How to Exaggerate Facial Features When Drawing Caricatures

Caricatures resemble cartoon art since they focus on one or two prominent facial features, like a long nose or thick eyebrows, and embellish them for comical effect. Read the following tips about how to exaggerate a model's facial features when you draw a caricature.

Instructions

1. Sketch the eyes or the most prominent facial feature first. Refrain from drawing the outline of the face or oval first. Work with the features, then "close up" the face with strong but fluid lines.

2. Use heavy lines when drawing a caricature. You want to highlight certain features, not draw a blended portrait. So you need to define each feature with strong lines. Separate the upper and lower lip, define nostrils and exaggerate ears instead of shading them like you would in a normal portrait.

3. Outline the bridge of the nose before drawing the rest. Draw the nostrils first, judging the distance from the subject's nose to their eyes carefully. Some people have long, thin noses and others shorter, flared noses, so observe before you draw.

4. Highlight the eyes by focusing on the shape and the eyelid folds. Eyes can be almond shaped, rounded or oval in a caricature to play them up or complement other facial quirks. If the subject has large or expressive eyes, darken or increase the size of the pupil.

5. Draw each eyelash individually with forceful strokes for female subjects, or place eyebrows high above the eyes with flecks of the pen or pencil to exaggerate eyebrows.

6. Depict the hair in a simple, playful manner. Instead of drawing the shape of the hair, focus on individual strands, or draw plucky lines to indicate flyaway hair or balding patches.