Exercise: Caricature and character

I first did some more research about characters and caricatures to make sure that I could see the difference between both. I looked at the work of Barry Fantoni and Thea Brine, searched for the definition of both terms (including some good examples on the following website: www.goofyfaces.com/2014/12/29/reader-question/).

I then looked at tutorials with instructions to draw caricatures as I did not really know where to start. Two tutorials were particularly useful in describing how to look for the most recognisable features in a face: http://www.learn-to-draw.com/caricature/default.shtml and ww.youtube.com/watch?v=qxKe6klFiE0.

After considering several options, I chose Steve Coogan and his alter-ego Alan Partridge. I thought it would be interesting to draw Steve Coogan and then create a caricature when the actor turns into Alan Partridge. In a way, Alan Partridge is a caricature and his manners and expressions are very recognisable.

I looked at several photos of Steve Coogan online (Google images) and used one in particular: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/tv/how-old-alan-partridge-how-15885366. I chose this photo because it is quite “neutral”. I tried to focus on the resemblance. I drew the first sketch in my sketchbook and then used the iPad to refine the illustration:

It was difficult to capture the resemblance. I kept checking that I had the right measurements and asked a friend for an objective point of view. At times, I thought that I could see the resemblance but when I returned to my portrait after a while, it was gone. This is my final version:

I then worked on the caricature. I looked at many photos in Google images of Alan Partridge. I wanted to capture the way he looks and smiles at the camera with an exaggerated confidence. I made many attempts in my sketchbook and on the iPad:

I then asked a friend and chose the version he thought looked the most like Alan Partridge because of the smile and the eyebrows and developed that sketch further. This is the work in progress of the final illustration:

And here are the two final versions:

I used a brighter colour palette for the caricature to emphasise the cartoony effect whereas I used more browns for the character version.

What went well

I like the fact that the caricature looks like a caricature compared with the portrait of Steve Coogan because of the exaggerated features and distorted proportions even if I probably could have gone further to make the caricature more striking.

I tried to control better the thickness of the lines and feel that I succeeded at times even if I need more practice.

Challenge

The main challenge was to achieve some degree of resemblance and it was difficult in both cases. In the end, I don’t think that I completely succeeded. It is particularly hard to draw someone’s face with accuracy, probably because every detail matters and the slightest difference in the proportions or lines will change the outcome.

What I learned from this exercise

I have learned a lot by trying to understand what defines a person to create a successful portrait. It is an exercise that is certainly worth repeating not only to create successful caricatures but because I can see that it would help me to improve my skills when I draw characters.