Caricatures are one of the most popular forms of drawing. If you think this style of drawing is relatively new, it is not. This style of drawing has existed for ages already. In fact, even Leonardi Da Vinci used it! So, if you want to learn to draw caricatures, here are the basics that you need to know.
Getting Started
These are basically portraits that distort or exaggerate a person or thing’s essence. This is done to create a very easy and identifiable visual likeness or description of a subject by the use of exaggeration and oversimplification of various characteristics. These could be complimentary, insulting or both. It can also have an intense political purpose or simply be drawn for mere entertainment. Having said the general definition of caricatures, one thing is evident here: it is a very personalized form of art.
A Higher Sense Of Observation
Since it is personalized to a very high extent, you should first observe closely the subject you would be drawing. If it’s a person then, find out what are his/her features that are very recognizable. Go for the obvious. The observation part in drawing a caricature is the key to making the whole work successful. You cannot rely on a pattern for drawing a caricature. People have varying characteristics, which is why applying a template for all your subjects is not advisable.
For instance, maybe your dad has a big nose; noses are quite popular features that are used in exaggeration. Pick out the features that would make your subject very recognizable.
Don’t Mistake It For A Portrait
One thing that you should be cautious of is mixing up a portrait and a caricature. Remember, these two are different. Caricatures are generally cartoon renditions of the subjects being drawn. However, a portrait is a much realistic view of a subject. As soon as you begin learning how these are drawn, you would want to practice with people that you personally know or are close to. You should also have sufficient understanding of the human face’s basic layout. You can make use of various techniques too, like foreshortening and proportion. Different techniques in drawing are still applicable in this style.
Seeing Your Subject
You should see your subject in a 360 degree. This means see him/her at different angles and situations. This is considered to be the best way for you to have his/her whole sense of personality. You should also find features that you can minimize, rather than exaggerate. Not all characteristics are exaggerated by making them big. There are times that you just have to make them extra small to attain exaggeration. For instance, if you’ll be drawing someone that has a small mouth, you can exaggerate by making his/her mouth even smaller than usual. Doing this is something like reverse exaggeration.
Find Features To Dumb Down!
Dumbing down some features is another technique for your drawing to look more cartoonish. For instance, hair is usually “dumbed down” since you wouldn’t really want to draw each strand of it in a caricature. This minimizes the portrait look of your picture.
The Right Way To Exaggerate
Last but not the least, exaggerate However, do not overdo it. Do not exaggerate features which are not that recognizable in real life. For instance, if your subject does not have a big nose, then do not draw him/her with a big nose. Try to focus on features which could be exaggerated without making your subject unrecognizable.
Anime art is one of most popular fads around the world nowadays. This kind of cartoons is loved by many and it has evolved tremendously as more fans become hooked up in drawing their own anime characters. If you are one of those that want to learn to draw anime characters, here are the basics of what you should know in order to start out.
What Is Your Character?
First, you should identify the character you are drawing. Who is he/she? Is he/she old, teenaged, or a child? Is your character good or bad? Getting to know the features of your character would generally be your guide in being able to draw him/her out of your imagination. Try to have a set of personality characteristics for your character so that you can have a basis.
The General Styles
There are main archetypes used in depicting characters in anime. These could serve as your basis but not your prison in creating your own character.
Cute characters are usually depicted with large eyes, round cheekbones, and closely set facial parts. Evil characters are usually drawn more 'realistically'. They also have sharp protruding cheekbones and very small pupils. Their eyes more often than not appear to be shady.
Shoujo characters or those girly-girl characters usually have sharp chins and huge expressive eyes. They also have elegant nose bridges and slender bodies. Stupid characters have round heads and bodies. They also have less details and simplistic features. Their eyes are most often tiny, in some cases are just dots. If your character is a fighter, just like those in Dragon Ball Z, he/she would also have simplistic features but with exaggerated body proportions and a small head.
These are the basic prototypes in creating Anime characters. However, do not limit yourself with those stated above. Try to experiment and play around with the features. This is the only way you can make your character your own and not just some plain Anime looking character.
Hairstyle
The possible hairstyles that characters could have are endless. This is the beauty of Anime art. They could have wild, out of this world hairstyles and they would still look good. Generally, hair strands are drawn in clumps. All you have to do is draw grass like shaped clumps of hair just to give their hairdo some form and style. Bangs are common with these characters. The color you can use is not limited to black, blonde, brunette or auburn. In fact, most characters have wildly colored hair such as green, purple, pink and blue.
Eyes
The eyes are usually prominent with Anime characters. This is what differentiates one character from another. If you observe, there are a lot of white portions in their eye. This is so that it would have a reflective appearance. This also makes the eyes more lively and appealing. You can observe this especially with Shoujo characters or other female characters.
There is also no limit with the color used. Some characters even have pink, and purples eyes. Usually, eye color also compliments the hair color. You may see some blue haired characters with blue eyes and purple haired characters with pink eyes. Sky’s the limit in choosing eye colors.
Clothing
Most Anime characters are in school uniforms or traditional Japanese costumes. However, there are also characters wearing Western style of clothing. It basically depend on the overall theme of the story.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our Privacy Policy