Thank you Todd for having enough character to be a good model.

Caricature Drawing Crash Course

I am constantly making snap decisions about relative dimensions and angles when drawing caricatures. Grab a pencil and paper and give this drawing a try. The "running body" is one of the most basic of caricature gags. Do not agonize over line quality at first. It helps a LOT to practice drawing regular portraits beforehand. I drew this cartoon as a pencil sketch before doing it in black marker. This is the order in which I did my pencil sketch. If you would like to learn more about drawing caricatures, I highly recommend the book HOW TO DRAW CARICATURES by Lenn Redman (ISBN: 0809256851)

[click image for a larger view]

1. I start at the hairline with the forehead, brows and nose.

2. The eyebrow helps establish the location of the eye, THEN the cheek THEN the upper lip and teeth.

3. The teeth establish the location of the bottom lip, THEN the chin and jaw line. I draw the overall shape of the top hair and hairline.

4. The sideburns help show ear placement and I come WAY in behind the earlobe with the back hairline to prepare for a small neck below.

5. Add an arm below the collar with another arm peeking out from behind it then draw the bottom of the shirt.

6. Add a pair of running legs to the bottom. No need to agonize over the shoes, shown here are mere elliptical circles.

7. Listen for cues on the subjects preferences to add a few extra embellishments. Add your signature and you're done. Now show it to the people in line who are waiting for their turn. "Oh my! Thanks for the tip, sir...Next?"