Sunday Mailbag: Head Shape First?

Q: I’ve seen you mention a few times – including in your book – that in the studio you start a caricature with the head shape, but live you start with the features. I also recall reading (I think) that with live caricature, even though you don’t draw it first, you still visualize the head shape before you start drawing. The obvious question is … why not just draw the head shape first?

A: That’s true. I consider head shape, and the exaggeration of the head shape, to be the most powerful tool in a caricaturists toolbox. I ALWAYS start a caricature by examining the head shape and making decisions on how to exaggerate it. When I’m in the studio I start by sketching that shape and then move into the features. When I work live, I just THINK about the head shape and how the interior features will work within it, and then start with the eyes. Honestly, the reason I do it is mostly because that was how I learned to draw live caricatures back in the mid 80’s. However over the years I’ve stuck with that method for two reasons.

First, drawing live caricature is supposed to be spontaneous, without-a-net drawing. I do no sketching, so any lines I lay down are permanent and nonadjustable. To draw the head shape first completely locks you into the relationships of the other features. You have no wiggle room. If you start with the interior features first, you can adjust your idea of the head shape on the fly and you are not restricted to that first shape and all it entails. You can make the face longer if you want, or wider, or whatever, as you go. This does take a lot of interior visualization, and it’s easy to go off the rails if you do not think about the whole head shape and basic relationships of features first and go in with a “game plan”, but when it’s clicking it can produce some really strong caricatures. It also builds up your mental caricature muscles, since it forces you to do your drawing in your head first.

The second reason is for showmanship. It is utterly mesmerizing for the crowd to watch a drawing just materialize before their eyes with no signs of sketching or experimentation on the paper. Drawing the outside contours of a head shape first creates a “frame” that sucks some of that mystery away. Building it from the inside out looks like a magic trick.

I’m not saying starting with the head shape is a bad thing to do. I know many live caricaturists that work that way and do amazing stuff. It is still all about the skill of the artist and their “eye” for exaggeration, likeness and presence. I’m just explaining why I still do it this way.

Thanks to Lincoln from Austrailia for the question. If you have a question you want answered about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!