Las Vegas Caricature Artist

[toonMom]

While in Vegas, I stopped to watch a couple of caricaturists work. There was one in the mall around the hotel we stayed in and I got the opportunity to watch him from start to finish when he did a couple using graphite and airbrush. It took him over 45 minutes to do it, which I thought was a little long to expect someone to sit there. Anyway, I thought his technique was interesting, mostly because I have never actually watched someone do a caricature all the way through using graphite or airbrush. This is how he did it:

First of all the drawing was of two people, a man and woman. He used a large lead holder for the drawing (I didn't ask what type of lead he used). The paper was 11x14? - portrait orientation. He had it clipped to a board with some kind of a thin rubber mat on top, I'm not sure what it was though. He sketched the initial drawing with a stump and then did the lines with graphite over that. I thought that was an interesting technique to use and I had not thought of doing this with my caricatures. He did a complete line drawing with the graphite with lots of details, no shading though, just lines. He then colored it in with the airbrush. He didn't paint any lines he just added color and used the graphite lines as his finished lines for the drawing. He then went in with a white pencil and added highlights and brightened up the whites of the eyes. He did not use any white paint. He finished by going over the lines again in certain areas with the pencil to darken up where the paint had dulled them a bit.

There was also a lady downtown that did caricatures using marker. When we walked up to her she was finishing up a drawing. It was sort of cold and it was starting to rain, so I didn't get a chance to talk to her or watch her work, but I wish I could have. All I know is that the markers where double ended and thin. Her work was very nice. I'd love to learn to color with markers.

[jadachris]

wow toonmom, that was interestin.....did u learn anything from how they did thier pictures??
id love to see a caricaturist at work, but it doesnt seem to be that popular in england

[toonMom]

I didn't learn too much from the way he drew the actual caricature. The artist was older, maybe 45-50 years old and the couple he drew were (guessing) 60-65 yrs old. He drew a good likeness with very little exaggeration, which is what I had expected. I think you learn more from an exaggerated drawing, in my opinion. It was very interested to watch as he did the drawing though.

[toonMom]

I was just looking around online and found the markers that the artist downtown was using.
Tombow Dual Brush Pens

[jadachris]

wow u go to some expensive sites, is this where u are goin to get ur markers from toonmom? did u ask the man, y he didnt use much exageration?

[toonMom]

I don't know where I would buy them from. Do you know of a cheaper place?

I didn't ask him why he didn't exaggerate much. It was an older couple, so I think he did right by not doing an exaggerated piece. He did a "nice" caricature and I think that is what they would have wanted anyway.

[tooned]

welcome back toonmom.Hope you hade a great trip.
got some photos to share with us?

[toonMom]

I didn't take the camera this time. It is the 5th or 6th time (I lost track) that we have been there in 9 years. This is the only time we didn't take the camera. We had fun, but I missed the kids too much and I hate flying. It's good to be back home.

Another thing I noticed about the marker caricaturist, is that she was using a glossy paper. I had heard about using markers on glossy paper from another site. The person there said it is not photo paper, but a thinner paper with a gloss to it. I'm not sure what it would be, a brochure paper maybe?

[jadachris]

i didnt know different papers made much of a difference toonmom.
so didnt u get caricature done of yourself toonmom? what did each of the artists charge?

[toonMom]

I did not get one done. When we were downtown it was cold and rainy. The guy inside our hotel took too long. He charged $35 to do an airbrush caricature of 2 people. I don't remember the other prices he had. The girl downtown didn't have prices posted that I seen.

[espanto]

ToonMon and anyone interested,

I thought I would put in my two cents on this one, since the airbrush caricaturist In Vegas, most likely works for Fasen Arts. I also work for Fasen, but at Six Flags Magic Mountain Theme Park.

First, we use 3b graphite in a lead holder. This gives a good combination of dark thick-to-thin line and minimal smearing. Our paper is 12x16in. I think it's bristol, just not as thick as you find in the art store pads.

We use the shower lining on the table to get a nice smooth surface on which you can press down and get that nice line.

The artist you saw stared sketching with his blending stump first. Well, what can I say? That is probably why he took 45 minutes. Usually we don't sketch except for making a couple of very light marks to help you visualize the edges of the faces or shapes of the head so they fit in a nice composition.

Then we do a line drawing, this is usually the most important part. We at magic pride ourselves in confidence of line. Which means that with one stroke you draw the line correctly and with varying pressure. Ofcourse, this takes practice, but it pays of in speed and drawing crispness. We love it when onlookers think we use markers.

When the line drawing is done, we use the blending stump to shade. Usually the eye socket, under the nose and sides as if the light was comming from above.

Then we airbrush. Some artist use templates and some freehand. Most of the color is blended on the paper. Most of us use nine colors including a couple of browns.

The artist you saw used a white pencil for highlights. I experimented with that, but you usually have to have a thick layer of airbrush before you can really get a nice white and that doesn't fit my style. So, I just leave the white of the paper for highlights. That is better for speed anyway.

One more thing, the artists in Las Vegas seem so take a slower more illustrative approach to their caricatures than we do at Magic. We try to have an illustrative feel with out sacrificing speed. As you said, 45 minutes is a long time for a person to be sitting; Especially when they are out trying to have fun. However, in Vegas it is acceptable because most people don't even know what time it is, or even care. At Magic Moutain some guests are anxious to get to the next ride before they run out of time and others are tired of waiting in lines and will leave with out getting a caricature if you take too long.

I hope this helps, and if anyone is interested feel free to ask.

[toonMom]

What do you mean by shower lining?

Are you saying you can vary your line just by the amount of pressure you use, with a pencil?

[espanto]

>>What do you mean by shower lining?

You said in your post,
"He had it clipped to a board with some kind of a thin rubber mat on top..."

The thin rubber mat is shower lining that you can buy at Home Depot. It makes a great drawing surface. It's smooth and it lets you press down with your pencil it sinks a little letting you get nice crisp lines.

>>Are you saying you can vary your line just by the amount of pressure you use, with a pencil?

Yes, you can go from thin to thick and vice-versa just like an ink brush by pressing down harder for the thick lines. That's why the shower lining is good. It lets you press down harder than on a harder surface.

Ofcourse, you can also get thick/thin lines by turning your pencil as you draw the line. Which is why we use a thicker 3mm lead than a regular pencil. The 3b helps with the nice lines by being softer.

[toonMom]

The guy I seen had a set up very similar to the one in this picture click here. He the paper off to the side that he scribbled on too. The only difference is the guy I seens mat was a really dark black, the one in this picure is more of a gray.