that lay within Steve. The red arrows represent the longest curves in Steve, while the shorter curves are represented by orange arrows. This will help later with what curves to exaggerate shorter or longer.
Text Box 3
Second, we’ll find Steve’s angular edges and trace their corresponding directions. The lime-green arrows serve as the longer flowing angles, and the light-blue arrows represent the shorter flowing angles.
Text Blurb 1
Now let’s put a human face to the test! For today, we are going to be using the famous and glorious face of Dexter Rothschild. Thanks, Dex, for letting us use your handsome mug!
