Drawing celebrity caricatures...
1)
...is a great litmus test: people can agree if your
drawing really looks like who you're trying to draw.
They don't even have to know you (say for instance if
you're involved in an on-line sketch or drawing
discussion group)...
2) ...and
celebrity / people-in-the-news types of art work is in
high demand. Every newspaper, magazine, or periodical at
some time or another - if not in every issue - has used
some kind of caricature or celebrity cartoon to add
humor or express an opinion. Many businesses and
corporate newsletters employ them too, in fact many more
would use them in their in house publications if only
they had someone in house who could draw
them.
Lots of people tell
me what a charge they get out of caricatures, and how
impressed they are when they see a caricaturist
entertaining at a party or a convention or at the state
fair.
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3) ...are ubiquitous on the
net - they seem like they're everywhere! So you have a
constant pool of good, not so good, excellent and even
awe-inspiring caricatures out there on the web - you can
see for yourself all the different ways people have drawn the
same person.
Like I said there's an amazing amount of
duplication out there on the web: the pool of people being
caricatured is amazingly consistent. Follow the late night
comedians or the pulp / gossip magazines: it seems like
once someone has been in the news, they keep popping back
in.
Point? You have time to
practice the same person over and over until you really come
up with a whole new, all original, wild and crazy version
of that celebrity your local newspaper (or celebrity) will
drool to get their hands on. And if they don't, you have yet
another addition to your showcase...which leads to the next
good reason.
4) ...Celebrity caricatures are
great for promoting your own state fair or local mall "kiosk"
/ boutique drawing business. Next time you walk by a
caricaturist at the mall or at your state fair, notice the
array of drawing samples he/she has: the majority are always
of celebs.
Why? Consciously or unconsciously you judge
the level of their work by two things: how hilariously they
exaggerate their celebrity subjects or by 2) the artistic
quality of the artwork (for example, they're really good at
air brush, or their mastery of the pencil grabs you, or
their watercolors just plain glow). But even if you admire
their technical skill, how much the picture actually
looks like the person being caricatured
registers most markedly. And
marketably.
5) Finding Celebrity
caricatures is made even easier since the web is full of
celebrity photos. You thought there was a lot of celebrity
caricatures out there? The sheer volume of celebrity photos
absolutely dwarfs the number of drawings! Which only
underscores the relative shortage of caricaturists: it's much
easier to snap a picture than it is to draw a likeness.
Point here is, with all those photos, you'll
never run out of material to draw. It's literally right at
your fingertips.
6) Not on the web all the
time?
Magazines are loaded with glossy,
professional, beautiful celebrity photos. Go to the
library, the corner store, the drug store, the barber shop,
the hairdresser, Starbucks, your family doctor's office -
publications and advertisements loaded with celebrity shots
are everywhere. (It's almost dizzying, almost too much -
way too much if you think about it). I mention this again
so you never have to be without material to draw - so in a
free moment you can quiz yourself "what makes this face
work?".
7) Second to last
reason...
it's safer drawing celebrities.
Drawing celebrity caricatures can keep you out of trouble with
your family and friends :-) Yes, I've heard of even
accomplished caricaturists who've alienated their own family
members and friends by drawing caricatures that - though
everyone else loves - the person being drawn is unhappy. Want
to avoid strife and malcontent? Stick with "third person"
caricatures everyone can agree on or criticize without feeling
like they're in the hot seat (still, the vast majority of
people enjoy being caricatured :-)
8) Last but
not least caricaturing people in the news, celebs,
politicians....
is your way to get even! Love 'em
or leave 'em be, caricaturing all these folks can be your
defense: a little healthy rebellion. Or it can be a way to
make you feel like you're at some kind of par with all
these folks who're "famous for being well known". It can
be your way of getting your opinion some air time. And that
in itself can be a small antidote to the celebrity obsessed
time we live in. It can keep you sane...and who knows,
maybe your caricaturing will make you a celebrity
yourself...and we'll have to caricature you:-)
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