Caricature: Johnny Depp as Tonto – Pen and Ink Drawing – Lock down Creativity.

At the outset, I’ve not watched The Lone Ranger and it’s not for want of trying. Honestly, it’s a tough movie to watch, so it doesn’t surprise me that it won the Golden Raspberry  Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel award and Johnny Depp was nominated for the worst actor award too.

I’ll begin with my expression of Tonto 🙂 (click the image for a bigger view.)

Pen and Ink Rendering of Tonto – Caricature Drawing – 9″x12″ Strathmore Acid Free Paper.

So who’s this Tonto?

In the movie The Lone Ranger, Tonto is the Lone Ranger’s companion and the story’s narrator. If you are interested in western movies and haven’t watched The Lone Ranger, which was a box-office flop, you can read the plot here.

Dead Birds as head-dresses have been around

Dead Birds as Head-dresses have been there in tribes around the world. In a tribe in Kenya, certain rituals require that dead-birds are strung to the head-dresses of the young boys who’ve killed them, in some American Indian tribes, dead birds (including crows and eagles) were worn on the head – and there was a spiritual significance of it.

Tonto’s look & the “I am Crow” painting

Tonto’s look is attributed to a painting “I am Crow” by Artist Kirby Sattler.  Please visit the link to view the painting – and you’ll simply love it. Honestly, I loved Kirby Sattler’s rendering a lot more than the look of Tonto, but then the character of Tonto isn’t that of a serious mature man – it is that of a follower and a slightly funny narrator.

About the dead bird being live in my caricature:

I love them alive. I like to believe that the subject of Kirby Sattler’s “I am crow” communicated with the birds at a spiritual level – and felt them to a point where he felt that he was one of them. When I had sketched Bette Midler as Winifred “Winnie” Sanderson, she too had a live crow on her head.

Caption in reference to her recent tweet (May 16, 2013) about the IRS Raid on the Tea Party office.

A diversion to Game of Thrones

Incidentally, I was also reminded of Bran Stark “is” a three-eyed raven – and who can fly about by transporting his spirit into the crow. Since I wasn’t too keen on Bran Stark (mostly because his face reminded me of a real-live witch,) so I drew someone else – a  Mr. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister – my top fav among the GoT characters. Here’s he for you.

Knowledge and Cunning are my most lethal weapons!

Tonto and the live crow of my caricature

In my part-caricature of Tonto, Tonto is in disagreement with the bird. While the bird has seen more and traveled farther than Tonto, Tonto being human suffers from the I-know-best syndrome. Thus, the bird and Tonto are forever arguing.

Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow & Tonto obviously don’t see eye-to-eye.

Why?

Here’s the answer. Don’t you think Jack Sparrow looks rather peachy when compared to Tonto?

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow – Actual Print Size of the Image: 12 inches x 12 inches at 300 dpi.

I hope you liked my rendering of Tonto and enjoyed this post.
More later 🙂

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The Little Owl Roosts on the Caricaturist’s Blog.

A sketch in my diary that owes its existence to a photograph by ToutParMoi. Why this particular owl visited this particular writer, is something that confuses me. She’s a cat lady and I am sure the cats don’t let the mice play – so if there aren’t any mice around, what brought this owl to her house? Imminent good luck, I suppose, because sighting an owl is supposed to bring luck.

About Owls:
I love owls. I have a feeling they don’t give a damn. Look at them. Does it look like they care whether or not a caricaturist thinks that they are absolutely stunning?

Owl Symbolism:
Mythologically, Owl relates to femininity and wisdom. In Greek mythology, it appears as the companion of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom; in Roman, as the companion of Minerva. In Hindu mythology, it appears as Laxmi’s vehicle, thus, becoming the harbinger of wealth and luck.

Do visit the enchanting blog and medieval world of Denise Keay’s erudite cats.

Feeding on the Carrion of Humanity: The Two Vultures.

The Two Vultures

“I didn’t kill it,” said the human.
“It doesn’t matter,” replied the avian. “What matters is, whether or not you want to survive.”
The human slipped deep in thought. The avian hopped closer and looked into the human’s eyes. “What’s wrong?” he enquired.
“I’ve been thinking,” replied the human.
The avian raised a brow. “If you are repelled because it’s carrion, remember that this is all what we will get to eat today, and when we have eaten, there are others who must feed on the remains.”
“No,” said the human, assessing the booty that crawled with maggots.
“No what?” asked the avian, confused.
“We can store the rest. We can use it tomorrow and the day after – why should we let others consume it?”
The avian remained silent. Storing food for tomorrow and the day after wasn’t the way of the vultures.
“But it won’t last forever, then what?” the avian asked.
The human turned to look at the avian and allowed a thin, cruel smile to creep across his lips, “then you, my friend,” he replied.

Artwork: Two Vultures
Size: 6″x8″

The Fourth of July – A Happy Time for a Serious Introspection.

A Very Happy Fourth of July to my visitors from the United States.

 

“My dream is of a place and time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

Today, Lincoln’s words ring truer than ever. While Americans celebrate the 257th birthday of the United States – there are still things that must change, and some that must not. As Americans reinterpret their freedoms, new forms of intolerances are born. As Americans take a step forward toward equality of various kinds, individual freedoms are trampled upon. As Americans open their hearts and accept diversity, they let gender-inequality thrive in the land of freedom and opportunities.

The eagle looks skywards and asks – Is this the right direction?

Happy Fourth of July to everyone who loves what America has always stood for – hope, freedom, and opportunity.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas with the Colorful Artworks of “Bigsaw Xmas”

My Dear Visitors,

Let me share with you my favorite Art Assignment ever 🙂

It’s Bigsaw Xmas! It’s got Santa, Santa’s elves, Snowman, Snowmom, Reindeers (Rudolph too,) Snow, Pets, Holly, Mistletoe, and everything else that just builds the festive mood.

If you like picture-puzzles don’t think twice – just go to the App Store, find Bigsaw Xmas and download it into your iPad…and the biggest news ever? You don’t have to pay to play…rather you can play to pay and open all the puzzles in the game!

BIGSAW is perhaps one of the most exciting picture puzzle ever – and if you haven’t already discovered it, here’s the link for you to download it FREE for your iPad on the Apple App Store.

FREE Download

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bigsaw-xmas-go-beyond-jigsaw/id769951884?mt=8

Here’s a Screenshot from my iPad…

I’d like to thank everyone who motivated me to create these illustrations. I think they are some of my favorite artworks. Oh, and if you liked these, you can find more colorful illustrations for kids in Bigsaw Classic and Bigsaw Designer.

Bigsaw Classic – Download Free on your iPad – Play and Open all Pictures!

Bigsaw Designer – Create and Manage up to 100 Bigsaw Albums with up to 10,000 custom picture puzzles!

While Bigsaw Classic offers you 64 picture-puzzles that you can open by playing and earning Bigsaw Coins, Bigsaw Designer doesn’t just offer 100 pictures in 10 Bigsaw Albums (one of them is for kids and another comprises caricatures) it gives you awe-inspiring ability to create and manage 100 custom albums that can contain 10,000 images of your own!

If you are a Photographer, I heartily recommend Bigsaw Designer to you. Make your photographs/artworks interactive and play with them.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!

My Children’s Illustrations Blog – A Place for the Impossibles!

Friends,

I’ve got a new corner on the web. If you are drawn towards the vibrant innocence of kids’ illustrations, check it out and while you are there click the Follow button too 🙂 Expected update frequency: Twice a week.

Please await news on The Evolution of a Caricaturist, which will soon be available on iPad, Android, and Kindle through Kindle eBooks.

The Caricaturist colors herself in a different hue and Illustrates for Kids :)

My friends in Cyberland,

I’ve been MIA because I was caught up in something new.

You know that this caricaturist wasn’t into illustrating for kids. In fact, until about a couple of months ago, she’d was over-awed by anyone who drew for kids. Using solid colors and simple lines to create a character or a place that would draw the kids (and their moms, of course,) into a story, appeared to be magical to me.

Then Bigsaw happened. First there was Bigsaw Designer and then Bigsaw Classic…and for both these wonderful picture-puzzle collections, I was called upon to create Albums for Kids. Granted that only one the many albums in each had pictures of kids, but I ended up creating 18 artworks in all. I felt blessed, because I could let my imagination go places where it hadn’t been before. I just let myself slip into the past and become the little girl that loved picture-books. What I saw from that little girl’s eyes, magically and almost effortlessly began to form on paper. Among the first ones to appear on the pages of my sketchbook was a snake mom coiled about a branch to form a swing for her little’uns, a pencil getting a haircut in a saloon with the sharpener having shaved off the lead, and a goldfish giving math lessons to little goldies in a fish bowl.

After I had sketched for a few days, I had about 40 ideas ready to be colored. I randomly picked eighteen of them, inked them in, and colored them up…hoping that they’d look good. However, the response that I got totally swept me off my feet. I was told that they looked really really good, and that kids loved them too.

Believe it or not, I’m still having a hard time accepting that I can draw for kids. I’m thrilled to be illustrating for kids because these illustrations are so full of happiness, innocence, and…colors.

So friends, that’s where I’ve been – in the beautiful fantastical world that exists in a child’s imagination.

I’ll shortly be sharing some of these pictures with you, but if you are in a hurry and you want to check them out now, download any of the Bigsaws for iPad and checkout the Kids Albums.

• Bigsaw Designer
• Bigsaw Classic

Caricature/Cartoon – Bette Midler as Winifred “Winnie” Sanderson of Hocus Pocus, Brewing a Tea Party Potion

Dear Readers,

I’m honored to present the caricature of The Divine Miss M(idler) as Winifred ‘Winnie’ Sanderson of Hocus Pocus!

Caption in reference to her recent tweet (May 16, 2013) about the IRS Raid on the Tea Party office.

I chose to caricature Bette Midler’s Witch-avatar, because:

• It made my job easier
• It made the drawing more interesting
• She was the only reason I watched Hocus Pocus twice
• On 16th May, she tweeted: “The IRS overtaxing The Tea Party? I never thought I’d say this to the IRS – THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR DENYING 501C-4 to any group who hates!” – And that my friends, is what led to the small print at the bottom of the image.

Most of you know who I am talking about, but for those who don’t know about this potpourri of talents, here’s a small intro.

Bette Midler is:
An American Actress, comedian, singer, and entrepreneur, and…she’s the master of all these trades!
She was born in 1945 and started her career on Broadway and moved into singing. Midler’s debut album released in 1972 was called The Divine Miss M, and it fetched her, her first Grammy.
Till in her mid-thirties, she hadn’t worked in a motion picture. Her first movie was “Rose“, for which she received a Golden Globe award.Her career details are mind-boggling and this caricaturist will like to excuse herself from the labor required to post them all here. If you are interested, please find Bette Midler’s biography and Career Details here.

My Favorite Bette Midler Movies:

1. Hocus Pocus
2. What Women Want
3. The Stepford Wives
4. Cats and Dogs – The Revenge of Kitty Galore (As the Voice of the Awfully Awesome Kitty Galore)

Some other Important Midler Movies (this obviously isn’t an exhaustive list – and as you may have noticed, I’ve not even mentioned her sitcoms and albums.)

1. The First Wives Club
2. The Rose
3. For the Boys
4. Divine Madness

More…

Bette Midler’s Website
Bette Midler’s Twitter Page 

Caricature/Cartoon – Mitt Romney – The Republican Presidential Candidate in the 2012 US Elections

The next stopover in Governor Mitt Romney‘s campaign is the blog of this caricaturist. Of course, he doesn’t know about it yet. While you may find this caricature of Romney a tad unflattering and you may also feel like suggesting that this caricature definitely cannot be a campaign poster for Mr. Mitt Romney. Yet, if you’ve been following him, he might just end up doing another political gaffe by actually picking up this caricature for his poster.

Which caricature, you ask?

Well, this one 🙂

(It isn’t looking bright and nice because it’s a photograph of the drawing, with enough shadows of the paper’s grain to make it almost un-usable. The drawing is 8 inches by 11 inches, and I will scan it the day I get my scanner repaired, which may take a long time…actually.)

The regular visitors of my blog must’ve slipped into the lazy habit of expecting the shortest possible biography of the person I caricature. To indulge them, here’s a short and crisp bio on this gentleman, who was once on the list of the top 50 most beautiful people in the world, by one of those best-of-the-best kind of magazines – People Magazine.

Mitt Romney – A Short Biography

Mitt Romney was born in 1947. He was born to a rich and influential couple (naturally, his silver spoon-fed childhood has attracted many unsavory comments from his political rivals,) but he wasn’t a spoiled little brat, ever. While he wasn’t Einsteinian bright at school, he did quite well at college, and graduated with a degree in law and management both, from Harvard. He got married in 1969, at a young age of 22.

He started his professional career with BCG (Boston Consultancy Group) and then moved on to Bain Capital, the organization that he helped turn around (and also gave his rivals, tons of ammunition to bore holes through his good will hunting.)

To make a long story short, Romney went from one success to another, and ended up becoming the Governor of Massachusetts, one of the most progressive states in the US.

He is now contesting the US Presidential Elections against US President Barack Obama.

The Subject of this Caricature = Romney – the Gaffe-Vending Machine

Perhaps he has stopped, but I am not sure, because long time habits aren’t very easy to break, and this habit has lasted Romney the entire election season. Romney has damaged his chances of winning the elections by saying stuff that no sane politician ever utters in the public. For instance he made the 47% American Non-Tax-payers remark, which didn’t go down well with many Americans (Obviously, including the 47% that he was talking about.) Romney made another statement about the Middle Class American being defined as someone who earns less than 200,000 USD a year, which obviously implied that he had no idea of what the average American takes home. He also expressed his heart-ache over his dad not being born of Mexican parents (it would’ve given him opportunities that he didn’t get…perhaps.)

I think that if he weren’t so rich, and if he could express himself in a more politically-correct manner, he would win. While he still can win (at the time of making this post, an opinion poll gives Romney a lead of 5 solid points over Obama,) yet there’s now a cloud of doubt that hangs over his victory.

Obama vs. Romney

I rooted for Obama in the last elections. Quite like the Americans who voted him in, I expected him to change things. Perhaps he did change something, but I am yet to understand it. Osama bin Laden was caught and killed. Fine. The auto-industry was saved – much appreciated. The unemployment numbers began to drop, but only very recently. Will they continue to climb, after Obama is re-elected? What I wonder is – whether all this would’ve not happened, had someone else been at the helm of affairs. Oh…another reason, for my rooting for Obama was John McCain – I just could imagine him as the President of the US. He didn’t look presidential enough to this caricaturist.

These elections, I am not sure. If only Romney conducts himself better, if only he doesn’t let religious biases affect political decisions, if only…

I guess I am not sure.

I am just happy that I made at least one caricature of Romney, to tell you that I am not biased 🙂

Caricature/Cartoon – Alexander the Great, the Birds, and the Golden Feather of India.

Can you hear the battle cry?

Try harder and you should be able to hear the battle cry of Alexander’s troops as they ready themselves to attack India’s North-western frontier – Gandhar, or the present day Afghanistan (capital: Kandahar); if you press your ear to the ground, you might even hear the clappity-clap of the horse-hooves; and if you have a discerning ear, you should also be able to hear the snores of his tired soldiers, randomly punctuated by mysterious thuds. These thuds, in fact, were caused by the sleepy soldiers who fell off their horses, every once in a while.

No?
You couldn’t hear a thing?

Tchah!

Let me tell you what happened. Though Alexander’s tired and sleepy troops could defeat King Porus yet the battle cost them their energy and their enthusiasm and they couldn’t reach the richer kingdoms of India. This is precisely why Alexander’s headgear didn’t have a golden plume in it. But the birds didn’t know that – do they?

Here’s Alexander the Great on his return journey WITHOUT the Golden Feather from the Golden Bird called India.(Sorry about the color of the web-page – I’d have preferred Golden, but who listens to me…sniff!)

Alexander on his way back - wondering what happened in India. A scratchy sketch by the otherwise immaculate caricaturist.

Tradition Dictates that I provide a crisp summary of Alexander’s life, and who am I to question traditions – so, here’s it.

Alexander’s Least Dependable Biography on the Web

Alexander was born the son of Olympias and Philip, in the Summer of 356 BC. By virtue of being born the son of the previous king, he became the king of Macedon when he turned 20. However, Alexander wanted more. This could partially be attributed to his genetic makeup as his mom Olympias was an extremely ambitious lady, and also partially to his tutor Aristotle (wonder why I feel the need to bring Aristotle in? Perhaps because had he not taught Geography to Alexander, he wouldn’t have been able to plan right.)

Let me not dawdle and come straight to the point. Alexander didn’t sit still after he became the king of Macedon. Without further ado, he got his army together, and marched eastwards. He attacked country after country after country, and after annexing many such countries he established an empire that stretched all the way from Macedon and Egypt in the west to the north-western frontier of India (Gandhara) in the east. The fact that the empire didn’t last long after his death, is often not talked about much – so I won’t talk about it either.

Alexander’s Conquests

If you want a list of his conquests, please visit the following links.

• Alexander’s Conquests – A colorful map
• Alexander’s Conquests – Wikipedia

Interesting Stuff about Alexander the Great

According to legend, Alexander was a gift from God (to the Macedonian royal family, of course – not to those countless families whose sons died in the wars he waged for 12 long years. Ever wonder why God always appears to favor royalty?)

Oh, I strayed. So why was Alexander considered to be gift from God? Well, mainly because his mom (the cunning Olympias who slept with snakes – Nancy, I hope you read this,) and his dad (who loved to get drunk and was an octa-wiferian) both had funny dreams when he was in his mom’s womb. In a manner of speaking, the rumor-mill of those days spewed rumors that Alexander was conceived through divine intervention. Poor Philip. He did all the hard-work, didn’t he?

Alexander’s mom was a busy lady (she had to bathe and feed the snakes, I presume) and so dear darling baby Alexander was raised by a nurse. As I’ve written in my previous post, when Alex was 10, his dad made a thoughtless remark to his son – and that remark changed the destinies of thousands.

The Most Important Question – Was Alexander the Great gay?

I think we should consider it Alexander’s personal matter and drop it. I mean what difference does it make to us? And do you know why we ask this question? Because poor Alexander had a severe Oedipal complex and he wasn’t all that interested in women. Big deal! I refuse to talk more on this topic, but if you are so keen on finding out whether Alexander was gay or not, please click here.

Another Important Question – Did Alexander ever fall in love?

Perhaps so. With a pretty princess called Roxanne and he also married her. Alexander married only twice. Once for love and then for political reasons.

Alexander and Porus (perhaps Paurush – anglicized to Porus)

Porus is the guy who was instrumental in making Alexander and his troops turn back. According to historical texts, Alexander’s troops were suffering from a loss of morale and they were tired of the apparently endless stream of battles that they had to fight. Yet,  I believe otherwise. I think that Alexander had to turn back because he came up against the fiercest warriors of India – people from the region of Punjab. Porus or Paurush, as I’d like to call him, was the king of Purus, who were the Punjabis of the year 326 BC. This Wikipedia entry (I know that you know better, but I couldn’t find a link to your article on this subject) tells us that the lineage of Purus could have survived as the Puris of today. So if you are a Puri, you can be proud of stopping Alexander’s invasion of India.

In midst of all this, I forgot to tell you that Porus was able to thwart Alexander’s plans just by being himself. He had lost the battle but when Alexander asked him how he’d like to be treated, Porus said, “treat me the way one king treats another.” Now, if nothing else proves that Porus was a Punjabi, that does – doesn’t it? (Ask a Punjabi to find out.)

I must stop now…really – or I’d end up writing a long nonsensical story, which’d be typical of me – your very own crazy caricaturist 🙂

Presenting Interactive Art Tutorials – How to Draw Cartoon Owls – Young and Old!

I’ll tell you all about the Interactive Art Tutorials, but only after you’ve answered the following questions truthfully.

Question 1: Can you hold a pencil?

1. Yes
2. No
3. May be

Question 2: Can you use the pencil to make a mark on a piece of paper?

1. Yes
2. No
3. May be

If you are the one who these fun-filled art tutorials have been waiting for, you must have answered both the questions with an emphatic “Yes.”

If your answer is anything other than a “Yes” to even one of the above questions, one or more of the following may be true.

1. You didn’t answer the question truthfully.
2. You answered the questions truthfully, but you didn’t want to agree with me, and so you changed your answer at the last moment.
3. You weren’t paying attention.

Fret not. Your friendly caricaturist has already changed all your answers to “yes.”

With that decided, let me proceed to tell you about these interactive art tutorials of mine. To begin with, these tutorials will focus on cartooning, and if you promise to follow all the steps given in the tutorials, even if you haven’t done much of drawing in the past, you should be able to end up with a recognizable cartoon of your subject. However, if you are a dabbler, the results will amaze you! (If you are a fab cartoonist already, why are you reading this?)

I have begun with the “How to Draw a Cartoon Owl” tutorials, and I plan to add a lot more How-to-draw lessons on creating human and animal cartoon characters.

I’ll continue adding new tutorials to the “Interactive Art Tutorials” page. So if you like the tutorials, bookmark the page, and come back for more.

Here are the owl tutorials. Just click the image to download them to your computer. They are FREE 🙂

1. How to Draw a Young Owl

(Click the Image to Download the zip file of the tutorial.)

An inexperienced young owl – “How to Draw a Cartoon Owl – Part I (The Fleeting Youth)

and of course,

2. How to Draw an Old Owl

(Click the Image to Download the zip file of the tutorial.)

An old wise owl – “How to Draw a Cartoon Owl – Part II (The Sensible Stability)

A Wise End-Note from a Wise Old Owl:

Though they are fun to read and experience, they still are tutorials – so before you begin, swap the popcorn for a sketchbook and a pencil.

How to Draw the Caricature of Jack Nicholson – The Wolf

Two caricatures have challenged me like no other. They are Jack Nicholson’s and George Clooney’s – however, the reasons that made them challenging were diametric opposites.

Before I tell you more, here’s the caricature that we’ll be discussing today.

Jack Nicholson’s face has a lot of elements that can be caricatured, while George Clooney has but one (his chin.) Thus, with Jack Nicholson’s caricature, I faced the problem of plenty. Yes, the same problem that plagues rich kids of rich dads (does it remind you of a Ms. Hilton?) – they don’t know what to do with what they have – and so they go through their lives baffled and uneasy. Jack Nicholson’s face to a caricaturist is like Paris Hilton’s rich dad. Really. His dreamy eyes, his deriding mocking smile, his crazy untidy hair, his strong dimpled chin, and of course, his poking-fun-at-you eyebrows! I was a confused caricaturist who had plenty to play around with and who wanted to splurge at everything and anything.

It is at moments such as these that self-restraint becomes a quality in a caricaturist. Instead of following my instincts blindly, I organized my thoughts and decided to exaggerate the brows and the chin more than I exaggerated the other features. I felt that these two features set his face apart from others’.

Here’s how I drew the caricature of Jack Nicholson.

Caricaturing Jack Nicholson’s Eyes

As I said, Jack Nicholson’s eyes have that dreamy drunken look, which seems to mock everyone they look at. The look seems to tell them, “I know better!”
I exaggerated the differences between his left and right eyes. I also gave him a slightly sideways glance to capture and exaggerate the look in his eye. Note that I haven’t played around with the shape of his eyes much. (Read “Caricaturing the Eyes” here.)

Caricaturing Jack Nicholson’s Jaw and Chin

The shape of Jack Nicholson’s face can be best classified as pentagonal (though his chin is heavy, somewhat squarish, and not too pointed, it is very prominent.) I pulled all the anchor points and the mirror points out of the feature frame, with all my might. In fact, I could well caricature myself having lost my foothold as I dangled from the mirror points on his jaw – trying to use all my weight to pull those points lower and wider, making his chin about three times his nose. (Read “Caricaturing the Shape of the Face” here.)

(Note: if the terms anchor points, mirror points, and feature frame make your eyebrows rise up in the middle (in other words, makes you wonder), you need to check out the Free Online book “How to Draw Caricatures – The Evolution of a Caricaturist”!)

Caricaturing Jack Nicholson – the Wolf’s Hair

Once again, I didn’t do much with the hair. I went for his slightly Wolf-y look and made his hair look a little rougher through some truly violent strokes of my pencil. I wanted them to look like the hair on a badger’s much talked about behind (or what I imagine the hair on a badger’s behind to be – discover in this funny poem here.)

And…finally,

Caricaturing Jack Nicholson’s Eyebrows

Honestly, his eyebrows look like he’s got them cello-taped to his forehead. Probably he has, but I couldn’t find enough evidence to support my hypothesis. I did contemplate taping his eyebrows up, but upon some reflection I discarded the idea. I wasn’t caricaturing Frankenstein’s monster, I was caricaturing a good-looking Hollywood Celebrity, who despite his years can make women swoon! So up went the brows – they got pierced and got those golden rings. (Read “Caricaturing the Brows & Brow-ridge” here.)

Caricaturing the Birds

When I was ready with the strings, the birds just flew in. They began chirping and I turned my translator on. Aha. On the sly, Jack Nicholson employs birds that keep his brows hitched up…nobody knew – until now. But now, the secret is out!

Here are some other things to do:

• Download the Free Jack Nicholson Caricature Calendar here.
• Read the Jack Nicholson Caricature Post here.
• Read the Free Online book “How to Draw Caricatures – The Evolution of a Caricaturist” here.

Have fun caricaturing:-) Spread the Smile!

“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.

Dear Readers: Please note that the KNOL Platform stopped functioning in 2012, so the following links won’t work. An enriched and expanded “Evolution of a Caricaturist – How to Draw Caricatures” is now available as a Kindle eBook from Amazon. ‘

 

 

It has about 150 pages, more than 70 illustrations, and discusses about 3 dozen celebrity faces. The Content Outline of Evolution of a Caricaturist can be downloaded as a FREE pdf here.

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.

Celebrity Calendars 2010 Unveiled!

You did want a copy of that caricature of Johnny Depp…didn’t you? Or did you want Nicole Kidman’s? Or…Bruce Willis’? Or…Jack Nicholson‘s?

I’ll tell you about my selection:-)
The Jack Nicholson calendar graces my pin-board in office and Bruce Willis and his woodpeckers smile down upon me at home:-)

If you want your favorite celebrity to make you smile through those tough moments at work, find him or her at Celebrity Calendars. Just click here, then select your favorite Hollywood Actor, Musician, Singer, or Sports Personality; and click their link to download their calendars. Feel free to distribute the prints – Spread the Smile!

These calendars are in pdf format with crisp images, so you’ll get lovely prints:) For added beauty, use a lightly colored paper.

This list is growing:-) so you may want to check every week to see whether your favorite celebrity calendar has been added.

The next on my Caricature hit list is none other than the Eyeball-Magnet, Ms. Pamela Anderson! Do return for your share of smiles:-)

Caricature/Cartoon – Bruce Willis, the Unbreakable, and the Die Hard Woodpecker.

Bruce Willis – The Unbreakable!

Unbreakable – Eh?!

I had watched the first three Die Hard Movies before I watch The Sixth Sense, when Bruce Willis catapulted to the top of my Hollywood favorites list. Somewhere around the same time I saw “The Unbreakable” – Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis. I think that both these movies (the Sixth Sense and the Unbreakable) were directed by Manoj “Night” Shyamalan. So one thing led to another, and I became a fan of Shyamalan’s work too – until I saw “The Village“, which made me wonder whether Shyamalan could weave his magic only through Bruce Willis!

Here are some other interesting links.

• Learning from Die Hard
• Bruce Willis Fan-site
  
• Manoj “Night” Shyamalan’s Website (Interesting – but dark!)

Coming up shortly…Celebrity Caricature Calendars of the printable sort! Do return for your copy.

News Flash – Calendars are Up!
Download Bruce Willis’ Printable Calendar pdf here.
(Opens in New Window and includes a crisp print-quality image of this caricature.)

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/Cartoon – Jack Nicholson and the Two Birds – As Good as it Gets!

From the romantic comedies such as “As Good as it Gets” to some serious gray character stuff in “A Few Good Men” – Jack Nicholson has played a memorable role in every kind of movie. He began his movie career in 1958 and since then he has worked in more than 60 movies! This caricature is dedicated to his awe-inspiring (brow-lifting?) ability to transform into the characters he plays.

The Secret is Out – This is How Jack Nicholson Accomplishes it!

The Wolf with the birds?!

Check out some interesting info-bytes about Jack Nicholson and his movies at the following links.

• As Good as it Gets
• A Few Good Men (A Quote from the Movie)

News Flash – Calendars are Up!
Download Jack Nicholson’s Printable Calendar pdf here.
(Opens in New Window and includes a crisp print-quality image of this caricature.)

Caricature – Halle Berry & The Birds

Halle Berry is one of my favorite women actors in Hollywood. The messy hair look was just fantastic – and it inspired this caricature!

Wonderful place to bring up your chicks!

A symbol of Halle Berry’s benevolence towards our avian friends?

News Flash – Calendars are Up!
Download Halle Berry’s Printable Calendar pdf here.
(Opens in New Window and includes a crisp print-quality image of this caricature.)