What is the Easiest Way to Begin Drawing Caricatures?

I’ve been getting quite a few emails asking what the easiest way to get started drawing caricatures?  Luckily its not as hard as it may initially seem.  Even though professional caricature artists can spend five, ten or even twenty years developing and honing their skills, I’m going to give you the nuts and bolts of getting started right now. 

Drawing caricatures isn’t that different than many other things in life in that if you take a complex thing and begin to break it down into its basic elements, it suddenly becomes manageable and easy to understand.  Let me show you a clearer example of what I am talking about here so you can start to visualize this in your head  I promise this will be much easier than you could ever dream it would be.

 
The real heart of any caricature is all about the face and naturally this is where we are going to start. 

First of all you will want to break the face up into its basic parts:  Eyes, Nose, Mouth, Jaw, Forehead and Hair. OK, so Ive listed out the parts of the head, and right about now you’re probably saying, “So what?”

Well, you’re totally right to say that, but just pause for a second and instead of thinking of these things all together as the features of the face, lets just take a look at one item and consider it all by itself, without any relation to the other parts of the head.  Think about just the nose and the different shapes that come together to create it.  OK, so you’re thinking about JUST THE NOSE right?  Stop thinking about the eyes on top of it, and the lips below it and how the nose sits in the middle of the face and then try to come up with a good description of what that nose shape is.  

Really, take a moment and try to come up with a description.

 
How did it go?  For me, I would describe the nose as a series of 3 circles on the bottom of a large rectangle.  Alright, now you’re probably saying, “So what! Get to the Point!” and I hear you! Just stay with me for a sentence or two longer, you just might learn something profound!

Now that youre thinking of the nose just all by itself, do you think you could easily draw it?  Forget about the other parts of the face and how they all fit together, right now the only shape in the world that exists for you is the nose.
Alright, the next step is to imagine going through this whole process for each part of the face, looking at them as individual parts instead of as a collection of everything that makes up the face.

Understanding each part of the face on its own is the first step.  This is really the beginning of learning the easiest way you can get started this whole process doesnt have to take long and I’ll personally walk you through each part of the face and how they can all be stretched, squashed and exaggerated to create a stunning caricature even if you have never tried drawing one before  even if you are a complete beginner. 

I hope you got something out of this – In the coming weeks Im going to be blowing the lid off of the easiest and most effective, no-holds-barred way to learn how to draw caricatures ever released.  I know thats a bold claim, but I know youre going to be floored when you see how simple this is once we get down to the real art and science of drawing caricatures.    

If you’re really interested in learning more about caricatures why not join the ‘First in Line’ notification list by entering your name an email address below to get the inside scoop on the easiest way to draw great looking caricatures.