Caricature/Cartoon – Leonardo DiCaprio – The Abagnale Jr. who grew up to become J. Edgar!

This guy?

Who else but Frank William Abagnale Jr. now known as J. Edgar Hoover, a.k.a Leonardo DiCaprio!

Catch me if you Can!

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Tiniest Biography on the Web

Every sensible biography must begin with the birth of its subject. Leonardo DiCaprio was born on November 11, 1974 in LA, California. As it happens, most people who go on to become famous in their lives, come from a broken home; so was the case of Leonardo whose parents separated when he was a toddler. Leonardo’s dad however was not a normal person. He was an artist…even better, he was a comic book illustrator. So his dad’s influence made Leonardo explore his creative side (?) when he was little. Leonardo went to work at the tender age of 5, but was kicked out of the show for unprofessional behavior (?!) Leonardo wasn’t a good student (obviously, if he were the world wouldn’t be talking about him and obscure caricaturists wouldn’t be drawing his rather unique physiognomy,) nor was he a smashing-hit with the fairer-sex.

One thing led to another, and then I saw him in Titanic (the movie, I mean, not the ship) smooching Kate Winslet. I checked out my parameters of handsomeness and wondered why the west found him good-looking! (BTW, he’s taller than he looks. He’s 5 feet 11 inches or more!)

Anyway, Leonardo DiCaprio’s first movie wasn’t Titanic, it was “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” for which he was nominated for an Oscar (He doesn’t look like himself in this movie though). He was nineteen then. Well, one movie led to another, until “Titanic” happened. “Titanic” catapulted Leonardo into being an international celebrity. I read that 28 Kabul Barbers were apprehended by the Taliban because they were giving those kids the Leonardo-Haircut!

Why Leonardo was called Leonardo?

When Leonardo hadn’t found his way out of his mom’s womb, she went visiting a museum. The yet-unnamed-Leonardo decided to kick his mom for the first time when she stood admiring a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. Every mother wants to remember that first-ever kick (and hopes that the child would stop kicking once it’s out,) and so Leonardo’s mom decided to call him Leonardo.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Famous Movies

Some of his movies are:

• This Boy’s Life
• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
• Titanic
• The Man in the Iron Mask
• Catch Me If You Can
• The Aviator
• The Departed
• Blood Diamond
• Body of Lies
• Inception
• J. Edgar (Recent)

The Caricaturist’s Opinion on the DiCaprio movies that she’s seen

I watched “Titanic” but it made me sad. I don’t like tragedies. There’s enough sorrow in real-life and I really don’t like spending my time watching movies in which the hero dies. I loved him as King Luis XIV in “The Man in the Iron Mask,” a movie that may or may not be historically accurate – but who cares – not the Caricaturist! “Catch me if you Can” is fantastic. Geniuses of all types make me feel optimistic and happy…and knowing that Frank William Abagnale Jr.s exist makes this world a more interesting place for me. I watched “Blood Diamond” and wondered what the heck we need those diamonds for. Even if I had millions, I’d not waste them on a stupid piece of shiny rock that I could tie around my neck and get Spondalytis. In my opinion, no sane person should wear diamonds…but then if the world was sane, I’d not have anything to do. Who’d I ridicule then?!

Finally, “Inception.” I hated the movie, and I have a strong reason for hating it. I watch movies because I want a break from work. This movie puts your mind to work, and that too in the highest gear. You’ve got to go on calculating the dream-depth, the corresponding time-span that Leo and his team can spend in the dream…additionally you’ve got to remember the names of the dream-owners and the team-members who get left behind on the higher level! Phew! The movie left me with a headache that refused to leave me for two whole days! And this movie got several award nominations…thankfully, it didn’t win many awards or I’d have to wonder.

J. Edgar (A movie made on the life of perhaps the longest-serving FBI director J. Edgar Hoover) is right now running in the theaters. I am wondering whether I should watch it in the theater or I should wait for it to premier on television…still thinking

 

Caricature/Cartoon of Charlie Chaplin – The Silent Millionaire Tramp of Hollywood

Everyone knows Charlie Chaplin, so let me come straight to the point. Here’s my rendition of “The Tramp” the character that made Charlie Chaplin famous. I will save myself the trouble of telling you all that you perhaps already know, and end this post with a short biographical note about him.

Charlie Chaplin’s Short and Sweet Biography

Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16th 1889, in London. Both his parents were entertainers so the believers of genetics might say that his genes made him what he was. Yet I believe that how you nurture your talents has a lot to do with how far you go, and so the credit of Charlie Chaplin’s success cannot be given entirely to his genes. Biographies usually are a lot more than a nature-vs.-nurture discussion, so allow me to proceed. Charlie’s dad was an alcoholic. (Why do most celebs have a twisted childhood? Does it mean that people with normal, regular childhoods don’t stand a chance at greatness? Jot these questions down and ruminate upon them when you have nothing better to do.) This must’ve led his mom to a nervous breakdown – so, in a manner of speaking, little Charlie was more or less on his own. At the age of 13, Charlie landed a role as Billy the Page boy in a Stage Play themed upon Sherlock Holmes. The long and short of it is that Charlie had started walking the rickety bridge to stardom, when he stepped into his teens – he just didn’t know it yet. It was in 1910, when CC was 21 that he first arrived in the US. It was in this land of opportunities that CC first found himself working for films and during 1914/15s he was presented to the world as THE TRAMP! Who would think that a Tramp could become so popular – and a tramp that couldn’t talk at all! But it was the tramp wearing a really tight coat over a huge pair of trousers, shod with a gigantic pair of shoes who caught the fancy of people and brought them back the laughter that the First World War had stolen away. In 1919, not long after the success the tramp, Chaplin co-founded the United Artists film production company and made many more silent and talking(?) films.

A Couple of Caricatured Charlie Chaplin Highlights

(You know that I look in awkward places.)

• Charlie Chaplin could’ve written books on wooing women…but he was too busy making films. The guy’s ability to charm the…oh well…the sandals off the feet of women has been considered mysterious, even mystical by many. I mean, how a 5 feet 5 inches “tall”, twiggily-built gentleman could do that with women who were half his age, is something that should be investigated thoroughly by the historians.
• Charlie Chaplin sired 12 children (that’s if I counted right – I suffer from double-vision at times,) and he made the last one appear when he was a young and healthy 73! I know that a dozen kids is nothing when compared to Osama bin Laden’s 24 and Osama’s dad’s 54, but they weren’t 73 and so what amazes me is that when most playful male septuagenarians of our time include viagra in their staple diet, how did Mr. Chaplin manage this feat in the pre-viagra era.
• Charlie Chaplin couldn’t enlist in the military because he was too short and too light – characteristics that endeared him to people the world over.
• Charlie Chaplin made a movie called “The Great Dictator”, in which he played the role of a Jew. This movie brought academy nominations but it also ignited the controversy that CC was in part a Jew. (According to this information here, the Jewish people are the highest IQ community on this planet, and so, if he really had Jewish blood, it could have played some part in making him the legend that he was.)

Guess that’s all that I have on Charlie Chaplin Coming up…

• Sarah Palin
• Shia Labeouf
• Napoleon Bonaparte

 

Shafali’s Cartoon, A Football Rat, and Handsome Indian Men – Some Long Tail SEO Humor!

Before I begin, let me tell you that the long tail that I am talking about is a funky name for a simple concept.

Most of the people who land on your blog through searches reach there by typing in search terms that aren’t a direct match to your content.

Here are some inspirational long-tail search terms that brought some innocent, unsuspecting visitors to this blog. In this post, I attempt to assuage their hurt feelings by addressing them directly.

Search Term 1: Nobody answers my question, cartoons:
My dear visitor, nobody answers my questions either. I think that we need to start a group of people with unanswered questions and start answering questions for one another. In fact we could swap one question for one answer. What are your thoughts?

Search Term 2: shafali’s cartoon:
Check out the sidebar. That maniacal looking brush-wielding woman with hula hoops in her ears, is Shafali – and the image that you are seeing is an extremely realistic portrait that has an unbelievable likeness to the subject – one of the many Shafalis who burden this Earth with their presence.

Search Term 3: naked avatars:

What?
Naked Avatars?
Whose?
Not of the Gods or the Goddesses or their messengers, I hope, for your sake. If you don’t know what I mean, please read about the Danish Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, the British Writer Salman Rushdie, and the Indian Artist Maqbool Fida Hussain whose lives became miserable because they attempted to create the naked avatars related to such delicate matters – either realistically or metaphorically. You won’t find that kind of explosive stuff on this moderate caricaturist’s blog.

However, if you are keen on a Non-naked blue-colored, long-bodied avatar of a human-turned Na’vi called Jack Sully, click here.

Search Term 4: football rat cartoon drawings

I have a question.
You want a cartoon drawing of a football-like rat, or a rat playing football, or rat-like football. I like the mouse type of rats who are homey and who prefer to play chess, dine with family, and raise nice educated kid-mice. I am slightly wary of the sword-wielding gladiator mouse, or even the rifle brandishing terrorist mouse…yet they have managed to chew their way into this blog. However, I don’t yet have football playing mice or rat here. Never thought of inviting them over – but thanks for the idea:)

The only time I’ve touched base with football is with this caricature of Troy Polamalu the Pittsburgh Steeler who blocks with his locks (Oh God, please…please…please – let me be right about blocking…or everyone would know that I know nothing about Football!)

Search Term 5: cartoons to draw out difference between force and pressure
This one is easy.
Close your eyes. Now imagine that you are…well…sitting on the toilet seat (a golden one perhaps!). Here’s the difference that you seek to discover:

• Before you-know-what…is pressure,
• during you-definitely-know-what…is force,
• and after you-know-what is – RELIEF!

You got it, didn’t you? Now be a doll, draw that cartoon, and leave me a link

Search Term 6: joker caricature
You must be joking! A joker’s caricature?! How do you caricature a joker? Uh…oh! You meant Anthony Weiner’s Caricature! But he’s already done a fantastic job of caricaturing himself – trying to beat him at it would be like trying to improve upon perfection.

Search Term 7: definitions of art by known people
You’ve reached the right place, my friend. Click here to read a definition of art by a known person. I am known to my family, my dog, those pesky squirrels in my garden…I am a known person, believe me.

Search Term 8: pen and ink foxes

Pen-and-ink drawings fox me too…and with dogged determination. I mean how do you correct an error in a pen-and-ink? And how do you end up creating all those shades by using only one shade of black! If you find an answer to that question, please leave it here.

Search Term 9: how to draw lady gaga’s outfits

It’s simple. Create a figure drawing of Lady Gaga (or use a cutout from a magazine – it’d serve equally well.) Keep two large buckets of paint handy. One should contain black paint, and the other white paint. Close your eyes. Dip your brush into one of the buckets and splash paint on the drawing. Then do it again, and again, and again. Then open your eyes, and rush into the kitchen. Find that bottle of tomato ketchup, open it up, and from a distance of at least six feet, throw the ketchup on the drawing. Remember to use the ketchup only once.

Every time you repeat this process, you’ll design a new Gaga Outfit…and yes…when you are done, call the spiders to help you spruce up the Lady Gaga outfits you’ve designed.

Search Term 10: prince charles cartooning
Guys and gals, this is news! Prince Charles is one of us! He’s a cartoonist! Imagine how difficult it must have been to keep such a phenomenal skill hidden from the paparazzi for so long? On second thoughts – can we thank Camilla Parker for inspiring him? Or was it Prince William who asked his father to follow his un-princely passion?

Search Term 11: muammar gaddafi 40 outfits
If a god-man can amass so much, what is 40 outfits for a dictator? I think Muammar Gaddafi is a miser who doesn’t spend on himself, he really needs to look towards certain god-men for inspiration!

Search Term 12: animated photos of handsome indian men

I don’t know about the “animated” part, but the term “handsome Indian men” makes me think whether the searcher would have done better by using a more specific search, such as: Hritik Roshan, Amitabh Bacchhan, Dev Anand, Salman Khan…at best a dozen more perhaps? Frankly, I am yet to see a “handsome Indian man” on the streets, though “beautiful Indian women” are aplenty. (I know I know, your son is the handsomest, fairest, and tallest man you’ve ever laid eyes upon, and young women swoon when he rolls past, but anyone other than your son, ma’am?)

(Important Declaration and Clarification: I know that using these terms here would bring some vicarious pleasures-of-the-flesh seeking netizens here, and I’d like to apologize to them for devastating their hopes.)

So what search terms on your blog have made you giggle/guffaw?(girls giggle, guys guffaw – please select what applies – unless you are new-age boy or girl…then you have the right to mix and match!)

 

Caricature/Cartoon – Sherlock Holmes – The Greatest Fictional Detective Ever!

Sherlock Holmes, the character was born in  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s imagination. ACD was a Scottish author and doctor. The world first made acquaintance with Mr. Sherlock Holmes in Doyle’s first story, “A Study in Scarlet.” Sherlock Holmes was actively solving crimes in London, from 1880 to 1914.

Here’s the caricature of Sidney Paget‘s rendition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s hero, Sherlock Holmes.

You, Sir, have been scampering through the drains of London. You have arrived at 221B Baker Street by climbing through the window of Watson's bathroom. You are here to consult me on a matter that concerns you deeply.

Sherlock Holmes – A Biography

He was born on January 06, 1854 (the date and the year of his birth have been distilled from  different stories.) This makes Holmes a Capricorn, and from whatever I’ve gathered of sun-signs, his personality seems to match the stereotypical Capricorn. Thus, it’s rather obvious that Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock’s literal father, was deeply influenced by Linda Goodman who was born in 1925. It’s once again obvious from this, that Doyle knew how to travel through time and this is how he could meet Ms. Goodman…(or is my reasoning fallacious, Mr. ‘Olmes?)

Did Sherlock Holmes have a family?
Well. Mr. Doyle refrained from staining the personality of his objective, no-nonsense hero by talking about his family. Whether or not he had parents can’t be deduced from the stories (so we’ve got to go by our good old common-sense) but that he had a brother is evident. His brother Mycroft Holmes, according to Sherlock, was equally gifted but he didn’t bother honing his skills up. If he had bothered, we would’ve read Mycroft Holmes mysteries instead.

Did Sherlock Holmes ever fall in love?
He probably did, with Irene Adler, “the woman” who managed to outsmart  our detective genius. Otherwise, Sherlock Holmes was interested in women only when they brought him his cases. 100 years on…does it tell us that Holmes was gay?

Sherlock Holmes’ Psychology

Quoting myself…

I’ve begun to believe that if a perfectly normal person visited a psychologist, he’d come off that couch believing he had at least three major and one minor psychological ailment. Look around. Everyone gets depressed once in a while and the durations vary.

One of my aunts would get very-very angry, throw things around, and then shut herself up in her room shunning food for the entire day, until everyone grew concerned and until she had everybody’s attention. Then she would be the happiest person in the whole house. In those days, you’d call such people temperamental and let them be themselves. The lady spent a perfectly normal life, reared a son, became a grand-mother, and she now continues to harass her grand-daughter-in-laws(?) She’s 82 now, quite healthy, and would live for another 10 years! Her cool-headed practical husband, on the other hand, left for his other-worldly abode twenty years ago! Had she been taken to a psychologist, she’d be diagnosed with some or the other disorder, and she’d possibly have preceded her husband to that other world, worrying why the heck wasn’t she born normal!

But I stray from the point.

The psychologists weren’t happy analyzing and branding real people, and so they decided to determine what was wrong with Sherlock Holmes. Something has to be wrong with everyone whose a celebrity…right? I mean what could be a better way to belittle their achievements? Check out the list of celebs with syndromes here.  It makes me wonder whether to become a celebrity you need to buy yourself a syndrome.
So here’s what Holmes was diagnosed with:

Quoting from Wikipedia:
Holmes may have Asperger’s syndrome based on his intense attention to details, lack of interest in friends or a social life and tendency to speak in long monologues.

(I think that I have Asperger’s too… and all this while I thought it was so because I was an introvert! Poor me…never knowing…struggling through my miserable life without knowing what actually is wrong with me!) Also note that “a severe family trauma” could be the reason why he never trusted women. If only Holmes were real…and could defend himself.

Sherlock Holmes – Original Drawings

If I asked you to tell me whether Sherlock Holmes had a nose that was a) spherical b)Hawk-like c)Bulbous d)Snub, then chances are good that you’ll select (b) as the correct option. We have Sidney Paget to thank for visualizing and drawing Sherlock Holmes with such consistency that  even photography may fail to achieve. The image that I always carry in my head is not the one that is seen in the Sherlock Holmes movies or TV Shows, but those that are there on the pages of that hefty volume, which despite many readings, remains one of my favorite books!

My caricature of Mr. Holmes takes after Sidney Paget’s visualization.

View the Original Holmes Drawings here.

Dr. John H. Watson

Dr. Watson was Holmes’ flat-mate and friend, and he was the one who compiled and narrated his adventures. However, Holmes believed that Watson were a romantic and so he embellished the truth thus reducing its objectivity. In the stories that involve young and pretty women, Watson could be seen commiserating with them and speaking to them tenderly, much to the chagrin of Mr. Ever-grumpy Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes in Popular Culture

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 4 novels and 56 stories around Sherlock Holmes.
The novels are as follows:
* A Study in Scarlet – the first work in which Holmes appeared – it was published in 1887
* The Sign of the Four – 1890
* The Hound of the Baskervilles – published as a serial in 1901-02
* The Valley of Fear – published as a serial in 1914-15
(Source: Wikipedia)

Professor Moriarty – the Master Villain in the Sherlock Holmes Mysteries

It’s said that Doyle created Professor Moriarty so that he could “kill” Holmes (possibly because he wanted to write something different.) He is considered (by Holmes himself) a man his equal in mind, yet someone who had turned his phenomenal powers towards evil. In the Final Solution, Holmes and Moriarty both die, yet the public forced Doyle to bring him back, which he did through the Hounds of Baskervilles set in an earlier time. The public still wasn’t happy – they wanted Holmes to be alive and well. Finally Doyle gave in and Holmes was resurrected. Moriarity had exceptional mathematical abilities…imagine that!

Other Characters in the Sherlock Holmes Mysteries:

• Baker Street Irregulars
• Inspector Lestrade
• Mrs. Hudson – the Landlady
• Inspector Stanley Hopkins

Free Downloads – Sherlock Holmes Mysteries

The Books by Arthur Conan Doyle are now in the Public Domain. You can download them from the Project Gutenberg site here.

And…if you are wondering who are the actors who’ve played the part of Sherlock Holmes in TV serials and movies…find your list here.

 

Caricature/Cartoon – Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers – National Football League of America

I wouldn’t have known about Troy Polamalu, the Steelers, or even the NFL…had it not been for Tim Berners Lee,  Matt Mullenweg, and Nancy Johanson, so I begin this post by thanking them.

But I learned about him, I looked at his images and his videos and I was smitten…by his hair!

Troy Polamalu of Pittsburgh Steelers, and his Magnificent Hair!

Especially for the fans of Troy Polamalu:

Download Troy Polamalu’s  Printable High-Resolution Caricature (PDF)

Troy Polamalu’s Shortest Biography on the Web (and I mean it.)

Troy Polamalu who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers in different defensive roles, was born on April 19, 1981. He began playing for the Steelers in 2003. He first played in the Superbowl of 2006, which the Steelers won with 21-10 defeating the Seattle Seahawks. In 2007, the Steelers gave him a never-before-seen-in-the-history-of-Steelers contract, which totals around USD 50 Million.

Polamalu’s Change of Name:

He changed his surname to Polamalu, his mom’s maiden name. He was earlier called, Troy Aumua!

Polamalu’s Jersey Number 43 (yes, I mean it.)

His Jersey #43 moved from being the 15th highest selling jersey among all NFL jerseys in 2008, to the highest selling jersey in 2010 (according to the NFL.com shop.)

Polamalu’s Personal Life:

Troy Polamalu is married to Theodora, has two sons, is an Orthodox Christian, and a soft-spoken person.

Polamalu’s Hair (Ahem!):

Well…
Here’s the math.
Let’s say, I took time “t” to draw his caricature.
I spent 0.9t (90% for the right-brained a.k.a. mathematically challenged) time drawing his hair!
So his Hair IS important, and this is probably why P&G has paid a Million Dollars to get his hair insured. (Reason: He endorses the Head & Shoulders Shampoo) . The Steeler #43 gets a haircut about once a decade, and grapevine has it that if anyone thinks ill of his hair, he ends up staying late at work on the Superbowl night – so Beware!

Question: Do you think Clay Matthews‘ hair can compete with Polamalu’s?

Another interesting byte about Troy & Clay is that they both played college football at University of Southern California!

Read more about Troy Polamalu at the Wikipedia Page

Data Hounds, find data at:

• The Yahoo Sports Page
• The ESPN Page

Interesting Byte:

As all celebrities have their sets of alternate amorous realities, I tried searching for Polamalu’s by googling for “Polamalu Love Affair” – Guess what popped up?
HAIR!

And…quoting Polamalu:

“We’re a road team. We’re the Pittsburgh Steelers. We have fans everywhere.”

About Superbowl 2011…

And now about the Superbowl XLV (45 for the non-Romans), in which the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers of Wisconsin in the Cowboy Stadium at Arlington, Texas!
The Superbowl tickets went for..
$2842  to $23730  each!!!

…………)))))
…….))))
….))
..)
.

(Sorry! Had to pause to pull my eyeballs back into their sockets!)

Guess they are ALL sold out now (Imagine that!)

So…

Wherever you watch the Superbowl 2011…

in your homes or in a sports bar…

Go Wave your Terrible Towels…
Fly the Steelers Flags…
Paint yourselves Gold and Black…

May the Steelers win the Superbowl 2011!

 

Caricature/Cartoon – Oprah Winfrey – The Rich Talk Show host who Oprahfied two Vacationing Mice!

After a long hiatus…presenting...Oprah Winfrey, the television host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, who is the world’s only black billionaire, and well…the most influential woman in the world.

So, you see…it was essential that we waited!

Post-Oprahfiction, the Mice realize that you don't need your own money to get a tan!

Oprah Winfrey’s Shortest Biography on the Web (I hope so.)

Oprah was born on 29th January 1954, somewhere in rural Mississippi, a difficult place for an African American, even as late as 1950s. She had a difficult childhood – her mom definitely wasn’t the greatest moms in the world, possibly because she herself was a teenager when Oprah was born. Vernita, her mom was a maid who left little Oprah with her Grandmother Hattie Mae Lee. According to Wikipedia (where do you think I got about half my information from,) they were so poor that Oprah had to wear dresses made of potato sacks! Guess that was when she made up her mind to kick poverty out of her life.

Oprah’s miserable childhood wasn’t just the result of her potato-sack-clad poverty, but also the loose morals of her cousin, her uncle, and a “friend” of the family, who molested her. Oprah chose to run away when she turned 13, became pregnant at 14, and lost her child at birth. Finally, her mom sent her to the gentleman who she now calls her father (and who possibly is,) Vernon Winfrey. Her dad decided that she should study. Oprah was a bright and extremely popular student as a child. One thing led to another and she began to read news at the local black radio station.

Oprah’s popularity continued to grow and in 1983, she hosted A. M. Chicago. Within a few months, she had overtaken Phil Donahue, another media personality of great caliber. This was the time when The Oprah Winfrey Show was born.

Read Oprah’s detailed biography here.

Interesting Oprahbytes!

The Oprah Winfrey show drew its largest audience when Oprah interviewed Michael Jackson: 36.5 Million; David Letterman drew its largest audience when Letterman interviewed Oprah: 13.45 Million! Wow!

Oprah’s Personal Life

The glimpses of Oprah’s personal life can often be seen in her show. She’s suffered a good many lows in her life, including the time when her hair fell out completely (beware of getting your hair permed, if it could happen to Oprah, it could happen to anyone in the world,) and then her weight problem which was a result of her depression (no rewards for guessing who caused the depression – a man, of course. The point to note (and learn) is that in Oprah’s life, these could’ve been inflection points – but she pulled herself out before she was sucked into the whirlpool of depression.

Where is Oprah Now?

Just yesterday, Oprah received Kennedy Center Honors from Obama, along with the hero of her youth, Paul McCartney of the Beatles.

Comedian Chris Rock parodied the situation by saying, ‘No one deserves this award more than Oprah Winfrey, but no one needs it less,’ comedian Chris Rock said to laughter from the audience.

The Oprah Effect and Oprahfication

And finally, if you could get those smart, cunning, difficult-to-impress marketers to speak of the Oprah Effect, you must really be something! Quoting from the Wikipedia entry on Oprah Winfrey, “The power of Winfrey’s opinions and endorsement to influence public opinion, especially consumer purchasing choices, has been dubbed The Oprah Effect” Then there’s something called “Oprahfication“, which is the act of making a public confession and being cured, in the process. Oprah thus, is almost a religious institution where you could make a confession and relieve yourself of your sins.

Now about the question that’s I can hear coming from the depths of your heart…

How much does Oprah Winfrey Earn?

Good question. Around 300 Million USD a year!

So…you know how much it must’ve cost me to bring her to my blog. Well, now that she’s here…go get Oprahfied!

 

Caricature/Cartoon Bollywood Hero Aamir Khan – 3 Idiots – Bollywood ka King Kaun?

Presenting Bollywood ka King – Aamir Khan!

Bollywood ka King - Aamir Khan!

Lost? The Story Behind this Caricature of Aamir Khan:

What you  need to know in order to understand this caricature is that Bollywood is dominated (was) by three Khans. They all came into the industry almost together and India watched their progress with great interest. These three Khans were:

• Aamir Khan (Of this post.)
• Salman Khan (Son of Screenwriter Salim Khan)
• Shahrukh Khan (The only Khan with no family connections in Bollywood) (Update: Feb 12, 2011: You can view Shahrukh Khan’s Caricature here.)

There was a time when the three Khans were in obvious competition.

• Then Salman destroyed himself (he does weird things, like hunting endangered animals  – and I remember that he even mowed down some people – one person died – once.) The overall impact of these legal hassles was that in this race of the three Khans, he fell behind.
• Shahrukh was ahead in the race (the man is talented and when he was younger, he was much better looking than the other two – ever since he got into the six-pack business, his face has begun to look like a desiccated mango ) Unfortunately, fame got to his head (happens with people who come from humble backgrounds and become very famous) and he went around telling everyone that he was the King of Bollywood.
• Aamir however was used to fame from an early age, and so when he became successful, he stayed humble. Now humility is something that is appreciated a lot in India and we especially like to see some of it in those we idolize – helps our egos I guess. So, in the long run, he emerged the winner.

Aamir Khan’s Shortest Biography on the Web:

Born on March 14, 1965, Aamir Khan is one of the most popular actors in Indian Cinema today. He began his career in 1973, as a child actor (who played the character of Ratan, the third brother) in Yaadon ki Baaraat. This film was produced by his Uncle. Thus, Aamir Khan belongs to the first wave of Bollywood Putras (Sons of Bollywood) in Bollywood. In 1988, at the age of 23, Aamir acted as the male lead in QSQT (Quayamat se Quayamat tak), which was made by his cousin.

Aamir Khan’s Rise to Fame:

Aamir however was made for bigger and better things. He turned producer for the film Lagaan in which he also played the male lead – and Lagaan was nominated for the Academy Award. In 2007, for the first time, he turned a director with the movie, Taare Zameen Per (Stars on the Ground) – a movie about the struggle of a dyslexic child. Next he dazzled India with Ghajini (and his young male fans went around sporting the weird hairstyle that you see here.) And then came 3 Idiots – the inspiration for this cartoon.

And so, Aamir won the race with three phenomenal successes in a row, Taare Zameen Per, Ghajini, and 3 Idiots.

Recently, he also received the Padma Bhushan for his work…and right now, as he says on his blog, he is on a promo-tour for his newest film Peepli Live (already in controversy for its song, Mahangai dayan (inflation witch)).

Alll Ijjj Wellll!

 

Story Writing Contest / Competition – Tell the Story in the Caricature – The Man and the Rat!

What is the story in this caricature?

Could it be that I had just watched Pulp Fiction (Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman), and some of it just transformed into this seething, sneering, and fuming man here? And what about the mouse (or the rat, if you please.)? Why is he holding a rifle and wearing a bullet-belt? Was he supposed to terminate somebody before he reported to the boss? Could it be that these two plan to watch Avatar together?

What's the Story?

I don’t have a story to tell…but you could have one.

Do you read a story in this caricature? If you do let people read it.

So here are:

The Rules of the Story Writing Contest:

The story should:

1. BE between 250 and 500 words – the right length for a blog post.
2. INCLUDE the two characters that you see in the caricature.
3. DISPLAY this caricature in your post.
4. NOT include explicit/mature content.

Important: After you’ve done this, drop me a comment against this post with a link to your story.
(Otherwise how my other visitors and I would read your fabulous story?)

Contest Closes: April 30, 2010

The Reward for Competing & Winning:

I’ll link the blog, the story, and the profile of 5 story writers whose stories win my heart, through a dedicated blog post, and if they aren’t already on my blog roll (I am selective, I know:-() they shall be.
(And of course, even if you don’t win now, I promise to be back with more contests!)

(Note: To participate you don’t need to have commented before, but you do need to be a blog-owner. Don’t write the stories in the comments section – Just leave the link to your story so that other visitors can reach your blog and read the story there.)

Let us S P R E A D T H E S M I L E

 

How to Draw the Caricature of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

How did I draw this Caricature of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of Caribbean fame?

Look at the caricature closely, and then scroll down to read how it was drawn.

Where is the cheese...Captain Sparrow?

This was an easy caricature to do. Let us see why.

When you are trying to create a caricature of an actor in a persona that has several distinctive features and accessories, then if you focus on the accessories, you can create a likeness of the persona…and because the persona (in this case, Jack Sparrow) is recognized by every human, cat, and dog; you can rest your brush and sleep in peace!

Take the example of Jack Sparrow. Here’s a list of his distinctive features.

• The head-cloth/rag/band tied at one side,
• The long matted hair,
• The beard plaited into two,
• The beaded hair-rings (!)
• The blackened teeth,
• And of course, the kohled eyes!

If you just drew the first three and left everything else blank, I believe most of the humans at least would readily nod their heads and tell you that you’ve indeed sketched Jack Sparrow.

But then, that would be an average attempt, and you don’t seem to me a person who’d accept anything that’s not classy! So next, you’d need to create a likeness with the actor too. So look for the features that the makeup-man didn’t mess with – so what you have now is the nose and the mouth (notwithstanding the blackened teeth.)

Here’s what I did to create this caricature.

Studying Johnny Depp and Jack Sparrow Pictures:

I first studied some Jack Sparrow pictures and then some Johnny Depp pictures. The Jack Sparrow pictures helped me see the details of his accessories and told me a lot about his personality, and the JD pictures gave me a clear picture of his nose, his mouth, and the shape of his face.

Caricaturing the Eyes:

The eyes grew bigger than actual to accommodate the effect of the kohl and the expression of surprise (at the audacity of the mice, of course.) You can read about caricaturing the eye here.

Caricaturing the Shape of the Face:

I’d classify Johnny Depp’s face as pentagonal. So when I did his jaw-line, I pulled out the mirror points to exaggerate the pentagon. Read about caricaturing the shape of the human face here.

Caricaturing Jack Sparrow’s Costume, Accessories, and Overall Persona:

As I said earlier, the accessories become extremely important in characters such as these. Other examples of such characters are: Captain Hook (with the Peter Pan connection) and Agent Smith (of the Matrix Trilogy.)
So…
The head ornament became a butterfly (it brings in a humorous contradiction with a pirate’s personality,) and a huge nut got added to the string of beads that hangs from his matted hair. The twin beard plaits became thicker and more prominent too.

The Joke in the Caricature:

Remember that a caricaturist need not stop at creating a visual caricature. Use words to your advantage. Also remember that a story makes a caricature more interesting and lively.
The concept that mothered the joke in this caricature was the slovenly (and unhygienic) look of Jack Sparrow. Such a man would be quite capable of hiding his cheese behind his ear and the mice would be his constant companions. Voila, two cute little mice jumped out of my pencil and began climbing his beard!

So, that was how the Johnny Depp – Jack Sparrow caricature came to be.

Next in this Series >> How to Draw Tiger Woods, his Women, and the Devil!

If you want to learn the nuances of creating caricatures in a fun and easy to learn way, you would like to read, “How to Draw Caricatures – The Evolution of a Caricaturist.“

 

“Chapter 6 – Caricaturing the Eye” of “The Evolution of the Caricaturist”, a book on How to Draw Caricatures – Updated.

Dear Visitors,

Some of you must be aware that I am writing a book on How to Draw Caricatures. This book is called “The Evolution of a Caricaturist“, and it is being published as a collection of Google Knols. It is an evolving text, to which I add a chapter every 10 days or a fortnight. Yesterday, I added the sixth chapter called, “Caricaturing the Eye” to this book. Here are the links to the Chapter Outline, and the Six Chapters that’ve been completed so far.

The Evolution of a Caricaturist

• Chapter 1 – How to Draw Caricatures – Getting Down to the Basics
• Chapter 2 – Why Caricaturists Love Celebrities?
• Chapter 3 – The Human Face – Observing it from the Caricaturist’s Perspective
  
• Chapter 4 – The Psychology of Face Recognition – The Caricaturist’s Secret Weapon!
• Chapter 5 – Caricaturing the Shape of the Face
• Chapter 6 – Caricaturing the Eyes

If you are fond of sketching and you want to explore the skill of caricaturing, you are the right audience for this book. You follow the chapter updates by either subscribing to this blog through email (check the first link in the right sidebar.) As the chapters would lead you into subsequent practice activities, I would recommend that you put aside 2-3 hours of your time per chapter, and ensure that you practice before proceeding to the next chapter.

I would like to thank those readers who’ve sent me emails telling me that they’ve found this book useful. I intend to complete this book in the next two months. If you are a serious reader of this book, I recommend that you work out a practice schedule with about 12-15 chapters spread over the next two months. It will ensure that you’ve acquired a new skill by the time you are done reading the book.

Remember this book contains original content (right from this caricaturist’s pen, so to speak,) and it’s FREE. It is an improbable combination but freak accidents do happen, and this is probably one of them:)

Create a few caricatures and “Spread the Smile”!

Regards,
Shafali.

 

The List of Celebrities whose Caricatures Grace this Blog…so far:-)

As many of my visitors would know, I started this blog sometime in the middle of December 2010. Since then, I’ve added quite a few Celebrity Caricatures to it. The regular visitors have probably seen them all, but I wouldn’t want my new visitors to miss out on the treats:) So here’s a consolidated list for your viewing delight.

1. Gorgeous George Clooney’s Impeccable Hairstyle
2. Julia Roberts – The Pretty Woman’s Dazzling Smile helps the Rodent Household!
3. Pamela Anderson (Lee)…the Fish, and the Missing Fish-bowls
4. Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft – The Tomb Raider
5. Brad Pitt and Achilles’ Dilemma in Troy
6. Avatar – A Visual/Verbal Caricature
7. Bruce Willis – the Unbreakable, and the Die Hard Woodpecker.
8. Jack Nicholson and the Two Birds – As Good as it Gets!
9. Morgan Freeman a.k.a Detective Alex Cross and… The Two Dueling Mosquitoes.
10. Michelle Obama – The First Lady’s Smile & The Toothpaste Ad!
11. Barack Obama – What worries him? The Pups Know – Sasha, Malia, and Bo!
12. Nicole Kidman, Her Nose and the Bloodhounds!
13. Tiger Woods, Women, Nike, and Devil!
14. Halle Berry, her Hairstyle, and the Birds!
15. Johnny Depp – Captain Jack Sparrow – The Pirate!

Another Caricature of a Forever Celebrity graced this blog recently (The Pierced, Tattooed, Dermal-Implanted, and Otherwise Modified Human’s Unique Selling Proposition!)

If you liked my caricatures and if you’d like to make caricatures too…my Book – “How to Draw Caricatures – Evolution of a Caricaturist” , which I am publishing as a collection of knols, should interest you. If you are interested…do visit. You can also read more about this book in “The Book” section of this blog. Your comments shall be appreciated.

 

Caricature/Cartoon – The Pierced, Tattooed, Dermal-Implanted, and Otherwise Modified Human’s Unique Selling Proposition!

This caricature was inspired by Mr. Don Mills’ blog, “The Problem with Young People today is…” and more specifically by his post, “God Damned Teenagers and Their Pierced Noses Make Me Crazy!“

I am Unique!

So, what all have you got pierced? Your ears? Your nose? Your upper lip? Your lower lip? Your tongue? Your eyebrows? Anything else of the unmentionable variety in the nether regions?

Primarily tribal in origin (lip piercing and stretching common in the African and American tribal culture/nose-piercing common among the Indian tribals/Septum piercing among the Aztecs, the Mayans…and so on and so forth,) Piercings and other kinds of body modification techniques are making a comeback…especially in the West.

The body piercing movement in the US gained ground in 1990s. According to Wikipedia, a survey in England too found that 10% of those above 16 had body piercings in places other than their ear lobes.

(Source: Wikipedia)

The most commonly cited reasons for piercings are: religious beliefs and self-expression. “I was born to look like everyone else – but I wanted to look different! Piercings, Tattoos, and even dermal implants make me unique!”

Fantastic! Unique, with a uniqueness quotient of 10%!

And Tattoos?

They are considered to be marks of status and religion. They are also thought to have magical properties. No Wonder about a third of the world population has had a tattoo of some kind.  Please take this information with a pinch of ink, because I’ve misplaced the source!

So here is an interesting fun fact about Piercings:

The Most Pierced Woman in the World is Elaine Davidson. As of Feb 2009, she had more than 6000 piercings, and lugs about 3 kilograms of jewelery, nicely distributed upon her person. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.  What we need to note is that in May 2000, she had 462 piercings, and this number ballooned to more than 6000 in the years that followed her discovery by the media.

 

Caricature/Cartoon – Julia Roberts – The Pretty Woman’s Dazzling Smile helps the Rodent Household!

Of course, you’ve seen this smile before. But did you know that her dazzling smile could help Mr. and Mrs. Mouse get over their electricity woes.

Julia Roberts has many reasons to smile. She’s one of the prettiest women in the world, she was one of the best-paid actresses in Hollywood, she won an Academy Award (for her performance in Erin Brockovitch,) and in 2007 (according to Wikipedia) her estimated net worth was $140M. She also made to the list of the “50 Most Beautiful People” by People Magazine, 11(!) times, and 2001, Ladies Home Journal voted her the 11th most powerful woman in the world! All these reasons put together could make Hitler win the Best Smile contest – leave aside Ms. Roberts, who has a spontaneous smile:)

Here are my favorite Julia Roberts Movies:

• Pretty Woman (with Richard Gere.)
• Sleeping with the Enemy (with Patrick Burgin – the psycho husband.)
• The Pelican Brief (with Denzel Washington – The movie’s based on an extremely readable book by John Grisham – Do read it.)
• My Best Friend’s Wedding (with Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett.)
• Erin Brockovitch (with David Brisbin and Erin Brockovich-Ellis (Yes, the real Erin Brockovitch, who played the part of the waitress.) (Read the real Erin Brockovitch story. )

Julia Roberts’ smile is almost as famous as the MonaLisa smile…but do you really know her smile? Find out here.

Download the Printable Julia Roberts Hollywood Celebrities Calendar for 2010.

 

Shafali’s Caricatures…The Story So Far!

It’s been quite a journey. I started this blog on December 11, 2010. The reason was simple – It had been a while since I had felt happy…and so I picked up the pencil and began to draw. I drew and smiled…and then I drew some more…and then, someone who I’d trust with my life said that I should share what I drew.

So I did, hoping that when people visited my blog, the smile on my face would hop on to theirs:) I think my wish is coming true.

The first caricature that I had created for this blog was of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean fame. The two mice climbing his braided beard, trying to find the cheese that they hoped to find hidden behind his ears…they just happened. And then, the jokes went on happening. I’d look at face and read about the person behind the face – and the story would emerge.

I’ve been drawing ever since I remember. I’ve been having this light-dark kind of affair with drawing for a long time…and I often wonder whether this is my calling.

Until tomorrow then, when I shall post the other half of Brangelina, Ms. Angelina Jolie. (View the caricature of Mr. Brad Pitt as Achilles here.)

 

List of Celebrity Caricatures/Cartoons Drawn Last Month!

This is the list of celebrity caricatures that I created in the past month. I thought that creating this list could help the new visitors find their favorite celebrity drawing with ease.

1. Jack Nicholson and the Two Birds – As Good as it Gets!
2. Morgan Freeman a.k.a Detective Alex Cross and… The Two Dueling Mosquitoes.
3. Michelle Obama – The First Lady’s Smile & The Toothpaste Ad!
4. Barack Obama – What worries him? The Pups Know – Sasha, Malia, and Bo!
5. Nicole Kidman, Her Nose and the Bloodhounds!
6. Tiger Woods, Women, Nike, and Devil!
7. Halle Berry, her Hairstyle, and the Birds!
8. Johnny Depp – Captain Jack Sparrow – The Pirate!

I am planning to add the caricature/cartoon of Bruce Willis shortly:) So stay tuned. (It’s been added:-) View it here.)

I am also writing an evolving Book – “How to Draw Caricatures – Evolution of a Caricaturist” as a collection of knols. If you are interested…do visit. You can also read more about this book in “The Book” section of this blog. Your comments shall be appreciated.

 

Caricature – The Man & The Mouse, and the Advantages of Height

A Card Game between a man and a mouse!

The Advantages of being Tall

 

Caricature – The Musician and a Rat caught between the Trumpet and the Cat!

When a musician finds his long-forgotten  given-up-for-lost trumpet in the attic, the rat is caught in a dilemma.

Should I jump, should I not...

What would you tell the rat?