Exaggerated Subject Drawing

Exaggerated
Subject
Drawing
A caricature is either a portrait that
exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person
or thing to create an easily identifiable visual
likeness, or in literature, a description of a
person using exaggeration of some
characteristics and oversimplification of others.
Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary
and can serve a political purpose or be drawn
solely for entertainment. Caricatures of
politicians are commonly used in editorial
cartoons, while caricatures of movie stars are
often found in entertainment magazines.
The word "caricature" essentially means a
"loaded portrait". The term caricature refers
only to depictions of real-life people, and not
to cartoon fabrications of fictional characters,
which do not possess objective sets of
physical features to draw upon for reference,
or to give human characteristics to nonhuman things, such as objects. Legendary
animator Walt Disney on the other hand,
equated his animation to caricature, saying
the hardest thing to do was find the caricature
of an animal that worked best as a humanlike character.
The first book on caricature drawing to be published in
England was Mary Darly's A Book of Caricaturas (c.
1762). The two greatest practitioners of the art of
caricature in 18th-century Britain were Thomas
Rowlandson (1756–1827) and James Gillray (1757–
1815). Rowlandson was more of an artist and his work
took its inspiration mostly from the public at large.
Assignment:
Student will create an
exaggerated pencil crayon
drawing of their selfportrait. The image chosen
must be of a REAL-LIFE
situation. Drawing must
include a background and
props.
Student will be evaluated
on creativity, craftmanship
and process. Students
need to properly use
pencil crayon and explore
the use of colour.
There are a few key
elements to a successful
project:
Likeness - This is
obviously the most
important element.
Without careful
observation, likeness can
be lost very easily.
Life - At first, it's difficult to
grasp the understanding of
what actually gives a
drawing life. But once you
see examples, you'll know
if your drawings have life
or not. Basically, a drawing
that has life should convey
some sort of emotion or
personality. In caricature,
try to capture that
particular individual's
personality/character. Don't
paste the same expression
on every face.
Exaggeration – Remember that your composition
should have both reality and exaggeration. It's up to you
to decide what fits best for your project. An example of
exaggeration would be: “I was walking along when
suddenly this enormous dog came up to me. It was as
big as an elephant”. The dog may have been big, but it
was certainly not as big as that.
Composition - This is important for any picture that you
draw. Boring compostition kills the life and energy of the
drawing. Make your composition dynamic.
Practice:
When you first begin to draw, it's a good idea to practice
exaggurating a subject from reality.
3.5 Minute Caricature
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQiuuhY5JJA&feature=related