Sunday Mailbag: Live 3/4 Views?

Q: I have been using the principles in your book for theme park style caricatures. So far I feel I’ve improved on drawing caricatures head on but I really struggle to draw them at 3/4 angle. How important is it for a theme park style caricature artists to be able to draw front AND 3/4 angle caricatures?

A: A theme park (or any live style) caricaturist need not ever draw the face at any angle they don’t wish to. You can do full face caricatures forever. Profile caricaturists can do the same. However being able to draw 3/4 faces gives you another option and keeps things from getting stale always drawing the same angle over and over. When I did theme park work a lot, I drew 90% of my faces straight on just for the sake of speed and efficiency. However that can get boring and some faces are made for 3/4 views, so it was fun mixing it up sometimes.

Also, mastering drawing a 3/4 face only makes you a better artist, and will elevate your overall skills including when you do full face caricatures. I’d suggest working on your ability to draw 3/4 views, and incorporate them into your live work when the time and inclination allows.

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