How to Draw Caricatures the 5 Shapes

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How to Draw Caricatures The 5 Shapes Sketch O’The Week Better late than never today…

Transcript of How to Draw Caricatures the 5 Shapes

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How to Draw Caricatures The 5 Shapes

Sketch O’The Week

Better late than never today…

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I am getting bored with all the heads I‟ve been doing lately so I thought I‟d do

something with a figure this week. This is NBA star Vince Carter, although I didn‟t

really work too hard on the caricature. I spent more time studying the folds and action

of his uniform. These fast shutter sports action shots capture billowing clothing in very

unnatural feeling “frozen” positions, so when drawing them it‟s better to simplify rather

than trying to duplicate every single tiny wrinkle. I went halfway between simplifying

and going wrinkle-crazy.

How to Draw Caricatures: The 5 Shapes

Part One: Basic Theory and the Five Shapes

This is the first of a series of articles I will post here on The MAD Blog about my

theories, methods and processes concerning how to draw caricatures. A lot of this

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information is part of what I teach my theme park artists, so it is derived partly from the

approach of doing live, quick-draw caricatures. However all of that can be applied to

more studio orientated caricature work and I have also added points and concepts

directly from the less time-constrained world of caricature illustration. Therefore this is

not instruction for just the live caricaturist but for any artist interested in caricature for

any purpose.

These kinds of things always start out with a definition, but “caricature” is a hard thing

to pigeonhole into a single sentence. How can you, when the word encompasses the

elegant, minimalist lines of Al Hirschfeld to the lavish, value and color soaked

paintings of Sebastian Kruger to the graphic, geometrical collages of David Cowles

and everything in between? Despite the wild differences in style and technique,

“caricature” is the tag that is placed on any of these works of art without hesitation.

Obviously there is a connection beyond a common technique, school or format. So,

what are the universal elements all caricatures have that identify them as caricatures? I

would say there are three essential elements that transcend style and medium and must

be present in a caricature:

Likeness- If you can‟t tell who it is supposed to be, then it is not successful. All

good caricatures incorporate a good likeness of their subjects.

Exaggeration- Without some form of exaggeration, or a departure from the

exact representation of the subject‟s features, all you have is a portrait. The level

of exaggeration can vary wildly, but there must be some departure. A straight

portrait is not a caricature.

Statement- I believe a caricature must editorialize in some way. The artist must

be trying to say something about the subject. It might be something to do with

the situation the subject is drawn in, it may just be a play on their personality

through expression or body language, it might be a simple as making visual fun

of some aspect of their persona or image. Exaggeration itself can accomplish

this in some cases. The best caricatures say something more about the subject

than that they have a big nose.

By my „definition‟, a successful caricature therefore looks like the subject, is

exaggerated to varying degrees and also has something to say about the subject… some

sort of editorial comment. In “live” caricature at a theme park, that third item is often

turned way down or ignored completely, but in the case of caricatures for illustration,

it‟s an important part.

Teaching Someone to See

I‟ve been working with young caricaturists at theme parks for over two decades now,

and I‟ve learned one very important lesson… it‟s impossible to teach someone to draw

caricatures. I can teach them to DRAW… that isn‟t so hard. Learning how a face looks

and works by learning anatomy, how expression changes the features, how the angle the

face is at changes the perception of features, how hair grows and falls about the head…

those are things that can be taught. Drawing caricatures, on the other hand, is a lot more

about seeing what makes the person in front of you unique and personal interpretation

than it is about making good, confident marks on the paper. I can explain to someone

exactly how to draw a circle, but if I place a circle before them and ask them to draw it

and they draw a square… well, that is all about seeing and not drawing. The ability to

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see, and after that the ability to exaggerate what you see for humorous effect in a

caricature… that has to be developed. For most that means a lot of drawing and a lot of

looking.

Have you ever been walking along at the mall or where ever and along comes

somebody with some crazy, incredibly distinct face that maybe sports a gigantic nose or

a Cro-Magnon brow or some other obviously out-of-the-ordinary features? Caricaturists

have a term for that kind of face… it‟s called a “field day”. Think about it for a

second… why is that face so ripe for caricature compared to the next guy‟s? Are the

features really that different? If you took a ruler and measured the size of Mr.

Shnozzes‟s nose compared to Mr. Normal, the difference would be minimal. So why is

he so easy? Because you are SEEING a difference based on perception, and that is

giving you your springboard for a caricature. One observation of what makes this

person different from “normal”, and you are off and running. The obvious features are

easy observations… it‟s Johnny and Susie Normal or, worse yet, Johnny and Susie

Supermodel that are the challenge. That is where developing an ability to “see” becomes

important. There is no face that defies caricature, you just sometimes have to dig a little

deeper to find the keys to unlock the more difficult puzzle. In caricature, the old adage

of “practice makes perfect” has never been truer. The ability to see doesn‟t spring up

overnight, and I often tell eager young caricaturists they have about 500 or so bad

caricatures in them they have to draw out first before they start noticing the subtle

things that hide inside the “ordinary” face.

Although I say it‟s “impossible” to teach someone to draw caricatures, it‟s not

impossible to help them develop their ability to draw them. There are many ways and

techniques to help an artist develop their ability to see what is in front of them,

recognize what makes what they see unique and then amplify that uniqueness to create a

successful caricature. There are general concepts that apply to the overall approach of a

caricature as well as specific tricks and tips for individual features and important, main

elements that I will be sharing over the multiple parts of this series of articles.

The Five Shapes

The human face is perceived by many as an incredible complex object. There are about

52 muscles in the face, depending on your source and it‟s categorization. Age, sex, race,

expression (the face is capable of about 5,000 expressions) weight and environment can

all play a role in the look and perception of a given face. Sounds pretty complex. Not

really. Every building, no matter how complex, starts out with a foundation and

framework. Look at this simple drawing:

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Show that drawing to any human being in the world and ask them what it is. Barring a

language barrier, they will tell you it‟s “a face”. No other information needed. In it‟s

most simple form, the human face is made up of only five simple shapes:

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Place these shapes in their proper relationship, and you have a human face. It really is

that simple. Drawing the shapes accurately, so they recognizably represent the subject‟s

features, is the basis for a good likeness. Beyond that is nothing but details… things like

dimples, wrinkles, eyelashes, cheekbones, etc. They are the decor to your building… the

millwork, furniture and drapery that makes the place unique and filled with life.

Without the strong foundation, however, it can all come tumbling down.

What does that have to do with caricature? Everything. I mentioned a single word in the

last paragraph that really is the secret to caricature as a whole no matter what technique

or approach you intend to practice:

RELATIONSHIPS

It‟s the manipulation of the RELATIONSHIP of these five simple shapes that create the

foundation for your caricature. In fact, I‟d argue that 90% of the entire caricature resides

in how you relate these five simple shapes to one another. It is the foundation upon

which the rest of your building is built, where the real power of exaggeration is

realized. Make it good and almost all the heavy lifting is done, the rest merely referring

to details. What do I mean by “relationships”? I mean the distances between the five

shapes, their size relative to one another, and the angles they are at in relationship

to the center axis of the face. Distance. Size. Angle.

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In traditional portraiture, the head is divided into “classic proportions” (we‟ll get into

that more next time), meaning the relationship of the features are within a certain,

accepted range of distance to one another, size and angle relative to the face and head

shape. You achieve your likeness in a classic portrait, in it‟s most basic form, by

correctly drawing the shapes and then the details of each feature according to the model

in front of you while staying within the framework of the “classic” proportions. Of

course each face varies minutely here and there, but still you do not stray far from the

classic formula. In a caricature, like a portrait, the likeness is also achieved by drawing

the features as they really look… but you change the relationship of the features based

on your perceptions of the face. The relationships you change are as I listed before:

distance, size and angle. Look at these VERY simple drawings that demonstrate how

you can change the relationships of the five shapes and create very different caricatures:

No detail, and all the shapes are basically the same with the exception of the head shape

(again, more on that later… MUCH more) but all are distinctly different and when the

details are added will make for highly varied caricatures. The difference is the

relationships between the features, and how they have been exaggerated and changed.

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Caricature is not about choosing one feature and making it bigger, it‟s about all the

features together and how they relate to one another.

Here are some quick studies of the 5 shapes beneath a few caricature sketches:

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The relationships differ in distance, size and angle from one another. The bigger the

differences are from “classic” proportions, the more exaggerated the caricature. It‟s

much easier to see the differences when the details are removed and only the 5 shapes

are left. It‟s also much easier to create those differences at this simple, fundamental

level. It‟s easy to get caught up in details when the important information rests beneath

the rendering.

How does one determine the “correct” changes to make to a given person‟s feature

relationships to make a good caricature of them? Well, that‟s the trick, isn‟t it? That is

were that pesky “seeing” comes in. In his book “How to Draw Caricatures“, Lenn

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Redman uses a concept called “The Inbetweener” as a basis for almost every

observation. It is basically the classic portraiture relationships used as a point of

reference for making observations. Every caricature begins with the observations the

artist makes about the subject, and how their particular face is perceived by them. MAD

legend Mort Drucker has been quoted as saying that there is no “one correct way” to

caricature a subject. Any given subject can have several difference interpretations with

respect to the exaggeration of the relationship of their features… and each may be as

successful as the other. That‟s one of the unique things about caricature as an art form.

Portraiture is basically absolute… Your drawing either looks like the person with the

correct features, proportions and relationships, or it does not. Caricature is subjective to

a point. The artists goal is to draw how they perceive the face, and exaggerate that

perception. The result may be different than how others perceive that face, but if the

three elements we described in our definition are present it‟s still a successful caricature.

Hirschfeld used to say he once drew Jimmy Durante without a nose at all, yet it was

still recognizable as Durante.

That‟s not to say that any observation is appropriate… after all you can‟t give someone

with a small, button nose a gigantic potato schnozz and call it “exaggeration”. That‟s

not exaggeration, it‟s DISTORTION. You can, however, choose NOT to exaggerate the

nose‟s smallness but rather find something else to exaggerate. That is the caricaturist‟s

task, to find what it is about the subject‟s face that makes it unique and alter those

relationships to exaggerate that uniqueness.

Next time We will delve more deeply into the relationships of features, what to look for

and some rules to follow when changing those relationships that will make the rest of

the face fall into place.

These articles on drawing caricatures will appear on The MAD Blog every week or so,

and will eventually be collected, expanded and published in book form.

How to Draw Caricatures: Relationship of Features

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Part Two: Relating the Features

Previously I mentioned how the relationships between features are the driving force

behind caricature:

“Caricature is not about choosing one feature and making it bigger, it‟s about all the

features together and how they relate to one another.”

Actually caricature is about changing the relationships between features, meaning their

distance, size and angle relative to one another, from what they truly are and what is

considered “normal”. Deciding what relationships to change and how much to change

them is one of the caricaturist‟s most important jobs, and one of the most difficult to

“learn”. The actual difference between the relationship of features of most humans does

not add up to much in terms of physical measurements… a “big” nose may be only a

fraction of an inch larger than a “normal” nose. Yet we can see different feature

relationships on almost everybody, some which seem very pronounced. That is because

we spend basically our entire lives looking into people‟s faces… we go it when we

interact, work, play, go shopping or to church… we are social beings and our faces are

both our identities and our method of communication. Our ability to observe minute

differences becomes very fine tuned. Mostly it‟s unconscious, but we see that fraction

of an inch larger nose as “big”, or we see this person‟s eyes as large or this person‟s

mouth as small based not on physical measurements but on our overall perception of the

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features and how they relate to one another. Consciously making those observations,

especially for those faces in which the unique aspects are not obvious, is the most

difficult part of drawing caricatures. There are some techniques and methods you can

use to help make those observations.

Classic Portrait Proportion and Observation

It‟s important to start somewhere, and the best place is with what is considered

“normal” relationships of features for two reasons. First, knowing these classic

proportions will help you as a caricaturist to observe where your subject‟s face might

differ by providing a point of reference to compare it to. Second, once you‟ve made

these observations you can use that same point of reference, the classic portrait

proportions, as a guide to get as far away from as possible to create your caricature.

Let‟s start out looking at the classic human proportions in traditional portraiture (this is

boring, but it‟s important). One method that has been used for centuries is by using the

width of an eye, from corner to corner, as the primary frame of reference:

In this method, the head is five eye widths wide, with a single eye width between the

eyes, and between the outside eye corners and the outside of the head. The nose is one

eye width wide, and therefore the nostrils are equal to the corners of the eyes. Another

simple method for establishing the “normal” relationship between eyes and mouth is via

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the equilateral triangle that should be formed by the points of the outside corners of the

eyes, and the center point of the bottom of the lower lip. Every book on learning to draw

the human face has some similar method of standardizing the proportions of the average

face.

Do human faces really conform to these exact relationships? No, of course not. That‟s

the point. There are differences from this face to that, some very slight and some more

pronounced, and the caricaturist exaggerates these differences to create a caricature.

Knowing what is supposed to be there is half the battle of seeing where things are

different.

Again, making these observations is the trickiest part of doing caricature, but the good

news is you don‟t have to come up with a shopping list of deformities in order to do a

caricature. In fact, all you have to do is come up with one good observation. Just one,

and you can use that as your cornerstone and build your caricature around it. It could be

as simple as: this person has a skinny face… or big eyes… or a small mouth… or a

square jaw… or a bent nose… or whatever. More than one is better, but just one will

suffice.

Action and Reaction

Why is only one observation enough? Because “no feature is an island”. What I mean is

that all the features relate to one another fundamentally, and you cannot make a change

to one feature without it affecting the others. This is one of the few constants you can

rely on with respect to drawing caricatures: Action and Reaction. In physics every

action causes an equal an opposite reaction. In caricature the action of changing the

relationship of a single feature to the others causes the others to react in often

predictable ways. You cannot change the eyes without affecting the nose, mouth, head

shape, etc. and how it affects those other features follows (for the most part) a

predictable path.

Say we make an observation about our subject that the eyes seem far apart. If we move

the just the eyes farther apart and leave the rest of the face untouched, we have a bizarre

looking result:

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There is an awkwardness to the “caricature”

We can‟t ignore the effect on the other features. The act of moving the eyes father apart

forces the other features to react. Typically when the eyes move father apart, the nose

moves closer to the eyes, the mouth moves along with the nose, the head becomes wider

and, in turn shorter:

The features work better together here

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Additional observations can change the path of the reaction. Say our observations are

that the eyes are far apart, but the mouth is also far from the nose. Because of that

action, the lower part of the face must be longer, and therefore the top part of the head

becomes smaller:

Hmmm… looks like my brother…

Head shape is often the most affected, and is not coincidentally a big focus. In fact part

three of this series will deal entirely with head shapes. For now we will stick with the

interior features and their relationships.

The “T” Shape

I have talked a lot about simplifying the face by boiling it down into the 5 Shapes, but it

can get even simpler than that in terms of both making observations and in playing with

the relationships of features to make a caricature. In fact I believe there are two

absolutely crucial, key components to any caricature: The head shape and the “T”

shape. These are the two elements of a face I look at first and try to make observations

about, because with them I can push, stretch and exaggerate the face to great effect with

relative ease.

When I talk about the “T” Shape I am speaking of the geometric shape created by the

eyes and nose as a single unit. In simplest terms they create a capital “T”. Sometimes

the “T” can be short and wide, sometimes it can be long and thin, or somewhere in

between. The angle at which the eyes rest to the center axis of the face can change the

“T” into more of a “Y”, or more of an arrow shape. I treat the “T” not as a set of simple

lines but as a contour shape with thickness, therefore the stem (or nose) of the “T” can

be thicker or thinner at one end or the other, and the arms (or eyes) of the “T” can also

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change in thickness to accommodate big round eyes or narrow, squinty ones. Imagine a

contour capital “T” drawn around the eyes and nose in varying relationships.

The shape of the “T” reacts to changes you make to the relationship of the eyes and

nose. In most cases the eyes and nose work in a predictable tandem within their

relationship. Imagine that the eyes and nose are connected by a string that travels

through a two wheel pulleys located in the center of the eyes. The length of the string is

constant. If the person‟s eyes are moved farther apart, the string pulls the nose closer

into the eyes. If the nose is made longer, then the eyes are drawn closer together. All of

this takes place within the “T” shape.

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The mouth, nose and chin have a similar connection. they have a constant amount of

distance between each other. If the mouth is perceived as being close to the nose, the

chin moves a little farther away as a reaction. There are similar rules that apply to the

head shape, which we‟ll get into next time.

This is extreme simplification, but a I have said before the simpler you can make the

shapes you are working with, the easier it is to exaggerate them and create your

caricature. If you imagine a shape as simple as a “T”, it‟s very easy to exaggerate that

“T” shape and then plug in the features as they really look within your simple shape and

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you have your caricature. Take a look at these caricatures and the “T” shapes within

their head shapes:

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The “T” Shape and head shape combine to create the base of your caricature, over them

the 5 shapes further define the relationships of the features, and over the 5 shapes the

features themselves are drawn and things like bone structure, anatomy, expression, skin,

hair and other details work to create the likeness and bring the underlying structure to

life. It‟s still all built on these simple foundations.

I would suggest as an exercise to forget about rendering and drawing details caricatures

for a moment and fill up a few sketchbook pages with nothing but the head shape and

“T” shape of the faces you see when paging through a magazine. Draw one quickly

using just your initial observations and first impressions of the face. Then look back at it

and try to see where it differs from the “normal” template of classic proportion, then try

it again, this time exaggerating your first try. Do this with a dozen faces a day, and see

how your ability to “see” the caricature in a given face develops.

Next time: Head Shapes!

How to Draw Caricatures: Head Shapes

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Part Three: The Importance of Head Shapes

When I first started drawing live caricatures I felt that the eyes were the most important

part of the face, and I put a lot of emphasis and focus on them. I still think the eyes are a

crucial element, but over the years I‟ve come to believe that the head shape is the most

important part of a caricature.

The head shape is the fulcrum upon which a caricature hinges. The heavy lifting of all

exaggeration is accomplished via the shape of the head, and it is more easily

accomplished that way. Considering that the head shape is a single shape, it is easier to

recognize how that shape differs from “normal” and it is easier still to draw a

corresponding simple shape that exaggerates those properties as opposed to the more

complex multiple relationships of the features. By stretching and exaggerating the head

shape, you create the framework within which your other features and their

relationships are drawn to achieve your caricature.

I have spoken of the “5 Shapes” and the importance of their relationships already, but

digging a little deeper it‟s accurate to say that the head shape is “Shape 1″ and the other

four shapes are planets to it‟s sun, working within it‟s all encompassing field of gravity.

If a caricaturist can “see” and exaggerate the head shape, all the other features fall into

place and follow along. In the last lesson I talked about the “T” shape being a focal

point of the basic caricature, but it‟s really the “T Shape” and the head shape together as

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a whole that acts are the basic foundation of a caricature. With those shapes and their

relationships established, the rest of the caricature quickly follows suit.

Seeing the Head Shape

I talk endlessly about seeing shapes within the features and the face, and the importance

of drawing those shapes accurately to capture likeness and to create a convincing

drawing. Again, it‟s difficult to teach anyone to “see”… that ability is developed over

time via practice and hard work. Still, there are a few techniques and tricks I have

learned that can help artists to better see what is in front of them, and better interpret it

in their drawing. Many work for any feature or “shape” within the face, but some are

specific for individual features. Head shapes have several of these tricks for both initial

observations and exaggeration.

Classic Proportion

As with Redman‟s „”Everyman” concept, it‟s important to have an understanding of

classic human proportion an anatomy to have a springboard from which observations

can be made. This is important both for helping to see what makes a given face unique

by comparing it to those “normal” proportions, and for helping to exaggerate those

unique aspects by giving the artist a “starting point” from which to depart as much as

possible.

The classic adult head is an oval, slightly flattened along the top. The head is exactly

divided in half at the eyes, meaning there is equal distance from the horizontal line of

the eyes to both the top and bottom of the head. The head is five eye widths wide, and

the widest point is typically at the temples, but can be anywhere from the cheekbones to

just above the ears. The distance, or more accurately the “mass” of the head above and

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below the eyes, and how those two areas relate, is a crucial part of the head shape as it

relates to caricature. I will refer to it often.

Simplifying Shapes

The head shape is really made up of a lot of different features including cheekbones,

cheeks, brow, jawline, chin, forehead, hair, etc. While these are all important elements

of the whole, at this stage we need to treat the head as a single shape and keep it as

simple as possible. Simple shapes are easier to draw, control and manipulate than ones

with a lot of complex elements to them. It‟s easy to get hung up on the details and not

be able to see past them to the underlying foundation. Here are some tricks to help make

initial observations and come up with a simple head shape:

1. Squint Your Eyes

This is an old portrait artists trick. Squint your eyes or close them so you are looking

through your eyelashes at your subject. This eliminates the details and forces you to see

only vague shapes and forms. That makes it easier to see the simple shapes and drawn

them.

2. Points of Reference

I look for these with every feature I draw. What I mean by “points of reference” is

finding a specific point or part of a feature to use as an anchor point from which you can

make your observations. Each feature has unique points of reference, but in general

things like horizontal or vertical dividing lines can always be used for this purpose.

With the head shape, the horizontal line create by the eyes is a good point of reference.

Using this imaginary dividing line, it‟s easy to see how much of the head lies above that

lie, and how much below. I also will look for the widest point of the head shape,

knowing that once I have found these points I need only to make sure the rest of the

head shape lies in between them. I will also look for straight lines along the contour of

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the head shape, and draw them accordingly. Finally, I will look for points along the face

contour where there is an angular change of direction. The back of the jaw and sides of

the chin will often have these points. Any or all of these points of reference can help

you “see” the rest of the head shape by comparing what is around it to the point of

reference you have established.

3. Shape Association

This is a strange but effective way of grasping a simple head shape, and for

exaggerating it at the same time. Try to associate the head shape of your subject with

the shape of some inanimate object you are familiar with. Maybe this person has a head

shaped like a lightbulb (small, narrow bottom of the face with a big forehead) or that

person‟s head shape may remind you of a peanut (squeezed at the temples). Whatever

strikes you. I don‟t mean you draw a light bulb with the face on it, but rather use your

imagination and keep that object in mind as a template for the head shape you draw.

Of course, it‟s a fun exercise to draw those objects with faces on them just for fun and

practice. Doing that helps your ability to spot those associations within your subject‟s

head shape.

Exaggerating the Head Shape

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I mentioned earlier that the head shape is a place where exaggeration is most easily

applied to the greatest effect. This is because altering the head shape to any appreciable

degree creates a drawing radically different than a portrait. Any change to the head

shape from the “normal” shape has a very high impact to the viewer, and the features,

by way of their necessary relationships within the head shape, are forced to follow suit

and become exaggerated. My analogy of the head shape being a “fulcrum” is an apt one,

because the slightest change in the head shape can radically change all other aspects of

the face. Because the head is treated as a single shape, it is relatively easy to make those

exaggeration decisions and execute them. Unlike the interior features of the face, which

change with expression, the head shape is a constant that only changes with the angle of

the head, and then only as any object will change when rotating in space. When

exaggerating the head shape, all you really need is ONE observation about it to build

your caricature upon. It could be as simple as observing that the model has a skinny

face, or a large chin, or a small forehead. Multiple observations are great, but one strong

one is all you need because it will create a cascading effect with your drawing to define

your caricature.

Here are some methods of seeing and exaggerating the head shape:

1. Visual Weight

One key to exaggerating the head shape is to decide where the “visual weight‟ of the

head lies. That can be as simple as using the afore mentioned line of the eyes as a

reference point and asking yourself “does more of the face lie above the eyes, or

below?” That is visual weight… the placement of head mass relative to some point of

reference like the line of the eyes.

We know that in a “normal” proportioned head the mass is equal. However how we

perceive the face is different than it‟s physical measurements. Whenever you can depart

from the equal mass rule it‟s important to do so. That is caricature.

2. The Law of Constant Mass

There are very few “rules” that are universal as it applies to caricature… things like

expressions, posture and unique physical attributes make it almost impossible to be able

to say “this is always true”. Here is one rule that never changes, however, and it‟s a

powerful tool to create convincing exaggerations… the law of constant mass. By using

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it, you can take that “one observation” about the head and follow through with the rest

of the head shape.

Imagine you have sculpted a perfectly proportioned head out of wet clay. Your head is

done, but you have used up all your clay. You decide you want to create a caricature

rather than a realistic bust of your subject. Looking at the model you decide they have a

large jaw, so you want to make the jaw bigger. With no more clay to work with, you

need to get that clay from somewhere to pack on to the jaw and make it larger. Where

do you get it from? You take it from the top of the head, taking away from the size of

the top to make the bottom bigger. That is the law of constant mass.

The head has only so much mass. You cannot make one area bigger or smaller without

affecting the other areas. A person with a big chin will automatically have a smaller top

of a head. Likewise someone with a big forehead will also have a smaller bottom of a

face. This serves to create exaggerations of higher impact, since the perception of a

large jaw is made more pronounced when the top of the head is smaller. It‟s the same

concept as when a gray value appears closer to white when surrounded by a much

darker value and looks darker when surrounded by white. The law of constant mass also

works sideways, with respect to the width of a face… if the face is very wide you need

to take mass from both the top and bottom to create that width. Of course this will also

affect the relationships of the interior features, because they must now fit within he

exaggerated head shape.

3. Rubber Concept

Another way to think about how the entire head shape is affected by a single

observation is to imagine a head made of soft, goo filled rubber. Now if we make the

observation that our subject has a narrow face, we need to squeeeeze our rubber head

like a vice to make it narrower. The effect of this is that the head bulges out on the top

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and bottom. If we decide the head is wide, we pull the outsides out… the result is the

top and bottom get sucked in. If we squeeze the forehead, the jaw bulges out.

What is good about this method is that if we imagine the features of our subject also

molded into the initial rubber head, we can see how they will faithfully follow the

squeezing, stretching and it‟s consequences.

It‟s important to trust the follow through of the cause and effect associated with the

exaggeration of the head shape via the law of constant mass and/or the rubber concept

when drawing a caricature. Even if that lantern jawed subject does not appear to have a

small top of the head, it is important to follow through with that moving of the mass if

you want to emphasize that jaw and maintain a balance in your drawing… otherwise

your exaggeration will be awkward and a lot less clear.

The shape of the head is a crucial element to a good caricature… arguably THE crucial

element. Accurately observing the head shape, making good decisions on where to place

the visual weight and exaggerating that shape is central to an effective caricature.

How to Draw Caricatures: Eyes

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Part Four: Drawing Eyes

I‟ve written in past tutorials on drawing caricatures that you can‟t really teach someone

to draw caricatures… that is more about developing their “sight” and observation skills

and also developing an ability to find that which make an individual face unique and

exaggerating it. Since every face is different this is an exercise in personal observation

and decision. Therefore after I have gone over the information in my pervious tutorials,

I switch gears an concentrate on teaching rookie live caricaturists how to draw the

individual features, both how to see them, exaggerate them and how to draw them in

line to best effect.

Here is where style becomes an issue. What I have written about previously can apply to

almost any style of caricature, from the richly painted to the most minimalist of line. In

these next series of tutorials some aspects of what I talk about will relate specifically

with a style of caricature like my own… based on cartoon line either inked or in some

other medium. Therefore those with different sensibilities and styles can take from it

what they will and apply what makes sense to them, and ignore the rest. I will try to

center my discussion on that which applies to a broader range of styles than just my

own.

My method for teaching the individual features begins with a lesson on real anatomy.

I‟m not a big believer in memorizing every anatomical name but I do believe you must

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have a good working knowledge of how a feature is put together in order to have a good

command over the drawing of said feature. Following the anatomy lesson, I talk about

different techniques to help “see” the shape of the feature and understand how to draw

it, including realistic proportion. Finally I talk about interpreting the feature in terms of

exaggeration and incorporating it into the whole.

Points of Reference

Seeing and drawing anything is all about shapes and the correct drawing of them or in

the case of caricature the correct drawing of the exaggeration of them. Either way you

still have to “see” the object you are drawing and understand it‟s form first. We have all

seen depictions of artists on TV raising their arm outstretched towards their models with

the thumb out from the fist and squinting their eyes before drawing. That is supposed to

represent an old artist‟s trick of using their thumb, or hand, or pencil or some other

object to measure their subject‟s features relative to one another, or to see angles or

other relationships. The thumb is supposed to be a “point of reference”… a constant that

is used to make accurate observations of the subject. Establishing points of reference in

the face is key to helping to “see” shapes and make observations. With each feature and

the face overall I will suggest several things I use as constant points of reference, which

I can then use as a starting point from which other observations are based. Any kind of

drawing can benefit from this simple concept.

Our first feature is the eyes. I‟ve always felt that the eyes of a caricature are the center

of everything, literally the center of the face but figuratively the center of expression,

personality and “life” as it were. Therefore I‟ve always place special emphasis on the

eyes and begin and end with them, after the head shape, as the focus of almost any

caricature.

Anatomy of the Eye

The human eye is made up of an round orb (eyeball) that rests in and slightly protrudes

from a socket of bone and tissue, surrounded orbital muscles and by covered by skin in

the form of eyelids. The visible parts of the eyeball include the pupil (black circle in the

center of the eye), the iris (colored area around the pupil) which includes the stroma (the

thread-like fibers that radiate from the pupil out to the edge of the iris), and the sclera

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(whites of the eyes). The tissue surrounding the eyes include the inner and outer canthus

(the “corners” of the eyes), the caruncula (the small, reddish, oval shaped piece of tissue

in the inner corner which is sometime incorrectly referred to as the „tear duct‟), and the

semilunar fold (where the eyeball meets the caruncula). The eyelids consist of the upper

and lower lid plates (the actual eyelids that fold down and up to cover the eyeball), the

eyelashes or cilia, which are attached to the free edges of the lid plates in a double or

triple row and are short, thick and curved hairs.

Seeing the Eye Shape

Despite what I said about the importance of the eyes, the eye is still just another feature

and it has a shape like any other feature of the face. When I refer to the “shape” of the

eye I am talking about the visible portions of the eyeball, created by the space between

the upper and lower lids.

The exterior part of the eyes, like the lids themselves and the area that surround the eye

also are very important in capturing the eye itself, but it‟s that initial shape that you use

and a springboard for the rest of the eye. In order to “see” the eye shape, you must

ignore the pupil, iris and all the lines and visual noise that surround the eye, and look at

just the pure shape. Imagine an eye this pure white like the Exorcist eye… that white is

the shape you are looking for. Remember also that the eye is not flat, but protrudes quite

a bit from the face and the lids have a definite thickness to them.

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Typically the eye is NOT shaped like a football or an almond. The upper and lower lids

are not mirror images of each other. In fact, they are very different. The lower lid is

usually much less of an arc than the upper lid, moving more straight across from corner

to corner. The upper lid overlaps the lower lid in the outer corner, and and is farther

removed from the horizontal axis of the eye, which is created by an imaginary line

connecting the corners. This horizontal axis, or “corner to corner” line, is a central part

of making observations about the eye, it‟s shape and it‟s relationship with the rest of the

face. More on that in a second.

The eye shape is more of an asymmetrical ying-yang shape that a symmetrical almond.

The upper lid line rises somewhat sharply from the caruncula, peaks about 1/3 of the

way across the eye and then arcs more softly towards the outer corner. The lower lid

does the opposite, it‟s “peak” being it‟s lowest point, about not quite 1/2 of the way

from the outer corner in, and arcing to the caruncula. In the simplest of geometric terms,

the eyes are quadrilaterals with the four points being the inner and outer corners, the

highest point of the upper lid and lowest point of the lower lid. Naturally we don‟t draw

the eyes with straight lines connecting the dots, but in “seeing” the shape in simple

terms like this we can use these points of reference to better capture the shape of the

eyes, as well as using them to manipulate the feature for exaggeration purposes.

Let‟s get back to the “corner to corner” line I mentioned earlier. This is very useful in

helping to determine not only the shape of the eye, but it‟s relationship to the axis of the

face. Imaging the line going from the outside corner of each eye inward to the inside

corner and then onward to the center axis of the face, what we really have it the central

angle of the arms of the “T Shape” I talked about in an earlier tutorial. By looking at

how that line intersects the eye itself, we can see how much of the eye shape lies above

the line, how much below, where the contour lines of the eye shape travel along that

line. We can also see at what angle the eye lies to the center axis of the face. Are the

outside corners of the eyes higher than the insides? Lower? Even? Are they the same or

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is one different than the other? You can use the line to exaggerate the angle you see to

great effect. The Corner-to-Corner line is a great tool for observation and “seeing” the

eye itself, as well as a point of reference both both accurate drawing and observation.

Another method I use for understanding the eye shape is to look for any straight lines in

the contour of the eye. Lines that are straight or nearly straight can be used as another

point of reference for seeing the rest of the eye and also used as beginning points for the

actual drawing of the eye itself. In many cases, the longer part of the upper eyelid, that

from the “peak” to the outside corner, is often close to a flat line. Look for straight lines

and observe their relationships to the rest of the eye shape‟s contour to better “see” the

eye shape.

Exaggerating the Eye

The exaggeration of any feature must be done with the whole in mind, and not be

treated as some separate entity. Seen in a vacuum, it might be tempting to exaggerate

the size of the eyes because they have a round and wide eyed look. However when the

rest of the face is taken into account, it might very well be that the eyes need to be small

and beady within a massive face. Exaggeration in caricature is all about the

relationships of the features to one another, and not the features themselves taken

individually. However many of the observations you might make about the eyes can

factor into the essential whole, especially the angle the eyes are at relative to the center

axis, and the shapes of the eyes themselves.

The angle of the eyes is the easiest thing to exaggerate. If the outer corners are higher

than the inner, then you simply make them higher still, and vice versa. Once you make

the observation, doing the resulting exaggeration is easy.

Exaggerating the shape of the eye is a little trickier. It can be easy to compromise the

likeness, but when done right it actually enhances the likeness of the caricature. That‟s

because the shapes of features are also describing the expression of the subject, and

exaggerating expression is a central part of good caricature. If someone‟s eyes become

squinty when they smile, drawing them squinty-er will exaggerate their expression as

well as their face, and expression is personality. Capturing personality is an essential

goal. If your eye shape is squinty, make it more squinty.

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If it‟s wide open, make it more wide open. They should still look like the eyes you are

drawing, but with your observations as a guide you turn up the volume a bit… or a lot if

you can without losing the likeness.

Take this set of eyes that are very round and intense:

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We can exaggerate the shape of them as well as their look by emphasizing the whites

surrounding the pupil/iris, and the roundness of the lower eye. In this case I also

exaggerate the angle of them by raising the outside corners. Not by much in either case

here… what I am really exaggerating and trying to capture is the intensity of the eyes

themselves. Those little observations combine to allow me to get that piercing gaze.

Certain styles of caricature will go farther and “interpret” the shape and actually change

it into a representation of the shape itself. Here are those eyes as might be drawn by Al

Hirshfeld:

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or Mort Drucker:

An artist‟s individual style aside, it comes to the same… seeing the shapes and

uniqueness of the features and drawing it in a way that describes it for the viewer to

understand.

As always, caricature is about PERCEPTION and not hard physical reality. In this

picture, our perception of the eyes of this model is changed by the makeup surrounding

them:

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The heavy eyeliner and over-thick exterior lashes near the outer canthus make her look

like the inner whites of her eyes are much larger than the outer, giving her a “walleye”

look that we can make fun of:

Here are some caricatures from some of my sketches where the eyes are a central part of

the exaggeration or personality of the subject. Drawing eyes that really look back at the

viewer can make for a startling effect. Remember the exaggeration of the caricature

involves all the features and their relationships. The eyes may not be as important in

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another caricature, but as they are one of the chief agents of human communication and

expression, they are always of import.

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Next time: Noses!