How to Draw Celebrity Caricatures

The challenge of distilling the most prominent features of a celebrity into a few deftly drawn lines appears deceptively simple. Professional caricaturists present us with dead-on drawings that look as if they were dashed off in five minutes. Drawing celebrity caricatures is not quite so easy. But by breaking the task down into logical steps, anyone can execute a celebrity likeness that exaggerates a well-known person's most prominent features.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pencil
• Eraser
• Tracing paper
• Reference images
• Heavy drawing paper
• Ink markers

1. Which celebrity would you like to draw? Check magazines, books, videos and websites for reference images of your subject. Clip or print out the images and study them. Watch videos of your subject in action. Analyze his or her face and body language. Which features lend themselves to exaggeration?

2. Take a sheet of tracing paper. Place it over one of your reference images. With a pencil, break down the image into basic shapes, such as ovals, circles, and rectangles. It's not necessary to reproduce every detail of the face or body. The point of caricature is to simplify the image, while including a few prominent features. As you draw the shapes, choose several to exaggerate. Does your subject have pretty eyes? A large nose? Try making their shape even bigger. If the subject has a strong chin, make it even stronger. If the subject has a weak chin, make it smaller. For example, Jay Leno would have an oval for the top two-thirds of his head, and a big rectangle for his chin. If your subject is a starlet with big hair, start with a circle or oval shape for her head, then break down the hair into its composite shapes, exaggerating as you go. Once the basic shapes are drawn, try filling in the details of the celebrity's features, such as lips, eyelashes and facial hair. Some details, such as prominent smile lines or crow's feet, may be drawn with lines rather than shapes. Repeat this exercise with each reference image. This step is a practice exercise to familiarize you with the structure of your subject's face and prominent features.

3. Take a sheet of heavy drawing paper. Spread your practice tracings in front of you, along with your reference images. First, draw the main shape or shapes of the celebrity's head. Add secondary shapes, paying special attention to the features you would like to exaggerate. Work with the shapes until you create a composition that is pleasing to your eye. Does it look like your celebrity subject to you? Erase and modify until you are satisfied with your composition. Then add details such as eyes, lips, smile lines, nostrils, and hair. Again, draw and erase until you are satisfied.

4. Once the pencil drawing of your celebrity caricature is complete, it may be finished in ink. Use fine-tip and medium-tip black markers to trace over your pencil lines and create a dynamic finished caricature. Professional artists favor technical pens, Micron pens or watercolor brush with black ink. When your ink has dried, erase any leftover pencil lines.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you have completed your caricature, try a color version. Apply color directly onto your drawing with Prismacolor-brand color pencils or water colors. Another method is to place a piece of heavy tracing vellum over the caricature and finish with Prismacolor pencils. Many professionals prefer to scan the caricature drawing into Adobe Photoshop, where they can then add color.
• It's challenging to use a few decisive lines to create a recognizable caricature of a celebrity. To start, choose a celebrity with an easily recognized, distinctive image. If you become frustrated, put away your tools and try again later. Or try a different celebrity.

References

• What is Caricature?

Resources

• Drawing Faces & Caricatures