Different Styles Of Drawing Caricatures & Which One People Love The Most

When it comes to drawing caricatures, there are many different styles that you can use, but there is one in particular that will get you the best respond from people. In this tutorial, I will outline the different styles of caricature portrait drawing and how to draw caricatures that not only get you praises but can also make you money!

Drawing Caricatures Style 1: Big Features – The Exaggerated Look Caricature

This style is suited for political cartoons but can offended the subject of the caricature

This type of caricature style contains “exaggerated” features to make the drawing look humorous. Caricaturist Or Weitzman created this image. The risk with this style of drawing caricatures is that you can offend your subject. You may get laughs at first but the person needs to have thick skin to take this drawing home and hang it with pride on the wall.

This style is well suited to political cartoons or caricatures of celebrities or public figures.

Drawing Caricatures Style 2: High Contrast – The Heavy Line Caricature

This style of caricature drawing can be difficult to pull off

This next style is a comic book style of drawing caricatures that is very stylized and quite difficult to achieve with success. It requires more advanced skills with the brush-pen to add thickness to outlines to simulate thickness to the form. (This image of Ray Charles was created by kscomix on Youtube.)

Drawing Caricatures Style 3: Big Head Small Body – The Easy Non Offensive Caricature

This style of caricature is the best as it makes the subject look good

Okay it is no surprise that we are going to teach you how to draw caricatures step by step with the easiest drawing caricatures style of all, Style 3: Big Head on a Small Body as this is Graeme’s favorite drawing caricatures method of choice. As you can see by this example caricature created by Graeme Biddle. It is loose and sketchy and although there is distortion the subject’s features have remained fairly intact with reality. Let’s find out why…

But why you ask?

Aren’t the other two styles more fun? Well yes they can be and they have a time and place but if you want to leave people feeling good about themselves then the exaggerated features style of drawing caricatures is not the way to go.

Firstly, and this is a common mistake that artists make, they go for the Style1: Big Features approach because they think it is easy for them to pick on someone’s features that stand out and to a certain extent they are right. But what is not altogether obvious is how these “picked on” features make people feel.

It goes something like this…

The caricature is crafted around the standout features of the face and head and when complete is met with raucous laughter. Everyone is impressed and having a good old belly laugh, and for some people this is okay but…

The average person is a little sensitive about how the look, (read most of us, especially since we are brainwashed by the media into thinking that unless we look like Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston we are not up to standard in the beauty department) are going to go away and quietly tear up your lovely work of art.

They will not take this home to cherish and show off to friends, no way. This is going straight to the circular filing cabinet in the corner, (read trash can). Yes that’s right, when we offend people they don’t take lightly to it and you know what this means.

That’s right no repeat business.

I will repeat that again…

No repeat business.

But how you ask? Don’t I just do one caricature for a person and then that’s it?

With this Style 1: Big Features yes you are perfectly right – that is it. You will not be asked back again to do the next function or event because when people have filled out the feedback form and rated the caricaturist a one star out of a possible 5 stars, who was hired for the event they are going to remember the shame and embarrassment they were feeling when you picked on their big nose that has always troubled them. Or they are going to feel guilty about their lack of self-control in the weight management and exercise department when you reminded them of this by drawing attention to their big or round face.

• Or their bucked teeth (can’t afford expensive dental corrective braces)…
• Or they are cross eyed or wear thick unattractive glasses
• Or have bushy eyebrows
• Or a big mole
• Or any number of easy pickings

So go with the one that makes people feel good about themselves and you will not only be making them feel happy, people will be commenting on how realistic the likeness is.

You see that a big head on a small body does designate a caricature and it is easy to make it look like the person. Distortion and exaggeration on the other hand take away from the “realism” factor and people will recognize this but in as sub-conscious way.

Trust me on this one, with over 30 years experience with drawing caricatures this style is the one that will have people coming back for more. And you will get referral business, one of the greatest ways to build your portfolio of happy customers and add to your increasing cash flow.

More on in this on day 15: Secrets to Success.

Here an example of how to portrait a photo picture

Graeme drew this color caricature at a trade expo, the subject was a fitness trainer, hence the appropriate pose with whip in hand and the caption, “Gunna whip you into shape MAN!”

Recommended Resource: This lessons is brought to you by “Fun With Caricatures” by Graeme Biddle.

Graeme Biddle is a highly successful caricature artist with over 30 years experience drawing caricatures and his popular drawing course…

“Fun With Caricatures – 7 Days To Cartoon Success” promises to teach you everything you need to know to not only drawing great looking caricatures but also how to make a living at it (if you want to)!

If you are interested in learning how to draw caricatures, I highly recommend you check out Graeme’s “Fun With Caricatures” course.

It comes with a 100% No-Question-Asked Money Back Guarantee, so you have nothing to lose! Click here to find out more about this drawing course.

Please let me know what you think of this lessons on drawing caricatures. Love or hate it, just leave a comment below and let me know you’re alive!

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I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on drawing caricatures and have a great day!