Mailbag
June 12th, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I was recently studying your work on the Batmen print hanging on my wall and a question came to mind: When you are drawing superheroes (or other masked characters), you are given less real estate to get a good likeness, yet I can easily tell who each of the Batmen are, from just their mouths, eyes and feature relationship. Do you find yourself starting with a normal caricature of the actor first before adding the mask over it, or do you start with the mask and place the features where they belong? Thanks! A: The mask (or glasses, or mustache, or anything else that… READ MORE
June 5th, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: If I draw a (realistic) person, the ratio is about 1:7 head to body. In a caricature, which is very different, I’ve seen already 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3. What is in your opinion the best proportion of head to body in a caricature? A: The short answer is there is no “best” proportion. Your subject matter and the situation dictates what works best. For live work I have always disliked the “lollypop” school of caricature, with a gigantic head and a little tiny body that is roller skating or something. That takes way any dynamic between the head and body that can very well… READ MORE
May 29th, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Which is the hardest feature on a face to draw? I’m finding the mouth to always mess things up despite following some of your advice in that realm (i.e. draw the lower line of the upper lip first, etc). I would probably say whichever feature one is trying to caricature, probably has the most impact on whether one’s drawing “works” and that could potentially be the hardest but for me, things seem to fall apart more when I get to the mouth. Any ideas or exercises you would recommend? A: The hardest feature to draw is whatever one you happen to be struggling with… READ MORE
May 22nd, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Your caricature book is the go to for me and my drawings.. or at least my “attempts”. My question is that if I LOOK at a sketch of yours such as in your book, I can mimic the style and drawing, but drawing on my own without a reference ends up looking nothing like the drawings in your book at all.. any suggestions? I do practice drawing eyes, noses, mouths.. but it doesn’t all come together. A: Like I said in my book, no one can teach someone how to “see”… that is where the innate ability or talent comes into play. Someone can… READ MORE
May 16th, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How did you get into art and decide to make a career out of it? Who were your inspirations? A: I can quite honestly day that I’ve never wanted to be anything but an artist. My very earliest memories regarding what I loved to do and what I wanted to be when I “grew up” (still waiting for that to happen) are of me, stacks of paper and drawing implements. If I had to pick something that was a catalyst for that lifelong desire to be an artist, it would probably be Batman. I was born in 1966, and the Batman TV show was… READ MORE
May 8th, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I was asked to spend an evening drawing caricatures at a party, but chickened out. I believe the key to success is practice, practice, practice and I just wasn’t ready for it, but I was curious to know, when and what was your first ‘live’ caricature session and how did it go? A: I don’t remember the exact date but the first time I drew live caricatures was in May of 1985 at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL. I was contracted by a company called Fasen Arts to draw there for the summer. Although I had no experience doing live caricature I… READ MORE
May 1st, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: In the early nineties, for the first time MAD magazine started making MAD movie and television satires of animations (e.g “Batman: The Animated Series”, “The Lion King”). This continued through the decade with a couple of TV shows and a stack of Disney movies, but as soon as the nineties were over, so were the animation satires. So, not counting the occasional crossover article like “Star Shrek”, why is it that the magazine started, and then stopped, doing satires of animated films and TV shows? And, except for the South Park movie, why did MAD never do proper satires of any of the ‘adult’… READ MORE
April 24th, 2016 | Posted in Mailbag
Looks like it’s that time again… no questions to answer in the mailbag. I actually only have to post this maybe once or twice a year, and only because many of the questions I get are repeats of ones I have answered more than once in the past (I’ve had this feature running for almost ten years, and this is the 468th “mailbag” post) or of the “please show me how to crosshatch” variety that are impossible to answer in a few paragraphs. It’s entirely possible that people have run out of questions. There are only so many questions people might have about freelancing, illustration,… READ MORE
