Evolution of Caricaturist

EVOLUTION OF A CARICATURIST
HOW TO DRAW CARICATURES
A methodically illustrated, simple and interesting text to help you perfect the
skill of creating caricatures.
BY
SHAFALI ANAND
Evolution of a Caricaturist - How to Draw Caricatures
Copyright © 2014 by Shafali Anand
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Version: 1.3
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws
and Treaties. No part of this book may be decompiled, disassembled, reverse engineered,
modified, its derivative works created, reproduced in any form or by any means electronic,
mechanical, scanning, photocopying, recording or stored in a database/retrieval system,
transmitted, sold, published or sub-licensed without the prior written permission of the
author, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
The work is provided "as is." The author makes no guarantees or warranties as to the
accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the content contained in the book or of the results to
be obtained from using the book, including any information that can be accessed through
the book via hyperlink or otherwise, and expressly disclaim any warranty, express or
implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a
particular purpose.
Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the
property of their respective owners and are used only for reference and there is no implied
endorsement from the author.
The Feature Frame Method used in this book is an invention of the author and she
asserts her right to be identified as the inventor of this method.
This book is dedicated to my father who taught me the
art of looking at the funny side of life.
W HAT T HIS B OOK C OVERS
Chapter 1: Identifies the two essential characteristics of a caricature.

Chapter 2: Makes a case for the popular practice of using celebrities as a
subject of your caricatures.
Chapter 3: Establishes a methodical framework for observing faces from a
caricaturist's perspective.
Chapter 4: Explains the psychological processes involved in facial
recognition and discusses the Figure and Ground theory to help you identify
the important features in a face. This chapter also introduces you to Neoteny
and its influence on your caricaturing decisions.
Chapters 5 to 11: These chapters:
Present and Explain the Feature Frame Method to caricature individual

facial features.
Illustrate the use of the Feature Frame Method to caricature different
features.
Analyze about thirty different celebrity faces to empower you with the
ability to identify deviations that should be caricatured.
Present the caricatures of different celebrities so that you may review
them for the application of different concepts learned in this book.
Describe the impact of aging on different facial features.
Etch a work-plan for you to practice what you learn.
Chapter 12: Discusses and illustrates the creation of the full facial caricature.
Chapter 13: Discusses and illustrates the use of Context, Story, and Props in
creation of your caricature compositions.
Chapter 14: Bids you farewell with a list of do's and don’ts, and guides you
to explore further learning possibilities.
W HO T HIS B OOK I S F OR
This book is for art students, artists, budding art professionals, and other art-
afficianados who are interested in exploring the intriguing craft of caricature
drawing.
I NTENDED A UDIENCE F OR T HIS B OOK:
This book is for:
Self-taught artists who want to learn how to draw caricatures

Art-students who are learning the tools of the trade in a formal art
program, but who also want to learn the specific mechanics of creating
caricatures.
Professionals from any other field who can't stop drawing and want to
reload their dreams of being a caricaturist/cartoonist.
Actually... if you have a knack for drawing faces, this book is for you.
P RE-REQUISITE S KILLS:
Just one. You should be able to wield that pencil with some dexterity.
S TUFF Y OU'LL N EED:
I would recommend that while reading this book, keep the following handy.
1. An unruled notebook or a sketch book
2. A mechanical pencil or a wooden pencil (HB) with a sharpener.
3. An eraser
You'd benefit the most from this book if you practice along.
F OREWORD
She is irrefutably incorrigible. She draws everywhere. She even traces
pictures on my belly and calls them belly-rubs. I wish I really had some good
things to say about her, but I haven't. When she was writing this book, I had
to nag her for dinner every evening and sometimes even for breakfast.
Playing second fiddle to a book? That, my dear reader, is the worst fate to
befall a pup.
And, believe it or not, she now wants me to write a foreword for her. All I
want to say is: please read the book and if you like it leave a good review.
Just get her off my back, and when you come visiting, I promise to share my
treats with you.
Oorvi
The Foreword-writing Pup
C ONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
WHAT THIS BOOK COVERS
WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
FOREWORD
CHAPTER 1: Getting Down to the Basics
CHAPTER 2: The Celebrity Connection
CHAPTER 3: The Human Face
CHAPTER 4: The Psychology of Face Recognition
CHAPTER 5: Caricaturing the Shape of the Face
CHAPTER 6: Caricaturing the Eyes
CHAPTER 7: Caricaturing the Brows and the Browridge
CHAPTER 8: Caricaturing the Mouth
CHAPTER 9: Caricaturing the Forehead and the Hair
CHAPTER 10: Caricaturing the Ears
CHAPTER 11: Caricaturing the Nose
CHAPTER 12: Putting it All Together
CHAPTER 13: Context, Story, and Props
CHAPTER 14: Spread your Wings and Fly!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C HAPTER 1
G ETTING D OWN TO THE B ASICS
This chapter defines and explains a Caricature. It differentiates a caricature

from a cartoon and helps identify the two essential characteristics of a
Caricature.
Defining a Caricature
Analyzing a Caricature
So what should you do now?
Special Note for Graphic Tablet Owners
I N this chapter we will establish a working definition of a caricature and
determine the two most important properties of a good caricature. We will
also review a caricature of Michelle Obama in view of the two essential
characteristics of a caricature.
A caricature isn't a cartoon nor is it a portrait. In fact, it borrows a little from
both. A cartoon is an extremely simplistic but humorous visual rendering of
any object or person while a portrait is a high fidelity visual representation
of a person or an animal. A caricature borrows the humor from cartoons and
the high-fidelity visual representation from portraits.
Let us try to put together a practical and useful definition of caricature.
Defining a Caricature
Here's what my table dictionary (The New Webster's Collegiate Dictionary of
the English Language) has to say.
A Caricature is – "a picture or a description using gross exaggeration or
distortion, as for humorous effect or in ridicule."
I'd like to mold this definition a little and customize it to suit our purpose,
which is to create visual caricatures of people. Here's my attempt.
"A Caricature is a humorous likeness of a person, created through selective
exaggeration of his physiognomy (facial features) and other physical
attributes."
When we create a caricature with this definition in mind, we try to ensure the
following:
1. A likeness of a person
2. Selective exaggeration leading to humor (or ridicule – depending upon
your inclination.)
Students of portraiture would usually be comfortable with point 1 (creating a

likeness of a person,) however, the second point about "selective
exaggeration" sometimes throws a spanner into the even otherwise chaotic
visualization process followed by an artist.
In this book, I'll put forth my thoughts on how you can induce humor through
selective exaggeration of facial feature without sacrificing likeness. This will
help you steer your artistic capabilities towards the awe-generating art of
caricature.
Let us apply our knowledge of these two properties of a caricature to this
caricature of Michelle Obama, which I created a couple of years ago.
Analyzing a Caricature
Observe the following caricature of Michelle Obama closely.
Now answer the following question.

What in this caricature creates the likeness of Michelle Obama?
Think.
Here are some options. Select one or more of these.
1. Her hair
2. Her eyes
3. Her nose
4. Her teeth
Don't read further until you've selected your options.

...
...
...
Done?
Here's what I would choose.
1 and 4 – her Hair and Teeth.
And why not her eyes and nose? I agree that her eyes and the nose too have
considerable likeness, yet if you squint your eyes or jog to the far end of the
room and view the caricature from there, you'll exclaim, "I recognize the
teeth and the hair! Wow! She's Mrs. Obama!"
But then if you are good at creating portraits, you already excel at creating
likeness. As a caricaturist, you must go beyond mere likeness and cautiously
tread into the wilderness of exaggeration.
The above picture of Michelle Obama is a caricature (and not a portrait)
because it exaggerates some of her features. Her mouth has been exaggerated
(by emphasizing her lips and her teeth) and also the front fleck of her hair (by
making it look heavier)...and then two rabbits appear on the scene. Their
conversation further enhances the impact of the teeth and the smile, by
making the viewer look at them again.
Try this.
When you look at someone:
1. Make a quick mental list of the top three features that
make their face unique.
2. Now try to imagine the face with any one of the
features in a exaggerated form.
3. Try the same trick with the other two features.
Let me illustrate. If you see a man with a long crooked
nose, big ears, and buck-teeth, try to imagine his face
with a longer and more crooked nose first. Then imagine
his face with bigger ears, and finally, imagine him with
bigger teeth. After some practice, you'll be able to
visualize the exaggeration of all the features together.
In the upcoming chapters we'll talk a lot more about how likeness is created,
and we'll also learn a simple method to exaggerate features without
sacrificing the likeness of the caricature to its subject.

As we take our first steps towards creating caricatures, here are a few things
for you to do.
Get yourself an unruled notebook, a sketchbook, or some loose sheets of
paper. Also find a couple of pencils, an eraser, and a pencil-sharpener (you'll
need a sharpener if you don't want to use a mechanical pencil.) I am not
going to waste a chapter telling you about the different kinds of pencils,
paper, and how to set up your work-space, because I think it's got nothing to
do with creating caricatures. My experience suggests that you can draw
caricatures anywhere using any paper and a pencil or a pen. This is why I'll
try my best to stay focused on concepts and techniques that help you create
good caricatures.
Special Note for Graphic Tablet Owners

If you are a digital artist and you own a drawing tablet, you'll want to do your
practice on it. However I recommend the use of paper and pencils while you
are learning to draw as it gives you the freedom to draw anywhere anytime.
C HAPTER 2
T HE C ELEBRITY C ONNECTION
This chapter discusses why caricaturists are obsessed with celebrities, and
how creating celebrity caricatures could actually help a caricaturist.
Previous Chapter Recall

Why talk about Celebrities?
Why do we Love to create Celebrity Caricatures?
End Note
I N this chapter we will discuss the reasons why caricaturists just can't stop
themselves from drawing the caricatures of celebrities.
Before we continue, reflect upon your own drawing behavior. Have you
drawn celebrities? Why? Was it because you could show it to your friends
and awe them by the likeness you had created? What were your reasons? Jot
them down somewhere before you read further.

In the previous chapter, we had isolated two essential properties of a good
caricature. I have a feeling that they are right there on the tip of your tongue,
ready to tumble out. Here are four options to make it easier for you.
(Don't go further before you've selected the two essential properties of a
caricature from the following options and noted your answer somewhere.)
1. The smoothness of lines

2. Likeness
3. Exaggeration leading to Humor
4. Humor leading to likeness
Done?
So did you select the options 1 and/or 4 as the correct ones?
If you did, please read the previous chapter once again. Those are the two
incorrect options. "Likeness" and "exaggeration leading to humor" are the
two most important attributes of a good caricature.
Why talk about Celebrities?

In this chapter, I intend to put some of your doubts to rest. Why?
Well...because I want you to be a confident caricaturist. I want you to know
the "why" that hides behind everything that you'd be doing as a caricaturist,
and because I'd like you to feel pride in your work – where you wouldn't
worry about anyone else giving you a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down on your
work – and where you become your own most objective critic.
(If you flew past the previous paragraph, you are a no-nonsense-result-
oriented kind of person. Excellent! You'll keep me on my toes...so...let us
start by finding a reason behind a caricaturist's preference for drawing
celebrity caricatures.)
Why do we Love to create Celebrity Caricatures?
I believe that most caricaturists are possessed by celebrities for the following
three reasons:
W IDER R ECOGNITION L EADS T O H IGHER S ATISFACTION
Celebrities are well known and so their faces too are well recognized. Note
that the kind of celebrities that we often caricature are the politicians (Barack
Obama, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, George Bush, etc.,) the performing singers
(Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Elton John, Michael Jackson, etc.), and the
actors (Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, etc.)
These famous personalities are all over our news networks, movie theaters,
billboards, and magazines - in fact, you can't go through life without knowing
who they are. Thus, when we create their caricatures, people readily
recognize them. This makes us feel good because caricaturists, like all other
artists thrive on appreciation (and shrink from criticism – Alas!)
C ELEBRITIES A RE F ORGIVING
Most celebrities don't mind being caricatured. They realize that if they are
seen everywhere, photographed all the time, and drawn by artists,
caricaturists, and distrotionists - they are popular. Trust me, my own private
research and informal data analysis tells me that a celebrity's prominence is
directly proportional to the number of his or her caricatures available on
different media channels including the World Wide Web.
T WO E XAMPLES
Here are two examples to illustrate this point:
1. It's rumored that Christine Lagarde of the IMF fame enjoys collecting her own
caricatures.
2. Rush Limbaugh the celebrated Talk Show host, has written a book "Rush-Revere-and-
the-Brave-Pilgrims" and he's got his own caricature on the cover.
However, I must caution you that an awareness of cultural sensibilities in a

particular country will hold you in good stead. Yet, exceptions don't define
the rule, they merely prove it.
C ELEBRITIES H AVE S TORIES W OVEN A ROUND T HEM
Almost all the famous personalities have stories associated with them. While
many of these stories may not be absolutely true, the popularity of these
celebrities ensure that a lot of people have heard them. These stories help us
spice up the caricatures. (Tiger Woods' escapades with 14 beauties brought
many caricatures into existence including the one below, to which I plead
guilty.)
For these reasons, celebrities are often the most sought-after subjects for
caricatures. If you want to be a caricaturist, you must accept this fact. Funny
caricatures of your sweetheart, parents, friends, and pets are high on practice
but low on motivation. In certain cases, an unexpected caricature may even
lead to a wounded ego – especially if the subject belongs to the fairer sex.
Even otherwise, your creations will have a limited appeal as only those who
personally know the subject will be able to appreciate your effort. Instead if
you focused your energy on creating caricatures of widely recognized
celebrities, your efforts will result in a portfolio that could be evaluated by
your prospective clients on the twin parameters of likeness and exaggeration.

Start observing your favorite celebrities, especially their facial features.
Watch movies, newscasts, and music show videos. Remember that you can't
create a good caricature by looking at a single static picture of a person. You
must view their features dynamically too. You must see how they talk, sing,
laugh, grimace, and so on.
Bring out your drawing material (the notebook, the pencil, and the eraser.)
Use it to list ten of your favorite celebrities along with their distinguishing
facial features. One of the methods of recording your observations could be
making quick rough sketches of the subjects and labeling them with their
distinguishing features. Use a method that suits your temperament. At this
point, it's not important that you start drawing but you must start recording
your observations.
End Note
In the next chapter, we will discuss how we can make our observations more
fruitful. We will also discuss the basic structure of the human face and marvel
at how every face (yes, even a non-celebrated one) is made of the same basic
features – to be stretched, twisted, enlarged, squeezed, and manipulated...
(Ouch!)
C HAPTER 3
T HE H UMAN F ACE – O BSERVING IT FROM THE C

ARICATURIST'S P ERSPECTIVE
This chapter illustrates and explains the different elements of the human face
that a caricaturist should learn to observe. It also introduces to Neoteny and
its impact on your caricaturing decisions.

Facial Features that a Caricaturist should learn to Observe
Neoteny and its Impact
End Note
A H! So here you are. Did you do what we had decided to do?
No?
Did you really read through the first two chapters, or did you rush through
them to reach the real meaty chapters?
Here's a question that'll help you test your intentions :-)

Among the following, which one or more reasons are instrumental in making
the caricaturists select celebrities as our molding clay?
1. Celebrities are widely recognized and caricaturing them results in greater
satisfaction.
2. Celebrities have stories associated with them, and those stories help us
make our caricatures more interesting.
3. Celebrities pay us for our effort in creating their caricature.
You had the answer on tips, didn't you? If you selected the first two options
as the correct reasons, you've got it right. I wish that celebrities paid us for
making their caricatures. I guess they don't want to rig the most important
measure of their popularity by paying the caricaturists for their caricatures.
However, magazines and other publications often commision the caricature
artists to create celebrity caricatures.
With the recap out of our way, we can now focus our energy on discovering
those elements of the human face, which a caricaturist should observe very
very carefully!
Facial Features that a Caricaturist should learn to

Observe
Look at Artwork 1 below. This artwork lists the features that a caricaturist
must learn to observe.
Notice that I've labeled only those features that you'd likely focus on or
manipulate as a caricaturist.
1. The Shape of the Face

2. The Eyes
3. The Eyebrows and the Browridges
4. The Mouth
5. The Chin
6. The Ears
7. The Nose
8. The Hair
Let me explain each of these features from the point of view of a caricaturist.
T HE S HAPE O F T HE F ACE
Human faces come in myriad different shapes. As caricaturists we must learn
to recognize different face-shapes. To observe shapes, try to trace how your
eye moves along the outer edges of a person's face. Do you trace straight-
lines? How many? Five? You are possibly looking at a pentagonal face. Also
remember that the shape of the face is determined by the Jaw-bone and the
chin. Practice by observing different types of faces. Perhaps a metro-ride is in
order.
T HE E YES
Human eyes vary not just in shape and size but also in the color of the iris. As
a caricaturist, you must learn to observe all these details. Also remember that
the eyes of women differ from the eyes of the men in both shape and size.
Try making a note of the different eye-colors and shapes that you come
across.
T HE E YEBROWS A ND T HE B ROWRIDGES
Eyebrows, the two tiny thatches of hair over our eyes, perform a very
important function. They help us convey our expressions and over time they
acquire certain permanent shapes. For instance, older individuals who spent
their lives fretting over things, would have their brows frozen into a position
that conveys anxiety (furrows between the two brows.) The browridges too
are important, especially in men; in women they are generally non-existent.
T HE M OUTH
The human mouth is made of the lips (upper and lower) and the teeth. The
mouth has a special importance among the features that you must observe on
a woman’s face. The shape and size of the mouth also varies across races.
The teeth are often hidden behind the lips but if you were caricaturing a
celebrity with his mouth open, you may want to caricature the teeth too. (If
you are wondering why you must caricature someone with his/her mouth
wide open, you haven’t drawn a lot of singers.)
T HE C HIN
The chin is the bottom most part of the lower jaw. The male chin is usually
heavier than the female chin. Some chins sport a cleft or dimple. Though not
often yet sometimes you come across individuals with a surprisingly heavy,
projected chins. You may want to read about the Hapsburg jaw, which is a
medical anomaly that was seen in some members of the European royal
families.
T HE E ARS
The human ears are two extremely interesting appendages that jut out of the
sides of our heads. Ears too come in different shapes and sizes, but the female
ears are often hidden behind a curtain of hair. This is why you may not get a
lot of opportunity to observe the female ear. However, the structure of the
female ear isn’t all that different from the male ear, which is almost always
exposed for you to observe.
T HE N OSE
For a caricaturist, the nose is the most important feature on the whole human
face. The shape and size of this protrusion is as variable as that of any other
human feature. While observing the nose, be aware of the fact that the
average female nose is smaller than the average male nose, and the shape and
size of nose varies drastically from race to race.
T HE H AIR
The hair is another important feature of the human physiognomy. In my
opinion, it’s also one of the most difficult features to render. A point to note
here is women often change their hairstyles and hair colors. For this reason,
you cannot assume the hair color to be a characteristic feature in the case of a
woman. Observe the hair of people around you. Depending upon the texture
of the hair, for some it would stand up, for others it could lay flat, and yet for
some it could just hang limp. Also observe facial hair in men.
Next when you plop yourself on the couch to watch TV, observe these
features for someone you want to caricature. If you are wondering why you
must spend hours studying these features, the answer is - we need to do it
because we've taken upon ourselves the responsibility to caricature people.
Let me ask you something. Have you ever seen a face where all the features
(everyone of them) were exactly the right size and the right shape? I haven't.
And even I if do come across such a face – as a Caricaturist I'd not be
interested in such a face at all. But the good news is – such faces do not exist,
and so we can hope to stay in business for a very long time.
In fact, this lack of perfection in our faces is the what makes us all look
different. Each of us looks unique and special because one or more of our
features are bigger, wider, sharper, thinner, thicker, blunter, rounder,
flatter...or someoth-er, than our neighbor's!
And a caricaturist thrives on these differences.
Neoteny and its Impact

Before this term raises your eyebrows and you begin to wonder whether I am
trying to complicate your life, let me tell you that neoteny is something that
you experience everyday.
Here are two simple questions for you to answer.
1. Do you think that children look cute?

2. If Drew Barrymore (in her younger chubbier avatar) and Sandra Bullock
were both struggling to uncap a stubborn bottle, who are you more likely
to help?
Most people will answer as follows:
1. Yes
2. Drew Barrymore
You know why? It’s because of neoteny.

Neoteny is our ability to retain our childlike features that evoke a need to
care in the onlooker.
Neotenous features are identified as:
A big forehead
A lack of the browridge
A soft and tiny nose
Smooth skin
A small chin
Soft hair on scalp and body
Neoteny is also characterized by a high-pitched voice, which isn’t of

tremendous concern to the visual artist.
As boys grow up to become men, they lose their neotenous characteristics,
but women tend to retain them - some more than other. The women who are
more neotenous are considered more attractive and "cuter" looking. Their
neotenous features evoke the caring attitude in men – the same attitude that
people experience towards children.
When we go through the chapters devoted to caricaturing the features, we'll
see how neoteny stops us from meting out the same heavy handed
caricaturing treatment to women that we do to men. Meanwhile, when you
observe people, try to apply the neoteny principle to differentiate the facial
features of women from those of men. Also compare the features of attractive
women to those of children. Note the similarities.
You can read more about Neoteny on Wikipedia at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny

You should begin by training yourself to look at the differences in the faces
of people. Here's something to do. Select 5 male and 5 female celebrities, and
find their images on the web. Now compare them. Record your observations
in your notebook.
For example:
Uma Thurman: Nose – Too sharp (analogy – blade?) face – Too narrow
Halle Berry: Nose – Too broad, hair – Too short (messy?)
Angelina Jolie: Lips too full (analogy – sausages?)
Also,
Bruce Willis: Huge/Tall Head(analogy - Pyramid?) Prominent lines

around the lips
George Clooney: Prominent Jaw, Heavy Face/Eyes (swollen lower lids)
Morgan Freeman: Very curly hair, Characteristically different Nose (the
bulge begins midway,) Heavy lips, black dots on the cheeks.
So your observation has shown you what makes these faces special, and
given you some idea of what you must exaggerate.
Take your notebook for a train-ride. Watch people. Draw their faces. Label
and analyze them. Compare male faces with male faces and female faces with
female faces. Categorize the differences and the similarities. Determine the
reasons for the differences - are they due to age or race. Review the faces of
women in view of Neoteny.
End Note
After the next chapter, we will devote a chapter each to these facial features.
In the next chapter, we will determine the reason why caricatures remain
recognizable or exhibit likeness despite being a distorted representation of a
person. This knowledge will help you become a better caricaturist.
C HAPTER 4
T HE P SYCHOLOGY OF F ACE R ECOGNITION
This chapter explains how people recognize faces. It introduces the Geon
theory of Recognition by Components and the Gestalt theory of Figure &
Ground. This chapter also discusses the caricatures of Morgan Freeman,
Pamela Anderson, and Michelle Obama in the context of the Gestalt Theory
of Figure & Ground.

Before we Start...
How does this Theoretical Stuff help?
Biederman’s Geon Theory
The Gestalt Theory of Figure & Ground
End Note
T HE biggest apprehension of a caricaturist is that a caricature may not
exhibit sufficient likeness. Likeness is the ability of a caricature to be
recognized. If a caricaturist knew what makes people recognize others, and if
the caricaturist could then create caricatures using that magic potion, those
caricatures would always exhibit likeness!
Let us do a quick recap of the learning from the previous chapter, and then
start on our quest of this magic potion.

In the previous chapter we identified the facial features that a caricaturist
should learn to observe (and you had also agreed to observe at least 10
Celebrity faces – 5 male and 5 female.)
So here's a recap question for the previous chapter.
Which of the following statements is correct?
1. Ears and browridges are the most important features on a woman's face.
2. Neoteny is our inability to retain our childlike features into adulthood.
3. Neotenous men are considered more attractive than non-neotenous men.
4. The nose, the eyes, and the lips are three features that exhibit strong
variations across gender and race.
Done? If your answer doesn't match the option given at the end of this
chapter, read the previous chapter once again.
Before we start...
Find some good reference images for the following celebrities. Look for
close-up facial shots of the following personalities:
1. Hillary Clinton
2. Morgan Freeman
3. Pamela Anderson
4. Michelle Obama
5. Jay Leno
Also...
Do you recognize the gentleman in Artwork 1 above? Search for silent+tramp

on the web and you'll find him.
How does this Theoretical Stuff Help?

As artists we often focus so much on transferring what we see to the images
that we paint, that we don't bother digging for the reasons that underlie any
phenomenon (the academia calls these reasons, "theories.") In my opinion,
theories are important because they help us reduce our chances of failure.
When we know why something works, we are able to imbue our work with
the essence of that reason – and improve the chances of our work becoming
successful.
(I know that you are a practical person, and you want me to stop all this right
now and start demonstrating the process of creating caricatures. Trust me,
this knowledge will help you tremendously...and right after this chapter, we'll
start work.)
It is important for us to answer the question "how people recognize faces,"
before we begin creating caricatures, because our knowledge of how people
recognize faces will make us more efficient and accurate caricaturists. You
will shortly discover how.
For a moment, close your eyes and try to recall the last time you met
someone, somewhere, and thought that you knew that person – and it turned
out that you did know him or her...from school, from college, or from some
vague trip you took into Neverland, once upon a time. What is it that makes
you remember that face?
There are two theories that can help us answer this question.
1. Biederman's Geon Theory

2. The Gestalt Theory of "Figure & Ground"
Biederman's Geon Theory

Dr. Irving Biederman tried to explain the phenomenon of facial recognition
by introducing the "geons" or the "geometric ions." The term "ion" translates
to "component or element," and so, what he effectively said was that we
recognize faces (and other objects in our environment) by breaking them
(figuratively speaking) into 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional geometric
elements such as circles, rectangles, cones, spheres, cylinders and so on. He
identified about 30 basic shapes and said that whenever we see something,
our mind quickly "understands" it as an ordered collection of the basic
shapes.
Let me illustrate by describing an imaginary face.
A huge "spherical" head, small "oval" eyes, a big "round" nose, and a
"triangular" face with a "conical" chin!
Do you see how we reduce a face to a collection of shapes? Also note the
reference to the sizes. This is also the reason why most cartooning tutorials
reduce the different parts of a cartoon's body to shapes. The face of Micky
Mouse is a collection of circles and ellipses, and if you just saw the silhouette
of his face, you'd recognize him instantly. While Micky's example is an
extremely simplified one, it helps us understand the way our brain recognizes
faces, people, objects...in fact, anything at all!
The Gestalt Theory of Figure & Ground

Another theory that helps us understand how people recognize faces is the
Gestalt theory of Figure and Ground. This theory tells us something that's
simple but very effective. It says that when we look at something, we
automatically segregate the elements as those that constitute the "figure" or
the real element of interest, and the "ground", which is...well, the ground. The
following figure illustrates this theory.
Thus, the most prominent feature in the focus area becomes the figure and
rest is perceived as the ground.
Let us analyze the faces of some celebrities and see how we can apply our
new learning to them.
Observe the faces of the celebrities in Artwork 3 below.
In the case of:
Morgan Freeman:
His Nose and Hair are the Figure.
Pamela Anderson
Speaking only of her face, her hair is the Figure.
Michelle Obama:
Her smile (lips and teeth,) and also her hair form the Figure.
Russell Crowe:
His chin is the Figure.
Note that not all faces that you come across would have such distinct
"Figures" but in most faces, you'll be able to zero down upon 1, 2, or even 3
such features that will characterize the face...and when you'd see that feature
(or even just that feature) you'll exclaim and say – this is Morgan Freeman, or
Pamela Anderson, Michelle Obama, or Russell Crowe!
If we combine our learning from these two theories to crystallize the answer
to the question "how people recognize faces," we'll arrive at the following
answer:
People recognize faces through:
the "geons" (the shape of the features, broken down into simple
geometric shapes.)
what they perceive to be the "Figure" in the face (the most important
elements/features.)
As a caricaturist, you first need to recognize the different shapes that make up
the face, and then identify the "Figure" in the face. Next, you have to
exaggerate the shape and the size of the elements that constitute the "Figure,"
while keeping the other features constant.
Thus, to create a likeness of:
1. Morgan Freeman, exaggerate the shape and size of his nose and hair.
2. To create the caricature of Pamela Anderson, exaggerate her hair and her
famous assets.
3. And to create the caricature of Michelle Obama, exaggerate the shape
and size of her lips, teeth, and chin – in effect exaggerating her smile!
And yes, the answer to the question at the beginning of this chapter is option
4 :-)

Look at different faces and try to list the geons. Also list the features that you
think form the "Figure" on a face. In the beginning it would be akin to
looking at the clouds to find knights and dragons, but with practice you'll
actually start seeing shapes. In fact, your own face is a goldmine of shapes.
You just need to find a mirror...
Where's my mirror? Oh, here it is. I've got an almost spherical face with a
tiny conical chin. I've got a smaller sphere for a nose and a couple of ovals
for my eyes. My hair could be a hollowed up hemisphere placed upon my
head...
This description must have painted my picture for you. If you think you look
better than me, prove it. Find a mirror.
End Note
In this chapter we've learned how people recognize faces. This knowledge
will help us create caricatures that are high on Likeness. Chapter 5 onwards,
we will discuss how the Exaggeration and the Likeness principles apply to
each element of the human face. So keep your notebooks/sketchbooks and
references ready!
C HAPTER 5
C ARICATURING THE S HAPE OF THE F ACE
This chapter discusses the basic shapes of the human face and establishes the
Feature Frame Method for exaggerating different features. The chapter also
illustrates the application of this method and analyzes the face-shapes in
some celebrity caricatures.

Before we Start...
Basic Shapes of the Human Face
Three Primary Face Types
The Feature Frame Method
Caricaturing Different Face-shapes
Caricaturing the Chin
Some Celebrity Faces
End Note
O NE of the most important shapes that a caricaturist must learn to
exaggerate, is the shape of the face. This chapter introduces the Feature
Frame Method that helps you exaggerate different facial features in a more
objective manner. Later the chapter demonstrates the use of the Feature
Frame Method to exaggerate the shape of the face.
You know the quaint little routine that we always follow :-) Before we
proceed, let us quickly review our learning from the previous chapter.

Here is the question:
Which one or more of the following statements are TRUE about the Geon
Theory and the Gestalt Theory of "Figure & Ground."
1. The Geon Theory explains that our ability to recognize faces is an

outcome of a chance encounter that we had with the aliens from the
Geon Galaxy.
2. Geon is the short-form for Geometric Ions, and the Geon theory explains
that we recognize faces by breaking up the image of the face into a
collection of geometric shapes.
3. According to the Gestalt theory of "Figure & Ground" humans perceive
faces by analyzing an image into figure (the prominent part/focus area of
the image) and the ground (the rest.)
4. Facial Recognition is explained through the Gestalt theory of "Figure &
Ground" by likening the important, distinguishing features of the face to
the "figure" in the image, and rest of the face to the "ground."
What's your answer? Reflect. You are also welcome to turn the pages and
read the previous chapter once again.
Here's a clue – three of the options given above are correct, one isn't. You'll
find the answer somewhere in this chapter.
Before we Start...
Please ensure that you possess the reference images for the following
celebrities.
1. Keanu Reeves
2. George Clooney
3. Salvador Dali
4. Johnny Depp (as Captain Sparrow)
5. Bruce Willis
6. Sarah Jessica Parker
7. Barack Obama
Additionally you may also want to look up the celebrities mentioned in the
topic "Three Primary Face Types."
Basic Shapes of the Human Face

According to my observation, following are the six basic shapes that can be
perceived in the human face.
1. Round
2. Oval
3. Pentagonal
4. Triangular
5. Square
6. Rectangular
It is important to note that unless you are a distortionist (a caricaturist who

applies extreme exaggeration,) you'd be handling the round shapes the same
as the oval shapes, the pentagonal shapes the same as the triangular ones, and
the square shapes the same as the rectangular ones!
Three Primary Face Types

R OUND & O VAL C ELEBRITY F ACES
A Round or Oval face is characterized by invisible cheekbones and a softer
jawline. Most of the round and oval faces would belong to women :-) Drew
Barrymore/Pamela Anderson are two examples of round faces. You can also
find that the more rotund male celebrities too have round faces resting on the
plump pillows of their necks. A quick example is Chris Farley of the Beverly
Hills Ninja fame.
T RIANGULAR & P ENTAGONAL C ELEBRITY F ACES
Note that the Triangular face shape is seldom found in adult faces. Find a
picture of Dakota Fanning as a young girl, and you'll know what I mean.In
triangle faces, the sides of the face slope down at about a 45 degree angle to
meet at a point on a tiny triangular chin. The eyes are quite big for the face
and the over all impression that such faces cast is that of innocence. When
you would caricature such childlike faces, you will increase the triangularity
and reduce the overall size of the lower face, while increasing the size of the
forehead and the head. (Refer to our discussion on Neoteny.)
For Pentagonal Faces, look at Demi Moore/Julia Roberts (A vertically-
stretched Pentagon!)/ Barack Obama (Again, vertically stretched) Michelle
Obama/Kiera Knightly/Beyonce Knowles/Mariah Carey (a pentagonal face,
with a "stretch" in the middle, and a "squash" at the chin – making the chin
bulkier.)
The main difference between triangular and pentagonal faces is due to the
jawline. So people who had triangular faces as kids would have a good
chance of growing up into adults with pentagonal faces.
S QUARE & R ECTANGULAR C ELEBRITY F ACES
Square and rectangular faces are often male. When found in women they
often lead to a masculine looking face unless they are off-set by other
strongly feminine features (for instance the big eyes and voluptuous lips of
Angelina Jolie offset her square face and her strong chin.)
When found in men, it's a good idea to exaggerate the square/rectangular look
of the face. If you considered the faces of the fantasy art heroes, you'll realize
that they all have square or rectangular faces.
Here are some other examples of square and rectangular faces.
Square: Angelina Jolie/Gina Davis/Jean-Claude Van Damme
Rectangular: Bruce Willis/ Sandra Bullock/Sylvester Stallone (When square
faces are vertically stretched, they become rectangular faces. )
It is important to note that the human face is very organic, and so you'll never
find true circles, triangles, squares, ovals, and rectangles! Don't buy a new set
of geometrical instruments to figure their faces out. Instead go by the general
impression that the faces cast upon you.
We will now see how these face-shapes can be exaggerated for creating a
caricature. The method that we shall employ in learning how to caricature the
features would be to caricature a specific feature while keeping the other
features constant. Remember that when you sit down to create actual
caricatures (around the time you reach the end of this book,) you will be
exaggerating not just one but all the "Figure" (important) features of the
subject, in the same drawing. At this stage however, it would be best to focus
on individual features, and so in this chapter, let's not allow our attention to
stray from the shape of the face.
We will discuss the exaggeration of faces in the following three broad
classifications:
1. Round/Oval
2. Triangular/Pentagonal
3. Square/Rectangular
The Feature Frame Method

In all our exaggerations, we'll use a simple method that I have developed over
the years. For easy referencing, I'll call it the Feature Frame Method .
Before you read on, let me make you privy to some custom-made
terminology, which will help you understand the figures and their
interpretations better.
F EATURE F RAME
To make the exaggeration stand out, we will create a box around the feature
to be exaggerated. This frame stays in one position and remains rigid, thus
allowing us to review the exaggeration objectively. We will call this frame,
the Feature Frame.
A NCHOR P OINTS
To make our drawings more accurate and easy to interpret, we will talk about
exaggeration in terms of "pushing out" or "pulling in" the Anchor Points.
Thus, Anchor Points are those points on the drawing that help us define the
form of a feature.
M IRROR P OINTS
Mirror points are Anchor Points that mirror laterally. For all practical
purposes the left side of the human face mirrors its right side, so to avoid
repetition, this book will use the same label for the Anchor Points on both
sides of the face. Thus, if point "a" is the highest point on the left cheekbone,
it's also the highest point on the right cheekbone.
A quick deviation – the answer to the question in Previous Chapter Recall is
2, 3, and 4.
Remember that Anchor Points transform into Mirror

Points only when you look at the front view of the face. If
you decide to caricature a profile or a three-fourth view,
there will not be any Mirror Points.
Caricaturing Different Face-shapes

E XAGGERATING T HE R OUND/ O VAL F ACE
The following figure shows you two basic methods of exaggerating a
round/oval face.
As you can see, Process A is extremely simple. In a round face, you
exaggerate the roundness of the face, and in an oval face, you exaggerate the
oval-ness of the face by making the oval longer. You can use this simple
method when you aren't looking for a strong mark of humor on your
caricature (say, you are creating a caricature of your girlfriend or your sister,
and you want them to look cute not funny.) All you need to do is push out the
Mirror Points "a" while not moving the point "b" on the chin at all. As the
chin becomes shorter and tinier in comparison to the rest of the face, the
cuteness quotient of the faces rises.
Process B is more interesting but it also requires more dexterity. It requires
that you push in the sides of the forehead (we will discuss the forehead in
more detail later,) and instead of working with the Anchor Points, you push
out the face at the cheeks. You also push out the point "b", which is on the
chin. In short, you try to achieve the look of an air-filled balloon. When you
are dealing with oval faces, visualize the same balloon but fill it with water!
E XAGGERATING T HE T RIANGULAR/ P ENTAGONAL F ACE
Pentagonal face shape is common in both adult men and women. I've
included the triangular face-shape here to address those faces that didn't
develop a strong jawline when they matured. Usually triangular face-shapes
can be seen in children.
Here's another sketch from my notebook (this acknowledgment, as you
must've noted, is an excuse for the somewhat messy look of the drawings.)
The sketch depicts an androgynous face, with three Anchor Points.

Process A requires that the Anchor Points "a" on both sides of the face move
closer to point "c", while the chin shrinks itself into point "c". You may want
to use this treatment for female faces where you want to retain the delicate,
fragile, under-grown, baby look (Britney Spears?)
Process B requires you to push out all the Points. Note that the angle made by
the sides at Mirror Points "b" has decreased. The overall shape of a pentagon
is not only retained but also exaggerated through this process. As the
exaggeration is caused by pushing out all the points outwards – the face now
looks heavier and stronger (a stronger jaw combined with a stronger chin!) I
recommend using this method for creating the caricatures of male faces. Try
it for making Eric Bana's caricature. Eric Bana's face has a very prominent
pentagon shape. You could try both A and B Exaggeration Methods, and see
how the overall impression conveyed by his face, changes.
The exaggeration of a triangular face would require that you pull all the
Anchor Points below the line of the eyes, downwards.
Here's a caricature of Keanu Reeves created using the same technique.
In Artwork 1 above you can see how I've focused on exaggerating two of
his features that deviate from the normal. His nose and the shape of his
face. While he has a somewhat strong chin, I forsook the chin to favor the
shape of the face. To exaggerate the triangular shape even more, I even
included his hair in the shape. The caricature looks more interesting for the
fact that his nose has been exaggerated to form a smaller but inverted
isosceles triangle. (Please refer to Artwork 2 below.)
E XAGGERATING T HE S QUARE/ R ECTANGULAR F ACE

The Square/Rectangular Face-shapes are usually found in men, but some
extremely beautiful women have this shape too (Angelina Jolie and Sophia
Loren are a couple of examples.)
Look at the figure here to view two basic processes for caricaturing such
faces.
Process A pushes out "c" on both sides of the face, and also the point "d" (on
the chin.) This is a simple and useful kind of treatment for low-detail
caricatures.
Process B, moves all the Anchor Points, and while it pushes out the Mirror
Points "a" and "c" outwards. However the Mirror Points "b" situated on either
side of the face stay where they are (or are even pushed inside for acute
exaggeration.) This results in a much heavier face( for instance, a superhero's
face.)
Caricaturing the Chin

The male chin is a very interesting feature. When not adorned with a beard, it
often displays deviations that interest a caricaturist. Jay Leno's heavy chin has
inspired many great caricaturists. Another celebrity who has a heavy chin is
George Clooney. While his chin is smaller when compared to Jay Leno's
chin, it has some very interesting topography.
Notice the bumps and depressions on his chin. On another note, please
observe that I have exaggerated his two important features in the caricature.
1. His chin and 2. His hair. Clooney loves to pamper his hair and in most of
his pictures you can't find a single stray hair anywhere on his head. In this
caricature, you don't only see his neat hair, but also two aliens who’ve landed
their ship on his head. As they wonder whether or not those channels in his
hair are natural, the attention of the viewer is once again drawn to his hair -
thus, exaggerating the effect.
(Note: In chapter 13, we will discuss how context, story, and props can be
used to maximize the impact of a caricature.)
Heavy chins make a face look mature and non-neotenous.
This is the reason why women who have heavy chins are
seldom considered pretty. However, one Hollywood
actress has broken this stereotype, and despite her strong
jaw and relatively big chin, Angelina Jolie is considered
extremely beautiful.
Now let us see how the chin may be caricatured using the Feature Frame
Method.
When you caricature the chin, also remember to draw the dimples and/or the
bumps that you see on a person’s chin. Most male and some female chins
have a slight dimple (also known as chin-cleft) right at the bottom.
Some Celebrity Faces
In Artwork 4 above, you can see the faces of Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis,
Salvador Dali, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Johnny Depp's face is close to a
regular pentagon and the caricature exaggerates this shape. Bruce Willis has a
rectangular face and so the caricature makes it look taller. The shape hidden
in Dali's face is an inverted isosceles triangle, so in his caricature his chin has
been made a lot smaller than it actually is; and Sarah Jessica Parker's long
face has been made longer still!
Also play close attention to the treatment of Bruce Willis' chin. He has a
heavy chin and a strong jawline. In fact his jawline is a lot more defined than
that of George Clooney's. President Obama's chin has some interesting
topography too. It becomes very noticeable in his characteristic lower-lip
biting expression.

B EGIN D RAWING!
Select faces, identify their dominant shape, and begin the tug-of-war with the
Anchor Points! Before you move on to the next chapter, observe ten faces
and categorize their face-shapes. Then print the images for at least three of
the faces. Next, use your pencil or a marker to exaggerate their faces using
EM-A or EM-B.
A RTIST TO A RTIST...
Here are some practical tips that will help you make good caricatures. I'd like
to say that caricature-drawing looks daunting at first, but as you continue to
practice, you'll realize that it you'll begin to handle the exaggerations with
ease.
1. Always carry an unruled notebook or an inconspicuous

sketchbook with you. You don't need a huge artist-y
sketchbook. Nobody need know what treasures you carry
with you – go for an innocuous looking un-ruled notebook
with a hard cover.
2. Always carry a mechanical pencil and an eraser. You
don't have to carry a pencil of every H and every B – Just
plain old HB would work wonders. I seldom use anything
else and I've been doing fine. Here's my story.
I had been drawing with a plain HB pencil for a very long
time. Then a few magazines and journals approached me.
They had seen my caricatures on my blog and they
wanted to either license the existing caricatures or they
wanted me to create custom illustrations for their
magazines. While I now create digital illustrations too, I
must tell you that I haven't had any art training at all - not
even a one-day program anywhere. I can draw and paint,
because I've practiced.
I am confident that you'll be able to create fantastic
caricatures too, if you drew enough. All the artists who
have amazed us in the past have spent hours, days, and
months practicing their art. In all frankness, there's no
shortcut to getting there. I am on my way, and I hope you
are too :-)
I'd also like to tell you that there's no dearth of people and websites who'll
be able to guide you about the paper, the pencils, the ink, and even the
output file format – what you need to be skilled at is the art of caricature
drawing...and for that you need a passion that blinds you to everything
except your need to draw.
Remember there are a lot of people out there who know everything about
drawing material, but only a few who are actually good at drawing – and
those who can draw would draw a master-piece with a twig on the sand.
All they need is their imagination and the skill to reproduce the picture
formed in their minds - whatever be the drawing material.
End Note
So, shift the gears and spring forward.
Master the skill of selectively exaggerating the shape of the human face, and
then in the next chapter, we will discuss the eyes.
Oh, there's something else. Oscar Wilde knew something about faces and so
did Abraham Lincoln. It's said that once Abraham Lincoln had refused to
meet a person, because he didn't like his face. When someone asked him
whether he was being unfair to the chap because one couldn't be held
responsible for his face, Lincoln said, "after forty a man is responsible for his
face."
Technically, Lincoln was right. Our most frequent expressions shape our
faces. Oscar Wilde was also right...especially in view of the women
celebrities from the showbiz.
“ A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face

is her work of fiction. ”
– Oscar Wilde –
C HAPTER 6
C ARICATURING THE E YES
This chapter begins by sharing the mantra that could ensure that your
caricatures always have a minimum quantum of likeness. It then introduces
the basic shapes of the human eye, discusses the structure of the human eye,
and then illustrates the use of the Feature Frame Method for caricaturing the
eyes through three different examples.

Before we start...
Importance of Eyes
The Greenhorn Caricaturist’s Mantra
Different Types of Eyes
Structure of the Eye
Caricaturing the Eyes in 3 Steps
Caricaturing the Eyes – Three Examples
Some Celebrity Eyes
End Note
E YES are the Windows to the Soul," says an ancient proverb, and no
greater truth may be told to a caricaturist.
When you look into someone's eyes, you can see the glimpses of the person's
soul. The eyes help you understand emotions, motives, and even entire
personalities. Try this. Find some celebrity pictures and make their cutouts.
Next, fold the cutouts so that only the eyes are visible. Now put them into a
jar and juggle them up. (Better still, find someone who's all starry-eyed for
you and who'd happily do this for you.)
Now dip into the jar and pick a slip and name the Celebrity. Keep doing this
until either the slips or you are exhausted. How many did you get right? All?
Most? Some? None?
This chapter discusses the human eye and how a caricaturist may draw it
without hiding the soul of the subject behind unthoughtful exaggeration.

Let us proceed in our chapter-tested manner of answering a question from the
previous chapter. (I know this is becoming repetitive and losing its charm. I
promise to think of a new recall method for the next chapter.)
Here's the question.
From the perspective of a caricaturist, which one or more of the following
statements is TRUE about the shapes of the human face?
1. You can handle the round face the same as the pentagonal face.
2. The front view of a pentagonal face has three main Anchor Points of
which two are Mirror Points.
3. The rectangular face can be caricatured by applying a squeeze under the
cheekbones.
4. You should always begin to draw a caricature by first drawing the shape
of the face.
Done?
Good.
The answer?
Well...four times one isn't an option, and neither is a fourth of four.
Before we start...
close-up shots for the face.
1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Ozzy Osbourne
4. Angela Merkel
5. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean)
6. Edward Norton (also read about the movie "Primal Fear" and the
characters played by him viz. Roy and Aaron.)
Importance of the Eyes

Let us now talk about the eyes. The most mysterious and the most celebrated
facial feature of all. For thousands of years, humans have written poetry and
created artworks to celebrate the human eyes. For thousands of years, eyes
have won hearts, ignited envy, given away secrets, and steered the course of
history.
I'll be brutally honest with you. If you don't get the eyes right, your portraits
and caricatures won't come alive. Regardless of what treatment you give to
the rest of the face, if you make the eyes belong, the whole portrait or
caricature springs to life.
So, here's a mantra for the talented new caricaturist in you.
The Greenhorn Caricaturist's Mantra

Don't mess with the shape of the eyes for a long time to come.
Remember, they are the single most important feature on the face, and unless
you are very confident of the exaggeration you want to apply, leave them
alone.
With that warning let us look at some commonly observed eye-types. Note
that like all the other lists that I provide in this book, this too is an indicative
list. I recommend that you continue your observations and make your own
lists.
Different Types of Eyes

Here's a reasonably comprehensive list of the eye-types.
1. Round/Oval Eyes
2. Eyes slanting upwards at the outer corners
3. Eyes slanting downwards at the outer corners
4. Bulging Eyes
5. Deep-set Eyes
6. Eyes with a swollen lower lid
7. Eyes with the upper lids hidden under loose skin-folds
8. Close-set Eyes
9. Wide-set Eyes
Here's what these various types of eyes look like.

Remember that though the eyes of an average man are larger than that of an
average woman, they tend to look smaller in relation to their other bigger
features. Men also have larger noses and bigger heads than women (both
literally and figuratively.)
Excuse the pun, but once in a while a woman too can joke at the expense of
men, can she not?)
As a caricaturist, you must also never lose sight of the fact that many women
celebrities, especially those from the tinsel town, work hard to enhance the
beauty of their eyes. They accomplish this by coloring their lids, adding false
eyelashes, and by outlining their eyes with eyeliners. As a caricaturist, you
may want to select the eye-make up as a separate feature in women subjects
with heavily made up faces. (Oprah Winfrey's eyes are an excellent example
of this.)
Structure of the Eye

Before we proceed with caricaturing the eye, let us understand its structure.
It is important that we faithfully reproduce the color of the iris in our color
caricatures. The most caricatured part of the eye is the drooping skin fold
over the upper eyelid and the sagging lower eyelid, especially if the subject
of the caricature is experiencing the ravages of age.
Caricaturing the Eyes in 3 Steps

S TEP 1 : D ETERMINE W HETHER O R N OT T HE E YES F ORM T HE "
FIGURE" I N T HE I MAGE.
If the eyes are about the normal size and don't display a strong deviation from
the standard look of the category, just sketch/draw/paint the eyes as they are,
without exaggerating them. As you become more comfortable with
exaggeration, you'll be able to caricature the eyes in the following two simple
steps.
S TEP 2: C LASSIFY T HE E YES I NTO A C ATEGORY.
Classify the eyes into one or more of the categories given above. Note that a
set of eyes could belong to more than one category. You could have oval,
bulging, closely set eyes; or you could have deep-set eyes, slanting upwards
at the outer corners, but set wide.
S TEP3 : E XAGGERATE T HE S HAPE D EFINED I N T HE S ELECTED C
ATEGORY.
Exaggerate the prominent characteristics that you have identified. For

example, make the round eyes rounder and if the eyes bulge out some let
them bulge out completely.
I am confident that you remember our terminology from the previous chapter.
Recall that we spoke of the Feature Frame, the Anchor Points, and the Mirror
Points. Can you recognize them in the following figure? If you can't, you
should go through the previous chapter before proceeding.
Now, if you are ready, let us look at some examples.
Caricaturing the Eyes – Three Examples

E XAMPLE 1 – C ARICATURING O VAL E YES T HAT B ULGE A ND S
LANT U PWARDS A T T HE O UTER C ORNERS
Let us see how "oval, bulging, and upward slanting eyes" can be caricatured
through our Feature Frame Method using the Mirror Points.
Let us first look at both the eyes together. Before the exaggeration is applied,
the eyes look normal; however, if you look closely you'll be able to identify a
slight slant (upwards at the outer corners), the oval look, and the bulge (the
eyeball doesn't sit on the lower lid.)
The points that we've identified as the Anchor Points are "a", "b", "c"; which
mirror on the other eye too. This means that whatever you do with one set of
these points, do the same with the other set too. Points "a" and "c" are
important because they form the slant of the eye, and the point "b" helps us
handle the bulge.
Now move "c" a little outwards (and upwards, if you want), "a" downwards,
and "b" outwards as well as downwards. This results in a caricatured eye,
which retains the character of the original eye, but provides a slightly comic
look.
Here's a question that could be troubling you.

Why did we decide to move the points in these specific
directions? For instance, why didn't we move point "b"
upwards instead?
The answer is simple. You need to move the points in the
same direction in which you see the deviations from the
normal look. Note that the eye bulges because the iris
doesn't sit on the lower lid, which means that the lower
lid already is at a lower position (than it should be.) If
this is so, you must drag it lower still to exaggerate this
specific deviation.
Check out the single eye transformation for more details on this exaggeration.
Here are two more examples to help you become comfortable with
exaggerating the eye.
E XAMPLE 2 – C ARICATURING T HE E YES W ITH D ROOPY U PPER L
IDS A ND H EAVY L OWER L IDS
Example 2 (refer to Fig-4,) illustrates the process of caricaturing the droopy
upper lid coupled with a heavy lower lid. Once again, we begin by defining
our Anchor Points as "a", "b", and "c". Note how the third Anchor Point, "c"
is now found in the middle of the upper lid (because the loose fold of the
upper eyelid is one of the characteristics that you want to caricature.) The
method used here is very simple. Points "b" and "c" have been pulled down
vertically. Note that point c is pulled down to make the droopy upper lid sag
in a curve. This is to enhance the comic effect.
E XAMPLE 3 – C ARICATURING C LOSE-SET, B ULGING E YES T HAT S
LANT D OWNWARDS A T T HE O UTER C ORNERS
Please refer to Fig-4 again. Example 3 presents the exaggeration of close-set

eyes that bulge slightly, and that also slant downwards at the outer corners.
Note that the Mirror Points "a" are pulled closer to enhance the close-set look
of the eyes, while the Mirror Points, "b" and "c" are pulled down and
outwards (the direction suggested by the eye-type.)
Some Celebrity Eyes
In Artwork 1 above, you can see the eyes of Abraham Lincoln, Angele
Merkel, Edward Norton, Ozzy Osbourne, and Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson.)
You'll notice that in creating some of these caricatures, I've followed my own
advice of "not" caricaturing the eye.
Let us first talk about the political figures. Angela Merkel's blue eyes with
their icy and often steely uncompromising glare are so much a part of her
personality that if I had played around with it, the caricature would lose its
strength. Lincoln had small eyes. I retained the smallness of his eyes and
stayed faithful to the serene look. When I exaggerated his nose, his eyes, his
forehead and his eyes; relativity worked to make his eyes look smaller still.
I've also stayed away from any exceptional exaggeration in the eyes of
Edward Norton (he needed that crazed look that would strike a terror in your
spine if you were to meet him in the empty corridors of an asylum. Why?
Because I was caricaturing him from "Primal Fear.") Rowan Atkinson's eyes
didn't require a lot of exaggeration – they already were exaggerated enough,
so I left them alone. Ozzy's eyes have been exaggerated by reducing the size
of his iris and increasing the white of his eyes. The effect has been further
amplified by applying liberal amounts of kohl (black charcoal) around his
eyes.
Yet when you look at the other caricatures, you'll notice exaggerations. The
eyes of Ozzy Osborne and Johnny Depp (who you have seen as Captain
Sparrow in the previous chapter,) are the distinguishing features of these two
gentlemen and I thought it right to caricature their eyes. However, on their
persons were other extraordinary and unique elements (the kohl in their eyes,
the ornaments and the head-dress worn by Captain Sparrow) that could easily
establish likeness. This is why an attempt to exaggerate their eyes was a low-
risk venture, and I was happy when it produced good results.
I MPACT OF A GING
The skin around the eyes is where age first strikes. The skin under the eye begins to
crinkle up, crows feet develop at the outer corners of the eye, and the skin fold
above the upper eyelid loosen and droops over the upper eyelid. As age advances,
the eyeball and the iris don't look as bright as they did when the subject was
younger and sometimes the iris begins to cloud at its periphery.
Observe these lines of aging in the older men and women. Sometimes these lines
could enhance an effect you want to achieve through your caricatures (a crabby old
man looks crabbier with wrinkles in the inner corner of the eye.) Remember that
not every wrinkle makes a caricature look worse. The crows feet are usually found
on the faces of those who have laughed a lot in their youth. They usually make an
older man appear friendly and gregarious.
Learn to the leave the eyes alone and if you really can't stop yourself from
meddling with it – do it the right way. Study the eyes of your character from
various angles, determine the deviations, create Feature Frames (you may
want to create the Feature Frames by drawing very light lines,) and
exaggerate them correctly.
I cannot stop emphasizing the importance of ensuring likeness in the eye.
Frankly I don't care for caricatures that exaggerate the eyes to an extent that
their likeness to the subject is sacrificed. Ironically, many reasonably good
caricaturists do this, especially when they caricature women. Remember,
there's no rulebook that says that all women must have humongous eyes.
Caricature Sandra Bullock with a pair of huge eyes at your peril.
My dear reader, I hope you've taken my advice of

equipping yourself with that notebook and mechanical
pencil seriously. I assure you, I have been able to write
this book only because I've been following my own advice.
I would also like to recommend that you use the selfie
feature of your phone/tablet to take your own pictures in
the different lights. Most caricaturists and cartoonists
study their own features and use themselves and their
friends as their models (Sorry friends! You should've
known what you were getting into, when you befriended a
caricaturist.)
End Note
If you are keen on creating caricatures in color, you should also observe the
color of the eyes carefully. Brad Pitt wouldn't look like himself if you drew
his caricature with black eyes, and Johnny Depp might like show you one of
his pirate moves if he discovers that you've been playing with the color of his
eyes.
With our eyes fastened onto the target, let us now explore higher matters,
such as the eyebrows and the brow ridge. As you observe and explore, don't
forget to remind yourself that all our observations can come to nothing if we
don't train our imagination to focus.
“ You can't depend on your eyes when your

imagination is out of focus. ”
- Mark Twain -
C HAPTER 7
C ARICATURING THE B ROWS AND THE B ROWRIDGE
This chapter will help you learn the techniques of caricaturing the brows and
the browridge. It will discuss how you can manipulate the eyebrows and the
brow ridge to create a caricature or a funny likeness of your subject.
Previous Learning Recall

Before we start...
Eyebrows and Expressions
Caricaturing the Eyebrows
Caricaturing the Browridge
Some Celebrity Brows and Browridges
End Note
I N the previous chapter we discussed the methods of caricaturing the
human eye. Let us continue our artistic journey upwards on the human face,
and discover how the eyebrows and the browridge can be manipulated to
increase the fun-quotient of your caricature.

Before launching ourselves into an interesting discussion of these two
features, let us first do what has to be done and get it out of our way. As
promised in the previous chapter – I've tried to structure the recall differently
:-) Now it's not the Previous Chapter Recall any more – it's the Previous
Learning Recall :-)
In view of what you've learned in the preceding chapters, which of the
following statements are TRUE and which are FALSE?
1. All portraits can be called caricatures.(Chapter 1)

2. Celebrities are preferred subjects for caricatures because their faces are
recognized better.(Chapter 2)
3. Geons are monsters from the underworld that have been caricatured
extensively.(Chapter 4)
4. The "Figure & Ground" principle applies only to the female human
subjects.(Chapter 4)
5. Among the elements that generate likeness in a caricature, the human
eye is the most important. (Chapter 6)
6. Anchor Points are Mirror Points that mirror horizontally.(Chapter 5)
7. A novice caricaturist should focus on caricaturing the eye and leave the
other features alone. (Chapter 6)
8. For caricaturing pentagonal faces in front view, you should manipulate
the Mirror Points on the jaw and the Anchor Point at the chin. (Chapter
5)
The correct answer?

62066206620!
(Hint: It's the simplest of all ciphers. If you get it right, you will prove that caricaturists
have exceptional logical-mathematical intelligence as well. However, if you get it wrong,
you'll reconfirm that those mean left-brained cyborgs out there were right all along.
Choose sides now!)
Before we start...
1. Tom Hanks
2. Brad Pitt
3. Jack Nicholson
4. Michelle Obama
Eyebrows & Expressions

T HE T WO P URPOSES O F E YEBROWS:
Eyebrows are the northern neighbors of the eyes. The human eyes are located
right under the brows. The functional utility of brows include:
Protection from perspiration (the caricaturists don't really care about

this. In fact a perspiring subject would definitely be more attractive to a
caricaturist than someone endorsing the use of an anti-perspirant!)
Enhancement of expression (The caricaturists are really keen on this
particular job that the eyebrows perform. Caricaturists are usually found
frequenting public places with their faces frozen into a permanent
expression of curiosity as they "observe" people. This they do with an
intention of selecting the sacrificial lambs for their caricaturing altar!)
E XPRESSIONS & C LASSIFICATION:

Let us focus on the second function of the eyebrows. Since the eyebrows help
us express our emotions repeatedly, over a long period of time their shape
begins to form in accordance with our most often felt emotions. So people
who are perpetually unhappy or anxious, usually end up having brows that
strain upwards at their inner corners but droop down at the outer corners, and
people who feel amused often (usually at the follies of others,) are those
who'd end up having taut eyebrows lifted at their outer corners. They've got
this "Oh Yeah" look frozen on their faces. Check Jack Nicholson's brows in
the following Artwork.
Eyebrows make our faces expressive. They also lend a lot of character to the
faces – especially to the faces of the male variety. The eyebrows of women
often have shapes that aren't natural and have been painstakingly (quite
literally, in fact,) created for aesthetic reasons. Thus, often the female
eyebrows draw upon a specific set of permanent shapes that have nothing to
do with the personality of the woman who owns them.
However, in the case of men, the eyebrows are very important. Most men
don't alter the natural shape of their brows so their brows acquire a lot of
character.
For our purpose, let us work with the following basic classification of the
eyebrows.
Brows set high (Men: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt / Women: Angelina Jolie,
Michelle Obama)
Brows set low (Men: George Clooney)
Bushy Brows (Men: Morgan Freeman, George Clooney / Women: Julia
Roberts)
Taut Brows (Men: Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson / Women: Michelle
Obama)
As in the other facial features, brows too come in different category
combinations. So you could have bushy, low-set brows (Clooney) or
you may have Taut, high-set brows (Jack Nicholson/Michelle Obama)!
Caricaturing the Eyebrows

Let us look at some examples to see how the eyebrows may be caricatured.
E XAMPLE – C ARICATURING T HE T AUT B ROWS
When you look at the taut brows, you think of invisible strings pulling the
brows up, or you think of poles under the brows pushing them up! Such
brows are never found in children and young adults, but they are often found
in mature adults.
Fig-1 above shows how the taut/arched brows may be exaggerated. The
technique is very simple. You push up the Mirror Points "b" on both the
brows. As you can see, I've also exaggerated the eyes along with the lower lid
folds, the way we had discussed in the previous chapter, "Caricaturing the
Eyes." The outer corners of the eyes dip lower, as the high points on the brow
"b" rise higher – thus, exaggerating the look.
E XAMPLE – C ARICATURING THE B USHY/ARCHED B ROWS
Now let us talk about the bushy arched brows. They would be exaggerated in
the same way as the taut/arched brows, except that the bushy look has to be
exaggerated too. Refer to Fig-2 above. The Anchor Points, "b" and "c" both
ride up and beyond the Feature Frame. Notice that the movement for point
"c" is also outwards (to the left, in this case.) The lower lid too dips further
down. In this example, the following three exaggerations have been applied.
1. The slant of the eyebrow has been heightened by pushing up the Anchor
Points "b" and "c".
2. The bulge under the eye has been increased to exaggerate the overall
vertical stretch.
3. The eyebrow has been made bushier.
C ARICATURING T HE E YEBROWS OF W OMEN

The taut brow is often found in many women celebrities (and non-celebrities
too.) The technique that we just discussed would work for them as well.
Couple them with bigger eyes without bags underneath, and you'll have a
caricature of a glamorous woman!
Few women have heavy and prominent eyebrows, for instance, Denise
Richards. In such cases, it would become important for you to exaggerate the
brow and give it prominence.
Caricaturing the Browridge

U NDERSTANDING T HE B ROWRIDGE F ROM A C ARICATURIST'S V
IEWPOINT
In the male human face, the Browridge (the ridge or the slightly raised
portion of the forehead that lies underneath the eyebrows) is also a feature
that's often exaggerated by the caricaturists. A good example of a face that
has a ridge is Barack Obama's. Another example is that of John Malkovitch.
You'll find that most people of African origin would have a strong browridge
– however, it's not very uncommon among the Caucasians and the Asians
too.
When you study the face of your male subject, look for the ridge. If you can
see the ridge, you should make it more pronounced (while retaining its
overall form.)
E XAMPLE – C ARICATURING T HE B ROWRIDGE IN M EN
Figure 3 shows how the brow ridge should be caricatured. Notice the green
arrow in the "Exaggerated Shape." It pushes Anchor Point "c" out of the
Feature Frame. When point c pushes out, while the other points stay put, it
pulls the ridge along. Remember to pull out the ridge in a curve, and not in
straight lines (unless you have a special reason to do so.)
C ARICATURING T HE B ROWRIDGE OF W OMEN
Women's foreheads usually don't show a strong ridge. Even when they do
you need to make a conscious decision of whether or not to exaggerate it. If
you want to express "ridicule" through your caricature, project the ridge;
however, if you want your drawings to look funny and cute and the
browridge of your subject is impossible to ignore, include it but do not
exaggerate.
Some Celebrity Brows and Browridges

In the collage artwork here you can view the brows of Jack Nicholson, Brad
Pitt, Tom Hanks, and Michelle Obama.
In this caricaturist's opinion, Jack Nicholson's eyebrows are so hitched up that
they couldn't stay up in the position unless he had someone helping him with
it. Michelle Obama's eyebrows too are always taut and arched, possibly in
perpetual amusement over the state of affairs in the White House. Brad Pitt's
eyebrows dip at the outer corners and rise on the inside, because he's anxious
to find new heel-guards before it's too late (note that he's been portrayed in
his Achiles avatar.) While Tom Hanks' browridge isn't very prominent, it has
a lot of vertical lines adorning it.
I MPACT OF A GING
When humans age, they begin to sprout unseemly hair in unlikely places. One of
these places is the eyebrows. The ungroomed above forty male will almost always
have some of these hair "strands" that are about an inch long and that can be seen
jutting out of the otherwise controlled hair-field of the eyebrows. Use them to your
advantage as you caricature older men. (Two examples are my caricatures of
Abraham Lincoln and Robert De Niro. )
Older women?
They are better at grooming and more vain than men...I won't recommend that you
embellished their eyebrows with this specific sign of aging.
Also remember, women never age – they mature.

If you are a man, find a mirror. It's possible that you don't use it often and
have forgotten its whereabouts. You may enlist the help of an expert, a.k.a. a
woman, but do look at yourself in the mirror. Check out your eyebrows and
your brow ridge. Now try to caricature them. If you are a woman, a mirror
won't help – find a man, make him sit still and observe his brows and
browridge and then if he has the patience to sit for you, make a few quick
sketches.
Also find some references of the following famous personalities:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Jack Nicholson
3. Meryl Streep
Try to caricature their brows using the Feature Frame Method.

Here's another forever tip for you.
Learn from the masters. There are some fantastic
caricaturists who've trodden this path before us, and
who've created caricatures that have amazed the world!
Look at their works and try to understand their strengths.
Try to see what features they choose to exaggerate for
which personalities – and then project yourself into their
minds – what were they thinking while they created those
caricatures?
I curate a collection at www.scoop.it/caricatures-by-
shafali-anand . Use it as a portal to reach some of the
greatest caricaturists of the world. You'll find a few
entries of my caricatures too but please ignore them as
symbols of this caricaturist's misplaced vanity.
End Note
In the recent chapters, we've discussed three important features - the shape of
the face, the eyes, and the eyebrows/browridges.
At this stage, I would like to warn you that creating good caricatures requires
more than caricaturing the individual facial features. It is also important that
you continue to observe personalities and reflect upon the overall effect that
you'd like your caricatures to generate.
In the next chapter we will discuss another important feature – the mouth.
And oh...its FTFFTFFT. You know what I am talking about :-)
C HAPTER 8
C ARICATURING THE M OUTH
The human mouth and its variations are a subject of considerable interest for
the caricaturists. In this chapter we will look at the different types of mouths,
and review two examples to understand how lips can be caricatured with
finesse.

Before we start...
Different Types of Mouths/Lips
Caricaturing the Lips and the Mouth
Some Celebrity Mouths
End Note
T HE human mouth is the second most noticeable feature on the human
face. When we talk to people, we look at their eyes or at their mouths. The
reason is simple. These two are the most animated features of all, and
animation attracts attention. In this chapter we will discuss the human mouth
and illustrate how it may be caricatured.
Let us begin by recapping what we learned in the last chapter.

The following question will help you determine whether or not you are ready
to start caricaturing yet another interesting dimension of the human face.
Which one or more of the following statements appear TRUE to you, when
you reflect upon whatever you've learned from this book so far? Classify the
following statements as TRUE or FALSE.
1. With the Gestalt Principle of "Figure & Ground" in mind, Morgan

Freeman's jawline is the "figure" and so it has to be made prominent in
his caricature.
2. While caricaturing the eyes of Samuel Jackson, you'd like to pull down
the Mirror Points that lie at the center of his lower eyelids.
3. A good caricature of Julia Roberts should exaggerate her browridge.
4. While creating a caricature of Shea Labeouf, you should pull out the
Mirror Points on his jawline to make his face appear bulkier.
What's your opinion?

Does it match 62066 decoded?
(Hint: The cipher is simple. Replace T and F with the numbers that represent their
positions in the alphabet.)
Before we start...
close-up shots of the face. You may have the reference pictures of some of
these already.
1. Pamela Anderson
2. Brad Pitt
3. Barack Obama
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Jack Nicholson
6. Michelle Obama
Different Types of Mouths/Lips

Lips are important in both male and female faces. The upper and the lower
lips come together to form the mouth. If you observe the mouths of people
closely you'll find the following basic mouth-types.
1. Thin lips that form a line.

2. Upper lips thin, lower lips full.
3. Both upper and lower lips full.
4. Upper lip full lower lip thin.
5. Mouth overshoots the nostrils.
6. Mouth and nostrils are in line.
7. Nostrils overshoot the mouth.
8. Upper lip overhangs the lower.
9. Lower lip juts out beyond the upper.
(Note: Points: 5 to 9 can be observed best while watching the profiles of

people.)
In some faces, the upper lip overhangs the lower, or the lower lip juts out
more than the upper (for example: Michelle Obama's mouth.)
Check out these mouth-types in the following figure.
Try to classify the mouth in one or more of the categories listed above.
Remember that these categories are not air-tight compartments. Some people
may have mouths that overshoot the nostrils (mouth-type 5)while their the
upper lip hangs over the lower lip (mouth-type 8) - a combination of types 5
and 8.
Let us see how we can use our Feature Frame Method to caricature two
different types of mouths.
Caricaturing the Lips and the Mouth

Lips are by and far the most important part of the mouth. Except in few cases
(for example, while drawing the Neanderthal Man or the Handsome Na'vi
Avatar, or even one of the famous singers) or if your subject's teeth are really
falling out of his, and less frequently, her mouth – you'll not experience the
need to work extensively on the teeth.
E XAMPLE 1 – C ARICATURING F ULL L IPS
Look at the first example in Fig-2 above. Note how all the Anchor Points
(including the two Mirror Points "a" and "b" are pushed out of the Feature
Frame.) It is important to remember that in the method illustrated above, we
are focusing on the shape of the lips in a two-dimensional space. Remember
that big lips could be "full and pouting" or "wide and flat" – they could be
"soft and luscious" or "rough and speckled" – you need to exaggerate the look
as well as the texture of the lip.
E XAMPLE 2 – C ARICATURING T HE O VERHANGING U PPER L IP
The second example in Fig-2 has another element of interest. Note that the
lower lip, which may be of normal size on standalone basis is relatively
smaller than the upper lip. The upper lip not only overhangs the lower (the
lower lip goes "under" the upper) it's also much bigger in size. What you
want to exaggerate here is the "difference" in their sizes. So you pull the
Mirror Points "a" and "b" out of the Feature Frame with great force, but just
tickle the Anchor Point "c" a little. This helps you exaggerate the difference
between the upper and the lower lips.
Some Celebrity Mouths
Here are some celebrity examples that could help you understand and apply
the methods of caricaturing the mouth with more confidence. Bruce Willis'
lips are so thin that they just about form a line. Michelle Obama's lower lip
juts out beyond the full upper lip. If you look at a younger Brad Pitt's lips –
both lips appear equally full (and so do Angelina Jolie's.) Pamela Anderson's
has full lips but interestingly when she opens her mouth, you can see the
lower teeth clearly.
However, this isn't the case with most faces. Barack Obama's upper lip is
bigger than the lower lip and he often chews his lower lip or purses it under
the upper lip, which makes it look smaller still. Note that Ronald Reagan's
lips are so thin that they barely form two lines around his teeth.
Also notice the distance between the nostrils and the upper lip. This distance
too makes a huge difference to the caricaturist. Look at the caricature of
Bruce Willis once again. The distance between the bottom of his nose and his
upper lip is huge. This was also the case with President George Bush, and the
political caricaturists and cartoonists of his time exploited this feature of his
to their heart's content.
A N OTE A BOUT T EETH
You must've noticed that in Artwork 1, there are three caricatures that display
the teeth of the subject.
1. Pamela Anderson
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Michelle Obama
Pamela Anderson's lower jaw juts out and so when I drew her teeth, I shaded
in the upper teeth a bit more thus making them recede more in the darkness of
her mouth. This establishes the effect that her lower teeth (and hence her
lower jaw) justs out ever so slightly. This effect could at times also be used to
create the expression of disgust on the subject's face. Ronald Reagan's lips in
this caricature are tightly stretched across his teeth, so I have not shaded in
his teeth at all. They are shown at almost the same depth as his lips. Michelle
Obama's upper teeth are the only ones that are seen when she smiles. Her
teeth are prominent and her lower lip attempts to cover them when she
smiles. This is why her teeth aren't shaded at all, especially near the bottom
lip. This makes her teeth appear at the same depth as her lips.

Collect references of open and closed mouths. Observe and draw mouths.
Notice the differences between male and female lips. Notice that female lips
are seldom seen without lipstick and that's how you must draw them. It's a
good idea to first draw/paint the lips normally, and then apply lipstick by
adding more color to them. Also observe the texture of the lips carefully.
Note that the skin on the lip is different from the skin on face.
Mouths are usually:

• Turned up at the corners
• Turned down at the corners
• Neither turned up nor turned down at the corners (ah,
well! I guess I am falling in the bulleted list trap!)
Check out the corners of the lips and caricature them too.
Remember – caricaturing isn't only about the relative
sizes, it's also about those little nuances that others miss
:-)
I MPACT OF A GING
When we age our lips shrivel as they lose fat. This makes the lips wrinkle and
appear thinner. Refer to Ronald Reagan's caricature in Artwork 1 once again. It
shows him at a very advanced age and that is why his lips appear to be made of two
lines.
As a person ages, the area above the upper lip too develops wrinkles. Compared to
women, older men are at a slight advantage here as they often grow mustaches that
hide these wrinkles and their thin upper lips.
Age impacts the teeth too. With age, teeth lose their whiteness and develops ridges.
Keep these in mind when you caricature older men and women.
End Note
Now that we've explored the caricaturing possiblities of the human mouth, let
us shift our attention to the crowning glory of humans – the hair…and of
course, the hairline. In the next chapter we will discuss the forehead, the
hairline, and the hair.
C HAPTER 9
C ARICATURING THE F OREHEAD AND THE H AIR
This chapter explains the details of the human forehead, hairline, and hair. It
then discusses the methods that can be employed in caricaturing them. It also
discusses facial hair and how it may be caricatured.
So you think you know?

Before we start...
Caricaturing the Forehead
Caricaturing the Hairline and the Hair
Some Celebrity Foreheads and Hair
A Note on Facial Hair
End Note
T HE forehead and the hair have a lot to do with the personality of a
person. This is perhaps why people of both sexes are extremely concerned
about their hair (or the lack of it.) This is also why professions such as wig-
making, hair-styling, and hair-coloring will remain in vogue forever!
Obviously then, the forehead and the hair give us the caricaturists, food for
thought and material for ridicule.
But before we talk about the forehead and the hair...I must ask you an
important question. Do you think that by now you know something about
Caricatures?
Yes?
So you think you know?

Then answer this :-)
Which one of the following is considered to be the origin of the term
caricature?
Carrots
Cara
Carousals
Caricare
I am not going to put the answer in a cipher – I'll give it to you here and now.
The answer is Caricare. Caricare is an Italian word that means, "to load or
burden". It makes perfect sense to choose caricare as the possible originator
of the term caricature, because caricatures are "loaded pictures" of people.
Caricatures are loaded with fun, humor, ridicule, satire...and everything in-
between. I think looking at your own caricature often requires more courage
than fighting a duel with Lord Voldemort. (Apologies, Mr. Potter.)
(I know that the answer to this question wasn't there in any of the previous
chapters of this book, but buying a book doesn't mean that you should stop
learning from other sources. The World Wide Web is bursting at its seams
with information...take some information away to lighten its load.)
Before we start...
close-up shots for the face from various angles.
1. Tom Hanks (you already have his.)

2. Queen Elizabeth II
3. Angela Merkel (and you have hers too.)
4. Troy Polamalu (of the Pittsburgh Steelers.)
5. Julia Roberts
6. Halle Berry
7. Mark Twain
8. Salvador Dali (you must already have this too.)
Now let us turn our attention to higher and hairier matters!
Caricaturing the Forehead

Foreheads come in two basic types.
1. High Forehead (Symbolizes intelligence, even brilliance.)

2. Low Forehead (Well...)
Notwithstanding the symbolism, high foreheads are often found in men (due
to their natural ability to shed their scalpel hair,) and low foreheads in
women. The low forehead among women is considered so desirable in
women that it is often "created" through artificial means such as a fringe of
hair. Recall Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, Princess Diana, Naomi
Campbell...and so on.
Of course you have men with not so high foreheads (Jim Clancy of the CNN)
and women with high ones (Barbara Streisand), but exceptions are said to
exist because they prove the rule.
That said, I'd like to make a sweeping remark. Remember that caricaturists
are generalists of the first order – they stereotype at the drop of a hat (or a
wig, as the case may be.) Thus, here's a stereotypical tip, which will help you
out of some tricky situations. Don't worry about the foreheads of women.
Their foreheads are devoid of lines, bumps, and veins, and when they are not,
smart women make sure they stay hidden behind a curtain of hair. Instead,
focus your energy on understanding the foreheads of the male type.
The human male forehead, in addition to a characteristic hairline, could have:
Bumps, lines – both horizontal and vertical,

veins,
browridges (that we've discussed along with the brows,)
cut-marks,
stitch-marks,
dark patches...and even
tattoos!
Now that's a lot of material for us to work with.

Aside of the man-made signs such as the cut- and stitch-marks, patches, and
tattoos, we can see:
Bumps and ridges in: Jean Claude Van Damme and John Malkovich
Lines in: Albert Einstein, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, and Sean
Connery
Veins in: Clint Eastwood and Ed Harris
In the case of bumps, lines, and veins, your job is almost done if you've
identified their presence correctly. After identifying them, all you must do is
exaggerate them. So the bumps become double their size (be cautious as they
might also render your subject ugly,) lines become deeper, and the veins
stand out more prominently than they actually do.
Caricaturing the Hairline and the Hair

C ARICATURING T HE H AIRLINE A ND T HE H AIR IN M EN
The Hairline
In men, the hairline is extremely important. You might want to study the
different baldness patterns while you practice on the male hairline. As the
caricaturists seldom draw the back of people's heads, two kinds of hairlines
are important for us. I give them names of my own – but I hope they'll help
you remember :) I call them:
1. Prairies
2. Twin Mountains
The Prairies are hairlines that move up the forehead in either a straight-line
or a parabolic curve. Thus, you've got a good expanse of forehead with an
almost straight or slightly parabolic hairline.
The Twin Mountains on the other hand have hair receding on the sides with
the center point of the hairline remaining almost constant (also called a
widow's peak that we will discuss later in this chapter.) This sort of hairline
makes men look handsome in a mature sort of way (sigh!) while the other
makes them look mature in an avuncular sort of way (sniff!)
The Hair
For most men, hair is an extremely important feature. Unlike women men
don't have a wide array of features to paint, color, tweak, and transform – and
so they pamper their hair until it flees. Yet, men in general, don't fret much
about their looks, especially if they are not in the showbiz. So we have the
following Hair-types in men.
Combed up with hairline visible

Combed yet not fussed about
Uncombed, deliberately unkempt
Uncombed, uncared-for
Stylized (braided/Spiky/Others)
Also look into the hair-texture and hair color while caricaturing the hair.
Now let us look at how hairline and hair could be caricatured in men.
Note that the point in the middle, Anchor Point "b" behaved differently in the
two examples. In the first example, it was pulled down to exaggerate the
widow's peak, while in the second example, the feature to be exaggerated was
the over all bald look, and so Anchor Point "b" was pushed up to the top, thus
making the head look almost spherical.
In Fig–2 above, we can see the exaggeration of hair along with the hairline.
Note that the hair doesn't stand up as badly in the original shape, as it does in
the exaggerated shape. The idea is to follow the natural flow of the hair but
make it look comical by either making it stand up or making it unnaturally
curly or curvy.
C ARICATURING T HE H AIRLINE A ND T HE H AIR IN W OMEN
Women share an odd relationship with their hair. While they love and pamper
the hair that grows on their scalp, they detest it elsewhere on their body. As
soft scalp hair is a neotenous feature, women work hard to make their hair
softer, shinier, and prettier. They also use various methods such as bangs and
flecks to hide or at least veil their hairlines.
The Hairline of Women
In the case of women the importance of hairline isn't as great as it is in the
case of men. If a woman has a high forehead, she would usually do
something (fringes/flicks – usually, cosmetic surgery – sometimes) to hide it.
However, most women don't have high foreheads so they continue to display
their natural hairlines. Just exaggerate if there's any deviation from the
normal, and you are done with the hairline for women.
T HE W IDOW'S P EAK
At this point, I think it's important to mention widow's peak, a distinct kind of
hairline in which the hair descends on the forehead in a "v" shape, has become a
style-statement for women. (Read about it at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow's_peak ) Among Hollywood stars, Sandra
Bullock and Marilyn Monroe have very distinctive widow's peaks.
Note that some people consider the widow's peak a smart feature, while
others try to hide it with bangs and fringes.
A Personal Note in midst of all this Seriously Funny

Stuff:
While many women think that the widow's peak looks
nice, some consider it to be a negative feature and they
attempt to hide it. I don't believe that the belief that
women with widow's peak become early widows has any
wisdom in it. I've known at least two women with widow's
peaks whose departure to heaven preceded that of their
respective "only" husbands! So if you've got a widow's
peak flaunt it – it looks arty!
Let us revert to our discussion.
In the case of women, the hairline is often invisible and the foreheads are
usually devoid of other interesting topography such as the bumps, the lines,
and the veins.
You are probably thinking that life would be simpler if you caricatured only
women! Right?
Wrong!
Women make the caricaturist go nuts with their hair!
The Hair of Women
Women have hair that comes in:
Different textures (rough, soft, shiny, matte-finished, dull)

Colors (blonde, brunette, red-head, and different shades of these –
sometimes purple too.)
Styles (wavy, curly, springy, straight, stepped, bangs, fringes, ...phew!)
Lengths (cropped, bobbed, shoulder-length, waist-length, hip-length?)
I am sorry but my hairstyling vocabulary isn't up to the mark. If you are

interested, you may want to scour the web for more information on this. Who
knows...an opportunity to work as a part-time hairstylist might be lurking just
around the corner. God knows we caricaturists need that extra buck!
The point to note is that women like to change all the four hair features listed
above, all the time.
I am sure you understand the magnitude of the problem that we face here.
This is why it's important that you study your women subjects very carefully.
You need to get the likeness in their facial features, because there's a good
chance that their hair won't be a characteristic feature for them!
Some Celebrity Foreheads and Hair

In Artwork 1, you can view the caricatures of four women: Julia Roberts,
Halle Berry, Queen Elizabeth II, and Angela Merkel. Notice their hair. They
are all different. While Queen Elizabeth and Ms. Merkel haven't changed
their hairstyle in a long time, the other two women have changed their
hairstyles with unfailing regularity. In my caricatures, I try to pick the most
popular/regular hairstyles of my women subjects. In Halle Berry's caricature,
I've attempted to ridicule her messy hair look by adding a nest to it. In the
case of Queen Elizabeth II, I thought that her crown was more prominent
than her hair, and so I decided to caricature the crown instead.
We also see Tom Hanks and Troy Polamalu here. Notice the white crinkly
strands in Tom Hanks' hair. I've made them stand out while I've also made his
head a lot larger than normal. I have filled Hagar's and Polamalu's head with
hair because they are their most prominent characteristics.
A Note on Facial Hair

I don't have to tell you that facial hair is an exclusively male characteristic.
Facial hair comes in various shapes and forms, but the two basic types of
facial hair are:
1. Mustache and
2. Beard
Mustaches perform a very important vanity function among men. It fills up

the space between the nose and the upper lip and makes it look bigger. Some
feel that mustaches add dignity to the persona of a man. This is why in many
oriental cultures mustaches are thought to be a symbol of man's self-respect.
Beards are facial hair that grow on a man's lower face.
I presume you already know a lot about facial hair, so I'll come straight to the
point and tell you that when you see facial hair, just exaggerate it. Make a
thin and long mustache thinner and longer (Salvador Dali,) the toothbrush
mustache narrower and taller (Charlie Chaplin,) and the fluffy grandfather's
mustache fluffier and grander (Einstein)!
I MPACT OF A GING
Hair has traditionally been recognized as the first messenger of old age. This
caricaturist discovered her first gray strand when she was sixteen, she was
devastated to learn that most humans encounter their first gray hair in their late
thirties or early forties.
When you caricature a distinguished looking middle-aged or older man (for
instance, Tom Hanks or President Obama) remember to exaggerate the crinkly
texture of the gray hair that you show sprouting on his head. However, in a much
older person whose hair has gone completely white, the hair texture would be lot
smoother and silkier as the individual hair-strands lose their rigidity and bulk with
time.

O BSERVE, S KETCH, D RAW, P AINT!
Hair and hairlines are dynamic and they change with time, but this isn't the
only challenge they impose. Hair in particular presents execution challenges.
If you experience difficulties in drawing hair, watch a few YouTube video
tutorials about drawing/painting hair in your prefered medium.
S TUDY N OT J UST T HE C ELEBRITIES B UT T HEIR R OLES T OO!
Remember that women change their hairstyles often. Well, in Hollywood this
is true for everyone including the male actors. In fact, changing hairstyles and
often their overall look is a necessity for them. So if you want to caricature
celebrities from the Tinseltown, you should study the celebrity well.
You should also read about the important characters that the celebrity has
played and then decide upon the most common and the most popular image
of that celebrity. Sometimes you might want to roll a couple of characters
played by that actor, to create a caricature that addresses the actor more
completely.
While this book focuses on caricature-drawing and not
on drawing techniques, I remember feeling harassed
about drawing/painting hair. Here are two quick tips. If
you are using pencils to draw and your subject has light
colored hair, draw the outlines of the hair-locks and fill
in only the dark areas. However, if you are creating your
artwork digitally, start by first filling up the whole hair
mass area with a dark shade of the hair color and then
bring out the hair-locks and strands with the lighter
shades. In other words, move from dark to light.
End Note
Our discussion about the hair and the hairline has brought us within a hair's
breadth from the ears, so in the next chapter, we will discuss ears. If you
think that ears aren't as important as our other features, think again – because
they open up a treasure chest of possibilities for the caricaturist.
C HAPTER 10
C ARICATURING THE E ARS
Ears are possibly the most ignored appendages attached to the human face.
This chapter will begin by classifying ears from a caricaturist’s perspective.
It will also discuss the structure of the ear and present two examples to
illustrate how a caricaturist manipulates the shape and size of the ear.

Before we start...
Caricaturing the Ear – A Challenge?
Classifying the Ears
Caricaturing the Ears
Some Celebrity Ears
End Note
W HEN Vincent Van Gogh sliced off his ear, people wondered why he
must've done it. Had he gone crazy? A lesser known and completely
incredible story attempts to read the artist's mind. According to this story,
Van Gogh was a perfectionist who wanted his portrait to be just right.
However, it was impossible for him to look at his own ears in the mirror
while painting, and so he sliced it off and copied it in his self-portrait. This
story may not have an iota of truth in it, but it underlines a very important
point. It isn't easy to draw ears.
This chapter discusses the mystery of the human ear and applies the Feature
Frame Method to illustrate how they can be caricatured.

In the previous chapter, we discussed the matters of the crown.
Now read the following passage and find out the errors. The question that
you need to answer is – In view of the preceding chapter, which errors can
you detect in the following passage?
"High foreheads symbolize the genetic trait of balding and hence men with
high foreheads are often considered to be less virile than those with low
foreheads. The human male forehead has a lot of interesting elements in form
of lines, bumps, and ridges. By contrast the female forehead is a smooth
terrain. The female forehead is often characterized by two distinct kinds of
hairlines. We can call them the Prairies and the Twin-mountains (which are
also known as the widow's peak.) The widow's peak is often associated with
the early death of the spouse and hence considered auspicious when found in
men."
Did you find anything wrong in the above passage? Anything at all? If you
didn't, I am sure that either you skipped the previous chapter or you didn't
read the whole passage, or both :-(
Now let us turn our attention to another interesting feature – the human ear.
Before we start...
1. Tom Hanks (confirm that you have his reference image.)

2. Abraham Lincoln (you have his reference image from one of the
previous chapters.)
3. Tom Cruise (find his profile picture, if possible.)
4. Ben Kingsley
5. Justin Bieber
Caricaturing the Ear – A Challenge?

I'd like to begin by sharing a personal experience here. There was a time
when ragging, also known as hazing, used to be fun and when it was an
important part of growing up. In those lovely lost days, I too went through
this unique experience. As I could draw, I was given the task of creating a
portrait of a senior. This gentleman was a good-looking final-year student
and I enjoyed the process of drawing his portrait, until I reached the point of
adorning the sides of his head with ears.
I had a passport-size photograph to work with and despite my best efforts I
couldn't make out the details of his ears. So I thought and I thought, and then
I decided to ignore them completely. I can't remember what I did with the
space where I should've drawn those ears. I probably shaded it dark or I
covered it with hair. I don't remember what I actually did but when the
portrait was delivered his friends launched themselves into a search for the
missing ears.
That was the first time in my life that I realized the importance of ears. Many
years later, when I began caricaturing people, I realized that they also have a
very strong potential for making your drawings funny. Unfortunately, most
budding artists (such as my younger self,) ignore the ears completely. This is
all the more reason for us to talk about it, especially if we really want to
create interesting caricatures that are complete in all their details.
Classifying the Ears
Let us begin by classifying the different types of ears.
Ears can be classified based on their sizes and their shapes. Another
characteristic that becomes extremely important in the front view is the angle
at which the maker pasted our ears to the sides of our head.
Let us look at each of these characteristics more closely.
T HE S IZE O F T HE E ARS
Remember that the average size of the ears is equal to the average size of the
nose. So a deviation from the average should be carefully noted. Examples of
people with large ears are: Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln.
T HE A NGLE O F T HE E ARS
The ears are attached to the sides of our heads. They stick out of the sides of
the side of the head at different angles. For some, they flatten themselves
against the side of the head, while for others, they might jut out at different
angles.
Note the angle of the ears. The angle is important because in the front view,
ears that are flattened against the head can hardly be seen while those that are
attached almost perpendicular to the sides of the head are completely visible.
Barack Obama too has a unique set of ears. They stand out almost
perpendicular to the side of his face. This makes his ears look bigger than
they actually are (he has said that he was teased in school for his big ears.)
His ears also do not have a clearly defined lobe and so they look semi-
circular.
T HE S HAPE O F T HE E ARS
It's important to understand the shape of the ear well. Unfortunately most of
us don't spend enough time studying the ears. When we talk to people, we
usually sit across and talk, and so we automatically learn to observe the eyes,
the nose, the forehead, the lips, and everything else – except the ears.
Actually, it would look mighty funny if we started looking at people's ears
while we talked to them. So, dear readers, there's a need to formally learn
about the structure of the ear.
From a caricaturist's viewpoint, the ear has six important parts.
The Helix
The Crux
The Earlobe/Lobule
The Concha
The Tragus
The Anti-tragus
The Helix is the top curve of the ear. It usually has a slight knob in the
middle (refer to the figure above.) This knob is located at the highest point of
Helix and is called the Crux of the Helix. The tunnel of the ear begins in a
depression called the Concha. The Concha is protected by Tragus (again a
sort of knob at the edge of the face,) and the Anti-Tragus (the raised part in
the middle.)
Also look closely at the Lobule (also known as the earlobe.) It is one of the
defining features of the human ear. Some people (especially women who
wear earrings) have a long, well-developed lobe, while in others the lobe
might be almost invisible.
Also look at the internal details of the ear carefully. Some ears have well-
defined conchas and helixes, while some others have ears that don't have
many details (for instance, Samuel L. Jackson.) The helix too can be narrow
or broad.
Look for the defining characteristics of the ears that you wish to draw, and
then couple this knowledge with the size and the angle of the ears to
caricature them.
Caricaturing the Ears

Let us discuss two examples to understand how ears should be caricatured.
Look at both the examples and analyze their exaggeration methods.
E XAMPLE 1: C ARICATURING A S MALLER-THAN-AVERAGE E AR
In this example we see a small ear with a non-existent earlobe. The missing
earlobe makes the ear look even shorter. Thus to caricature the ear, our
attempt would be to push the points "a" and "c" towards the center of the ear
(to make the ear look shorter still.) The point "b" will be pushed outside –
giving the ear a squashed of look.
E XAMPLE 2: C ARICATURING A L ARGER-THAN-AVERAGE E AR
The larger-than-average-ear is caricatured by making it look larger still. This
would obviously mean that all the Anchor Points should be pulled out of the
Feature Frame, away from the face. Note how the point "b" (which is located
on the anti-tragus) is pulled out (instead of the helix) to add a more comical
look to the ear.
Some Celebrity Ears

Almost all women that I've caricatured had their ears hidden behind a curtain
of hair. However, it's a good idea to study the ears of Lincoln and Gandhi to
understand how they enhance a caricature. Note that Justin Bieber is very
young and so you don't see any exaggeration of his ears and nose. Instead, I
preferred to exaggerate his hair and his chin.
The caricature of Mahatma Gandhi that you see at the top left corner of
Artwork 1 is actually the caricature of Ben Kingsley who played the role of
Mahatma Gandhi in the movie "Gandhi." Note that his nose and his ear (only
one of his ears can be seen in this caricature, as it's drawn in profile) are
exaggerated to make bigger than they actually were. Note that Kingsley had
played the role of an aged Gandhi and aging leads to an increase in the sizes
of the nose and the ears. Abraham Lincoln's caricature was created using the
same reasoning.
Tom Cruise's ear-lobe is so small that I made it disappear in this caricature,
while in the case of Hanks, I've made it bigger than it actually is. The rule is -
exaggerate the deviating property.
I MPACT OF A GING
Remember that ears and nose continue to grow all our lives. There are two reasons
for the ears to grow. 1. The cartilage of the ear continues to grow after puberty and
increases by almost 1 cm (a little more than a third of an inch) in 50 years. 2. The
lobe of the ear lengthens under the unforgiving influence of gravity.
Thus if you caricature a younger Abraham Lincoln, you would draw him with
smaller ears and a smaller nose – but if you caricature him as an older man, you
would draw a much bigger nose and bigger ears too. As a caricaturist, use this
knowledge to your advantage.

Observe ears and draw them but only after you've understood the structure of
the ear. The external structure of the human ear is perhaps the most complex
of all human features. When you draw them, you must not only look for
deviations in sizes, but also for deviations in the angle that they make with
the head. The only way to really master ears is to draw them again and yet
again.
More specifically, find some good reference images of President Obama. His
ears are an interesting study because they lack the usual shape that has an
earlobe. His ears are semi-circular in shape.
While I won't recommend that you go around asking people to expose their
ears for you, try to sketch the ears of at least 5 different people. Then
compare them to see the differences.
End Note
The best tip that I can offer to you for drawing and caricaturing the ears right
is – OBSERVE. Build your own system of averages and then look for
deviations. If you are wondering why we didn't discuss the ear from the
gender viewpoint; it's because women often don't show their ears. Even when
they do, their ears are often small and dainty and so you don't mess with them
(unless you wish to caricature an old hag.)
The next chapter is the one that we've all been nosing around for :-)
C HAPTER 11
C ARICATURING THE N OSE
This chapter is about the nose, the facial feature that every caricaturist
dreams of mastering. It begins by discussing the structure and the types of
human nose. It then illustrates how you could caricature a nose using the
Feature Frame Method.

Before you start...
Importance of the Nose
Structure of the Nose
Different Types of Noses
Caricaturing the Nose
Some Celebrity Noses
End Note
N OSE is that awesome projection on the human face that makes a
caricaturist's life worth living. I can't imagine living in a world where
everyone had a Nicole Kidman nose. Perhaps in such a world caricaturists
wouldn't exist. In this chapter, let us understand this fabulous facial feature
that intrigues us so much.

I am confident that you remember everything from the previous chapter.
After all you were there just a few minutes ago. But do you remember what
you read in the earlier chapters?
Let's try this.
Which one of the following is TRUE about the use of Feature Frames in
creating caricatures?
1. A Feature Frame is a metallic frame, which is put around the face of the
individual you wish to caricature.
2. Anchor Points are points at which the Feature Frame is nailed to the
subject's face.
3. Mirror Points are Anchor Points that appear on both sides of the face to
be caricatured.
4. Mirror Points and Anchor Points have got nothing to do with a Feature
Frame.
If your answer is correct, let us continue. If not, you should try reading this
book again, right from the beginning.
(How should you know whether your answer is correct? Well, if you don't
know whether it's correct or not, still read this book again, right from the
beginning.)
Before we start...
Find some good reference images for the following famous (and infamous)
people. Look for close-up shots for the face.
1. Nicole Kidman
2. Muammar Gaddafi
3. Tom Cruise (use the references you collected for the previous chapter.)
4. John Lennon
5. Anthony Weiner
Importance of the Nose

I believe that the nose is the queen of all human features. You can get the ear-
size wrong and survive, you can mess up the forehead, the chin, and even the
lips and you'd live! But you get the nose wrong and you are done for.
When you draw portraits, your life is easier because every feature that you
draw supports your drawing by generating likeness. Caricatures are different
because they are created by manipulating the absolute as well as the relative
sizes, and also the shape or form of different features. Exaggeration is a
deviation from the actual, and so it automatically reduces likeness – however,
the nose performs a very important function in retaining likeness of a person.
In fact, it doesn't just help the caricature belong to a person, it helps us
introduce the element of humor in our drawings.
In fact, eyes and nose are the two most important features from the viewpoint
of likeness. Fortunately, you can leave the eyes alone and still have a
caricature, but the nose hankers for your attention, it demands that you
caricature it, and to become a good caricaturist, you must give the nose the
respect it deserves. Remember that the nose can either make or break your
caricature.
Structure of the Nose

Let us begin by understanding the basic structure of the human nose.
Other than the overall size of the nose (as compared to the rest of the face,) it
is the shape of the nose that provides us material for exaggeration.
Focus on the nostril, the ala, and the tip which are three important parts of the
nose, and try to determine how and how much they deviate from the normal.
T HE N OSTRIL
The nostrils could be:
Big
Small
Flared
Hidden
Completely visible
T HE A LA
The ala (the fleshy part that covers the nostril) could be:
Spherical and perpendicular to the face
Tensed and not very fleshy
Elliptical at an angle
T HE T IP
The tip is a very interesting part of the nose. It could be:
Spherical and big (Morgan Freeman)

Spherical and small (Kirsten Dunst)
Sharp and long (Julia Roberts)
Sharp and short (Jodie Foster/Kiera Knightley)
Blunt and square (Angelina Jolie)
With a slight cleft (Nicole Kidman)
Bulbous tip (Einstein)
Different Types of Noses

The nose too comes in various shapes and sizes. Here's a small collection to
help you recollect the shapes.
1. Ideal Nose
2. Nose with visible Nostrils and taut Alas
3. Nose with angled, visible Nostrils and taut Alas
4. Small, snub Nose
5. Nose with visible Nostrils and spherical Alas
6. Blunt broad Nose with invisible Nostrils
7. Long Nose with a globular Tip
8. Broad-based Nose with a spherical Tip
9. Blunt broad Nose with visible Nostrils
These were just some of the many nose-shapes that adorn the human faces
around us. It's a good idea to remember that every once in a while, you see a
nose that springs out of a face and launches itself straight into your memory –
and then you just can't forget it!
Ever seen a nose like that?
How about the following noses? Shut your eyes for a moment and reflect
upon the faces in the following list.
Tom Cruise
Anthony Weiner
Abraham Lincoln
Julia Roberts
Charlie Sheen
John Lennon
Mahatma Gandhi
Albert Einstein
Do you realize how unforgettable their noses are? All these famous
personalities have unique noses and when you want to caricature a face with
a nose as unique as these, you really need to know what you are doing.
Caricaturing the Nose

The process of caricaturing the nose begins by determining how the nostril,
the ala, and the tip deviate from the normal. It's possible that in some cases,
even the nasal bone might prove to be the caricaturist's goldmine; however,
more often than not, you would find the caricaturing possibilities sitting in
the nostril, the ala, and the tip of the nose. (Did you get a twitchy nose after
reading this? Sorry.)
So, identify each of the three parts of the nose and figure out how they look –
then exaggerate the look. Selective exaggeration is the key to creating
delightfully nosey caricatures.
Obviously then,
1. A Round nose becomes rounder,

2. Fleshy alas become fleshier, and
3. Sharp and long noses with tight alas become sharper and longer, and the
alas too become as tight as a rubber!
Examples:
Let us look at two examples to understand how a nose must be caricatured.
The first example depicts the exaggeration of a nose in a front view. Note that
the root of the nose has no Anchor Point on it. All the Anchor Points are
gathered at the bottom of the Feature Frame because the deviations from the
normal are most visible in this area.
In the second example, the nose is caricatured in profile. The two deviations
that can be seen here are 1. The slight bump at Anchor Point "b", and 2. The
elongation of the nose at its tip (where we have placed Anchor Points "c" and
"d".)
If you are creating closeup caricatures, the texture of the

male nose is important yet also tricky to replicate. While
women have noses that have a perfect texture (thanks to
the powder-puff and the black-head removal fetish.) Men
often display their booty of blackheads, miniature
potholes, and sweat springs with great pride.
Now this is where you've got to be really careful. When
you make holes in the skin of the nose, let them look like
holes, and when you want to create moles or add a drop
of sweat, ensure that the are done realistically. I am not
getting into the details of shading here (perhaps another
book is in order) but I hope you get the gist.
Some Celebrity Noses

The following collage presents some interesting celebrity noses:
In Artwork 1 above, you see the noses of Tom Cruise, Anthony Weiner, John
Lennon, Nicole Kidman, and Muammar Gaddafi. Visualize a Feature Frame
around their noses. The Ala, Tip, and Nostrils of Anthony Weiner's nose have
grown together to bring the focus on his nose, John Lennon's characteristic
tweaks on either side of his nose have been highlighted, The root of Tom
cruise's nose is quite shallow, so it disappears entirely in his profile-
caricature, and his deep-seated eyes recede deep into their sockets.
Nicole Kidman?
She's got a cute knob for a nose and her features are quite in proportion, so I
merely highlighted the slight depression in the middle of her nose (a sort of
inverted ridge,) and got done with it. My attempt is to create "cute"
caricatures of women, and a big nose takes away the cuteness. (Please recall
our discussion on Neoteny from Chapter 3.)
Muammar Gaddafi's caricature presents an interesting three-fourth view of
his face. The tip of his globular nose juts out. Note that it doesn't dip, because
his nose's globularity was more due to the inherent structure of his nose and
not so much because of his age.
When your subject has a prominent nose, it's best to work with reference
pictures that show the face from different angles. If possible find a profile
view too.
I MPACT OF A GING
Quite like the ears, noses too are prone to aging. The cartilage loses its rigidity and
the skin on the tip and the ala becomes loose. This makes the tip of the nose droopy
and the overall size of the nose looks bigger. The jawline too shrinks with age
making the nose look even larger.
Age also impacts the skin of the nose. With age, the nose begins to develop crinkles
around the ala and the sweat holes become enlarged. This has a direct influence on
the texture of the nose.

Sketch some interesting noses :-)
You may sketch the noses of the celebrities that we discussed here, or you
can create your own list. Look for close-up photographs of the celebrities
with interesting noses. Try finding photographs that show front views and
profiles, and then caricature them.
End Note
Noses turn red all the time - sometimes in embarrassment and at other times
when you've either caught a bad cold or you've been out in the chilly weather
for too long. Red noses are especially good for conveying embarrassment.
There's no denying that a red nose looks funny and this why clowns often add
a red plastic nose to their attire. So if you are creating color caricatures, you
may want to color the noses red.
With that helpful hint, I usher you into the next chapter, but before we
proceed here's an interesting verbal picture painted by Herbert Spencer, who
no doubt was a caricaturist in his spare time. Incidentally, I don't agree with
him completely and would like to modify the quote a little. I'd prefer to make
the ring go "through both their noses."
“ Marriage is a ceremony in which rings are put on

the finger of the lady and through the nose of the
gentleman. ”
– Herbert Spencer –
C HAPTER 12
P UTTING IT A LL T OGETHER
This chapter helps you integrate your learning from the previous chapters to
caricature a face. In this chapter, we will discuss the development of the
caricature of Tom Hanks and then explore two other caricatures to see how a
face is caricatured without losing likeness.

Before we Begin...
The Characteristic Features and Deviations
Using the Feature Frame Method
Studies: The Drawings that Help you Decide!
Final Rendering of the Caricature
End Note
I N the previous chapters we learned to apply the Feature Frame Method for
selective exaggeration of different features. Having discussed all the facial
features individually, now it's time to see how we put all this knowledge
together to caricature a complete face. The face that I have selected for this
study is that of Tom Hanks.

Before we start this chapter, I must find out whether you remember your
learning from the previous chapter. Here's a question for you.
Which one or more of the following statements about the human nose is/are
TRUE?
1. With age the nose usually becomes bigger, more buoyant, and thus more
attractive.
2. For a caricaturist, the ala, the nostrils, and the tip are the three most
important parts of the human nose.
3. As a budding caricaturist, you may exaggerate the eye all you want, but
you must avoid exaggerating the nose.
4. If you want to caricature a man with a bulbous nose, you'll pull all the
Anchor Points placed on the bottom edge of the tip, and the Mirror
Points on both the alas, downwards and sideways, respectively.
The answer?
If the product of your selected options is wholly divisible by the sum of the
non-selected options, you've got it right. (Smirk!)
Now let us talk about putting together the whole face, but...
Before We Begin...
Please browse the web for Tom Hanks' images. Select a few with the profile
view or three-quarter view. Study his face to list his characteristic features
and the deviations. Look for them in:
The Shape of his Face
His Forehead/Hair
His Eyes
His Nose
His Lips/Mouth
If you'd like to make a few sketches before we proceed with our discussion,
go ahead.
The Characteristic Features and Deviations

When you study the face of Tom Hanks, you'll realize that his face is
somewhat pentagonal, his forehead high, his head bigger than normal, his
eyes small (and they slant towards their outer corners), his eyebrows sparse,
his brow-ridge not very developed but discernible (marked with vertical
lines), his mouth small, his nose-ridge slightly depressed but the nose tip
somewhat knobby...and let me not forget to add that his ears that are bigger
than usual.
Recall that we should decide upon the main features that we'd like to
caricature. In my opinion, we must exaggerate two or three features and then
work on the other features to make them relatively smaller or bigger. This
ensures that we don't lose the likeness.
Here's the black and white drawing of Tom Hanks that I created. You can see
how I followed my own advice and decided to exaggerate the face-shape, the
head, the nose (especially the knobby tip) and the ears. I decided to leave the
eyes alone (recall that the eyes are the windows into a person's soul and
drawing them with completely fidelity helps your caricature belong to the
person.)
If you are curious, this was drawn on an A-4 size 80 gsm photo-copier paper
(the cheapest and most widely available paper, and this why many of my
sketches are done on it.) I used a 0.5 mm HB mechanical pencil (also known
as the clutch pencil,) and a normal eraser.
Using the Feature Frame Method

Look at Tom Hanks' forehead and head in the caricature. Now return to
Chapter 9 "Caricaturing the Forehead and the Hair". You should be able to
visualize how I placed a virtual Feature Frame on his head and pulled out the
anchor points in all directions to expand it. Next, I worked on the nose. The
Feature Frame stayed anchored on the root of nose, while I pulled out the
nose (I virtually held the nose at slightly knobby tip and pulled it out.) I kept
the lips and the chin really small. This helped me exaggerate the difference in
the sizes of the nose and the lips. As you can see, I didn't do anything to
exaggerate the eyes. I also increased the size of his ears by pulling out the
crux, the helix, and the lobe equally.
Studies: The Drawings that Help you Decide!
Make as many sketches as you want to. Most artists do "studies" of their
subjects before they finalize upon the drawing that would result in the most
magnificent artworks.
While every artist has his/her own methods of arriving at a final sketch, as a
caricaturist, you may want do studies to decide upon the features that you
really want to exaggerate. Search for caricatures of Tom Hanks on the web.
You'll see that every artist prioritizes the deviations differently. Some think
that the head needn't be very large, others want to exaggerate the face shape
into the realm of distortion. You can create a couple of quick sketches to
decide upon the one you want to render into a final caricature.
For instance, you may want to do a rough drawing of Tom Hanks (a study)
that exaggerates his nose, face-shape, and ears; and another that exaggerates
his head, forehead, and nose. You can then compare them on the following
parameters (please refer to Chapter 1: Defining a Caricature)
Likeness (Which sketch looks more like the subject or is more

recognizable?)
Humor/Satire/Ridicule (Which sketch makes the caricature appear
funny?)
Another method that is more intuitive could be merely looking at the pictures
of the subject and using your imagination.
I had drawn the above image of Tom Hanks in 2010. In 2013, I had the
opportunity to color it for a project.
Final Rendering of the Caricature

Here's the colored version of the caricature.
As you can see, I didn't play around with the basic structure of the caricature,
However I added colors to heighten the effect.
The nose and the ear become redder than the rest of the face. The white
strands in his hair have become crimped and they now stick out more. I also
etched the lines on his browridge deeper than they were earlier. I also added
some highlights on the side of the forehead to make the head look more
spherical and thus funnier.

You may want create a list of your favorite celebrities, scour the web for their
reference pictures, do some studies, finalize a few sketches, and create some
caricatures.
But before you do that you may want to look at the following caricatures
against the references pictures of Nicole Kidman and President Abraham
Lincoln to identify the exaggerations.
End Note
It helps to remember that our ability to recognize people is sensitive to all
types of deviations in features. We not only sense the deviations between the
features of two individuals, but we are also quite good at sensing any
deviation in the expected relative sizes of different features. Let me explain.
A man may have a normal sized mouth with a humongous bulbous nose
hanging over it. Even though the size of the mouth may be considered normal
on another face, in relation to the nose, the mouth looks tiny. This deviation
will be sensed by all of us, but only a caricaturist can accentuate the relative
difference by making the mouth even smaller than it is. Now when people
look at the caricature of this person, they recognize him (or her) but they also
find the exaggeration funny. Good caricaturists often make use of this kind of
local relativity in the sizes of the features.
C HAPTER 13
C ONTEXT, S TORY, AND P ROPS
This chapter discusses the composition of an illustration in view of its 3

important elements - Context, Story, and Props. It explains how Context
leads us to the Story and how the Story enables us to identify the Props.

Before we Begin...
Context – What is it?
Story – What is it?
Props – What are they?
Three More Stories
End Note
Y OU must have now become comfortable with the application of the
Feature Frame Method in creating caricatures that make people smile. Yet
there's something else that you can do to make your caricatures still more
relevant and interesting. You can weave a story around them :-)
Before we proceed, let us excite our gray cells into action by giving them a
quick shot of a recall question.

Please read the following:
"Caricaturing a face is easy. Just make the nose larger, the eyes smaller, and
the ears bigger, and remember that you must never exaggerate more than two
features that deviate from the standard."
The above statement is:
1. Completely True.
2. Completely False.
3. Partly True, Partly False.
4. I don't care!
Your answer could either be 2 or 3. If it's 2, remember that for most of us

Caricaturing a face isn't easy, and if you really thought it was easy, you
wouldn't be reading this book, and I would no longer be still evolving as a
Caricaturist. As both of my preceding arguments are valid, the answer is 3.
I must stop harassing you now because I don't want you to lose your cool and
smash your reader to smithereens. There's still another chapter for you to
read. So, let me steer our attention to other matters, such as the Context, the
Story, and the Props.
Before We Begin...
Please browse the web to find some images of:
Lady Gaga
Keira Knightley
Morgan Freeman
Bruce Willis
Hillary Clinton
Also read about them.

Let us now review Context, Story, and Props with the help of the following
two caricatures. The subject of my first caricature here is Lady Gaga, and the
lady in the second caricature is Keira Knightley.
Context – What is it?
The context of a caricature or a composition is the reason for its existence.
Your artwork usually illustrates the subject(s) of your caricature in a specific
situation. Without a context, a caricature artwork is irrelevant.
Let us look at the Context in the above two images:
1. Lady Gaga's "exotic" hairstyles.

2. Keira Knightley's straw-like hair-strands.
Story – What is it?

Story is the element of interest in the visual. It's the twist that makes your
reader/viewer spend time on your artwork. Story usually has an element of
surprise, it brings in something that doesn't fit in and which hankers for the
attention of the reader/viewer.
Taking the examples from the preceding section forward, here are the stories
that stemmed from each:
1. Lady Gaga's hair styles are incredibly complex and odd, which makes
the spiders think of it as posh residential locality (for spiders, of course.)
2. The field mice think that Keira Knightley's hair could scare away the
birds of prey, so they mount a cardboard-cutout of her head to make a
scarecrow.
Props – What are they?

Props are all those objects in a caricature artwork that tell the story.
Remember that we are visual storytellers. We have a marked preference for
the visual medium. The only way to tell a story without words is to tell it by
creating a composition that speaks for itself.
Once again, if we take the previous two examples forward:
1. The props in Lady Gaga's caricature are: the sedan, the stars, the nuts,
the spider-webs and the spiders - they tell the story.
2. The props in Keira Knightley's caricature are: the two mice, the wooden
scarecrow frame - they tell the story.
Three More Stories

We caricature real people, and real people have personalities that can be
outlined more strongly through their interactions with the environment in
which they are placed.
Artwork 3 above is a collage of three caricatures. Each caricature has a
context, a story, and corresponding props. Let us look at each of these
caricatures separately.
Morgan Freeman's Caricature: In this caricature, I wanted to portray Morgan
Freeman as Detective Alex Cross. Note that the caricature displays only the
face of Morgan Freeman, and the duelling mosquitoes (props) tell a story,
and attract your attention to Alex Cross's nose. His nose is the "Figure"
feature on his face, and the dialog between the mosquitoes makes you look at
the nose again.
Bruce Willis' Caricature: I wanted to portray Bruce Willis as the strong and
rugged Diehard hero, yet I wanted to move away from the typical Diehard
depiction that you see everywhere, so I drew him as the "Unbreakable," and
that became the context. But how do you show that someone's unbreakable?
So I came up with the woodpeckers story, where one woodpecker damages
his beak trying to drill a hole into Bruce Willis' neck. The woodpeckers are
the props in this caricature.
Hillary Clinton's Caricature: The context for this caricature was simple.
Hillary Clinton's interest in running for President in 2016. Clinton's feminist
views gave her to cowgirl dress, her achievements became the feathers in her
"hat", and her horse transformed into a donkey (symbolic of the democrats.)
Remember that the Context > Story > Props formula enhances the value of all
caricatures, whether they are personal or celebrity.

1. Identify a personality you want to caricature.
2. Decide upon a context for your caricature.
3. Visualize a story for it.
4. Determine the props.
5. Sketch it.
End Note
You need not think of a story with every caricature that you make, but every
once in a while choose one of your caricatures and jazz it up. Keep yourself
abreast of the national and international news, and if you think that one of
your earlier caricatures could be presented in the context of a current story,
add a few relevant props and present it in a new avatar.
C HAPTER 14
S PREAD YOUR W INGS AND F LY!
This is the final chapter of this book. In this chapter we'll review a short list
of do's and don'ts and make a simple plan of action for the future.

Do’s and Don’ts – A Short List
Beyond this Book
Learning from the Masters
A Few Parting Tips
Follow Your Heart
Goodbye :-)
W E'VE discussed most matters related to creating caricatures, but
before I wave you farewell and send you on your way, let us quickly go
through a few more tips and pack with you a roadmap that will help you stay
on way.
Let us follow tradition and recall our learning from the previous chapter, one
last time.

Which one or more of the following statements is TRUE?
1. A nose offers most of its caricaturing possibilities through the Nostrils,

the Alas, and the Tip.
2. Context for a caricature should be created using the Feature Frame
Method.
3. Stories are woven around Contexts.
4. Props help us tell the stories in a more lucid manner.
The answer...is right here :-)

When the sum of the numbers representing the correct options is divided by
the number that represents the incorrect option, it results in the number 4,
which incidentally is one of the correct options!
(If that made you mad, remember that you chose to read a book written by a
caricaturist. What else did you expect?)
Do's and Don'ts - A Short List

Here's a short list that contains "my" do's and don'ts. The list is short because
caricaturists tend to form their own rules, and I don't want to stop you from
doing that. These form my mantra for creating caricatures, and if you are just
starting in the field of caricature-art, they may be of help to you too.
D O'S
Always:
1. Use more than one reference picture of your subject.

2. Read about your subject's life to know him or her better.
3. Ensure that the eyes of your subject are rendered as correctly as
possible.
4. Try to make men look "funny" and women look "cute."
5. Use lines and colors to enhance the comic effect and improve the
interest quotient.
6. Whenever possible, find a context, build a story, and use the right props.
7. Walk the tightrope between likeness and exaggeration very very
carefully.
So find as many good references of your subject as you can. Use some for
studies and a couple for the final rendering. However, before you actually
apply your pencil to the paper, spend some moments figuring out your
subject's personality and psychology. Hillary Clinton isn't just Former
President Bill Clinton's wife, she's been a two term senator, US secretary of
state, and above all, she was a confirmed feminist. Had I not read all this
about her, she wouldn't have emerged in the cowgirl avatar.
The thought behind making women cute and men funny is straightforward. In
real-life too men tend to be funny and women tend to be neotenous or cute
(their features are more childlike than men's.) Another reason is vanity. Most
women don't mind looking cute, most men don't mind looking funny. Being a
caricaturist doesn't mean that we must hurt more feelings than we have to.
Use lines, colors, lights, shadows...everything that you have at your disposal
to enhance the comic effect and make your artwork more interesting. Let us
take an example.
Let us say that you want to create an illustration for a context that people are
changing their reading habits, and ebooks are gaining over the traditional
books, leading to a story of a librarian burning books. You can show a tiny
mouse using the fire to roast a stick of shish kebabs or you could show it
snacking on the shish kebabs in the shadows. This would build an additional
element of interest in your artwork.
D ON'TS
Never:
1. Sacrifice likeness on the altar of distortion or exaggeration.

2. Exaggerate all the features at the same time.
3. Copy another artist's style.
4. Go overboard with realism and render your subject ugly.
The first point in this list of don'ts repeats the last point in the previous list of
do's. It does so because the single most important skill that you must acquire
as a caricaturist, is to ensure that ridicule doesn't kill likeness nor vice-versa.
This is the reason why I've repeatedly exhorted you to leave the eyes alone
until you've practiced enough; this is also the reason why I've been
continually hounding you to caricature only the most prominent deviations.
Let me illustrate this principle of caricaturing only the "Figure" or the
important deviations, one last time. Here's an example.
If you exaggerate no other feature of Jay Leno but his chin and make it
scrape the ground, you've got an acceptable caricature of Jay Leno...now
work on his hair and his brows...and make it funnier but don't sacrifice
likeness for exaggeration, ever!
Beyond this book...

You must draw. The more you draw the better you draw. Most individuals
who are drawn towards visual arts love to draw, but then each of those who
crosses the milestone with "professional" engraved on it, has spent thousands
of hours honing their drawing skills.
In my opinion, if you can close your eyes and visualize a caricature, but face
difficulty in transferring your visualization to paper, you need to practice.
This book or any other can only illustrate the possible methods that could
help you arrive at agreeable results, but if you really want to nail it – draw,
then draw again, and again!
Learning from the Masters

Quite like any other craft, caricaturing too has seen its share of geniuses.
There've been, and there are artists, who have taken the art of caricature to
the height of perfection. Each of their works has the ability to inspire and
teach.
If I tried to list the artists here, in my imperfection, I could be guilty of
missing out on many important names. Instead, I'd like to invite you to this
scoop.it page (http://scoop.it/t/caricatures-by-shafali-anand ) where I curate a
collection of works by the best caricaturists of the world. I recommend that
you follow your favorite caricaturist's works and learn from it.
A Few Parting Tips

1. For practice get yourself some hard-back unruled notebooks of about
100-120 pages each. Use these notebooks to sketch your ideas. I've
nothing against sketchbooks but they are often too bulky to be carried
along at all times, whereas a notebook is lighter and more handy.
2. Buy a few mechanical pencils with HB, B, and 2B leads in 0.5 to 1.0
mm diameters. Use the HBs to sketch, B to darken, and 2B to blacken.
While you can use the wooden pencil too, but a mechanical pencil helps
you get rid of the sharpener.
3. Buy some erasers. Erasers are used for two purposes - to correct or to
create. You'll notice that with practice you'll be using less and less of it
for correction, and more for creation.
4. Points 1, 2, and 3 refer to all the equipment that you'll need to create an
artwork that you'll either use as-is or enhance digitally. However, if you
want to sell your originals, you must draw them on thick acid-free
drawing paper.
5. As you become more adept at caricaturing, you'll start developing your
own shortcuts and methods. I'm sure that at some point in time, you may
have seen art tutorials that start by establishing the basic shapes and then
flesh them out as a face. If that's something you are comfortable with,
just do it. But if you aren't comfortable with it just improvise and draw
the way you are comfortable drawing.
Follow your Heart

How should you start? What should you draw first? How should you hold the
pencil? What kind of details must you put into your caricatures? These are
questions that cannot be answered by another artist. You must find the
answers yourself, because in these answers you'll find your style. These
answers will set your work apart from that of the other artists.
Here's what I do. I always start by drawing the eyes first. They anchor the
entire drawing on the paper, giving me the starting point. Then I add the
exaggerated features to the drawing. This deviates from the way most
tutorials tell you to draw, but the results are good and people like my work. I
also know that if I followed the process outlined by another artist, I'd
flounder. So, I implore you to draw the way you are comfortable drawing.
Remember that it's the final output that matters.
Goodbye :-)
My dear reader and evolving caricaturist, thank you for taking this journey
with me. I hope you've enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed
writing and illustrating it.
If you enjoyed this book, please rate it. I understand that I may not have
covered everything that you wanted to learn about caricatures in this book. If
you emailed me at DrawToSmile@gmail.com , I'll try to come up with an
additional text that covers the topics of your interest.
I hope that this book helps you reach your goal. May you find success in
caricature drawing and evolve as a great caricaturist.
Best Wishes,
Shafali
http://shafali.wordpress.com
A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book has evolved over the years and its first readers have played a very
important role in its evolution. I would like to thank all those readers who
read this book when it was first published on Google's Knol Platform as a
work-in-progress, and took out time to send me their thoughts. The inspiring
reviews they left on my book motivated me to work harder for enriching this
book enough to publish more formally.
I'd like to thank Nancy Johanson, Peter Baskerville, and Gust Mees for their
continual support. I'd also like to express my heartfelt thanks to my author
friend Barbara G. Tarn, who introduced me to the Kindle Platform. Thanks
also to all my clients who gave me opportunities to create artworks for their
publications, thus keeping me in the game.
I am also grateful to the fabulous caricaturists of the world for I owe a great
chunk of my learning to them, and to the World Wide Web that gave me an
opportunity to see their works and be inspired.
My work would have been a chaotic rumbling of content and illustrations had
Bobby, my infinitely better half, not taken care of all the technical details
related to the formatting and creation of this eBook. Dear Bobby, thanks for
the cool headings, the blurbs, the boxes; and ever more for telling me that I
could visualize the content anyway I wanted without worrying about how my
visualization would translate into the eBook. I also want to thank our dear
dog Oorvi who has carefully avoided chewing up my illustrations – or this
book couldn't have been put together.
Most importantly, I'd like to thank you, my dear reader. Thank you for
downloading "Evolution of a Caricaturist." Being an artist, I know how
difficult it is for an artist to sit still and read books – you chose to read mine,
and I am grateful to you for it.
And finally, I would like to thank Amazon for the Kindle platform, which
actually brought this book to you.
A BOUT T HE A UTHOR
Shafali Anand is an artist and a writer. As an artist she specializes in
Caricaturing, Cartooning, and Portrait-drawing and as a writer she likes to
write instructional content peppered with humor and satire. She's been
drawing ever since she can remember.
Professionally, she illustrates for magazines, books, and apps. She also
conducts training programs for corporations and individuals in one of her
other areas of expertise, which deals with simplifying learning.
When she's not drawing, writing, or training; she likes to spend time with her
husband Bobby and their pup Oorvi. She is also an avid reader of novels &
comic books, and loves to collect antiques.
A Final Note from the Author :)

If you enjoyed this book, I request you to tap here and leave a Review/Rating
for this book. It will inspire me to write on more topics of your interest.
Thanks.
Connect With Shafali:

Blog: http://shafali.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/caricatures.by.shafali
Twitter: @thecaricaturist
You can also sign-up for "Draw To Smile - A Free Monthly Newsletter for the Artist in
You" here.

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EVOLUTION OF A CARICATURIST

HOW TO DRAW CARICATURES

W HAT T HIS B OOK C OVERS

Chapter 1: Identifies the two essential characteristics of a caricature.

Present and Explain the Feature Frame Method to caricature individual

This book is for:

Self-taught artists who want to learn how to draw caricatures

G ETTING D OWN TO THE B ASICS

This chapter defines and explains a Caricature. It differentiates a caricature

Students of portraiture would usually be comfortable with point 1 (creating a

Now answer the following question.

Don't read further until you've selected your options.

So what should you do now?

Special Note for Graphic Tablet Owners

Previous Chapter Recall

Previous Chapter Recall

1. The smoothness of lines

Why talk about Celebrities?

Why do we Love to create Celebrity Caricatures?

However, I must caution you that an awareness of cultural sensibilities in a

So what should you do now?

T HE H UMAN F ACE – O BSERVING IT FROM THE C

Previous Chapter Recall

Previous Chapter Recall

Facial Features that a Caricaturist should learn to

1. The Shape of the Face

Neoteny and its Impact

1. Do you think that children look cute?

Most people will answer as follows:

You know why? It’s because of neoteny.

Neoteny is also characterized by a high-pitched voice, which isn’t of

So what should you do now?

Bruce Willis: Huge/Tall Head(analogy - Pyramid?) Prominent lines

T HE P SYCHOLOGY OF F ACE R ECOGNITION

Previous Chapter Recall

Previous Chapter Recall

Do you recognize the gentleman in Artwork 1 above? Search for silent+tramp

How does this Theoretical Stuff Help?

1. Biederman's Geon Theory

Biederman's Geon Theory

The Gestalt Theory of Figure & Ground

In the case of:

So what should you do now?

C ARICATURING THE S HAPE OF THE F ACE

Previous Chapter Recall

Previous Chapter Recall

1. The Geon Theory explains that our ability to recognize faces is an

Basic Shapes of the Human Face

It is important to note that unless you are a distortionist (a caricaturist who

Three Primary Face Types

The Feature Frame Method

Remember that Anchor Points transform into Mirror

Caricaturing Different Face-shapes

The sketch depicts an androgynous face, with three Anchor Points.

E XAGGERATING T HE S QUARE/ R ECTANGULAR F ACE

Caricaturing the Chin

So what should you do now?

1. Always carry an unruled notebook or an inconspicuous

“ A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face