Caricaturist to Silhouettist (and back again)
| Author | Emily Byrne |
|---|---|
| Published | EF Issue 20??.? |
| Website |
|
Article Transcript
Research was also needed, to learn about various things: the history of silhouettes, scissor types, backing cards and their design, pastes, special silhouette papers. I bought the two how-to books that I could find: Silhouettes: Rediscovering a Lost Art and Mastering Silhouettes: Expert Instruction in the Art of Silhouette Portraiture. Finally, I looked at the work of the small number of practicing silhouette artists worldwide who share on social media. As with caricatures, there are different styles — from completely elegant and non-editorial, to slightly skewed, to overt caricature) — and skill levels, from the generic to the extremely specific. One artist I especially admire is a Brit named Charles Burns, (he wrote one of the how-to books above) learn more about him at www.roving-artist.com/charles-burns.
My first public cutting was at the following ISCA 2015 convention, and my first actual gig was a big one: five days of four-hour shifts at the Star Trek 2016 Convention in Las Vegas! Since then, I’ve started marketing this skill more seriously, and regular gigs (weddings, sweet 16s, grad parties) are starting to come in. My eventual goal is to have half caricature gigs and half silhouette gigs.
A good silhouette can have as much likeness to its subject as any other form of representational art…but it is distilled into a linear form.
Folks seem shocked that I’m not drawing the profile first! Even though the all-important eyes are not shown in a silhouette, they are inferred by the placement of other features, and the inclusion of eyelashes, the cutting of which absolutely delights those watching. (So far that’s been the moment when people exclaim, “WOW!”)
Some of the benefits of silhouetting for me, so far, are: not needing to carry around as much for a gig as I do for caricature. It also seems to be easier to stop for a few moments than when caricaturing. This probably has to do with how fast silhouettes are compared to live caricature (90 seconds vs. 4 or 5 minutes…cutting silhouettes makes drawing caricatures seem like an eternity!!)
However, I don’t think I’ll ever escape the “Don’t give me a double chin” crowd!
YouTube Video
This Navigation box may not show up on mobile browsers. Please see Exaggerated Features Issue 2017.3 for the full contents of this issue if the navigation box does not display.
 |
| | |
| |||
| |||
