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disclaimer: this is not the only way to draw peoples' faces in a cartoony style. This is simply the result of my reading many "How to Draw" books and my ongoing practice at developing a systematic approach to cartoon portraits. Don't expect to get good at drawing in an unrealistic short time. Just because a coach might be able to show you how to kick a ball and the basic rules of football on your first meeting, it doesn't mean that you will become a star player overnight. Like anything worth doing, improving your drawing skills will take commitment and lots of practice. All the following sample sketches were drawn with pencils on 80 lb sulphite drawing paper.
Fill tons of sketch pages with all the possible symbols you might want to use to represent the main facial features. The left column shows the sequence I usually follow to construct eyes with a single reflective spot indicating the direction of the light source (sun or electrical lighting). The examples in the bottom left corner show the different approaches for depicting light colored eyes and dark colored eyes. The middle column shows different symbols for drawing noses, and the right column shows different mouth symbols.
When approaching a subject for a cartoon portrait try first to figure out the general shape of the face: Does the model's face look more like a circle? a square? or an inverted triangle? Then loosely sketch the outline of the face, so that you can add the cross guidelines that will help place the different facial features. Observe your model carefully, and take note of the relative distances among the facial features: are the eyes close together or far apart? What's the distance between the eye line and the bottom of the nose? how wide is the mouth? Do the corner of the lips line up with the pupils? In other words, you are figuring out how the model's unique characteristics compare to the average head symbol in your mind. The general idea in caricature portraits is to exaggerate the sitter's more distinctive traits in order to achieve an immediately recognizable likeness. Thus if someone has small eyes, you might tend to draw them smaller to emphasize that fact. If someone has a big nose, you might draw it larger. Yet, I would recommend exercising some editorial restraint and err on the side of kindness by striving for pleasing attractive drawings rather than wildly exaggerated cartoons poking fun at the appearance of your models. Think of celebrating your models' inner child and beauty rather than thoughtlessly highlighting what they might perceive as their imperfections.
Trying out different hair styles and viewing angles.
Putting it all together by doodling a few more random faces.
Trying to capture a likeness by concentrating on details like the stylized freckles on the cheeks, the shape of the head, and the outline of the hair line framing the face (bottom left corner).
Fill tons of sketch pages with all the possible symbols you might want to use to represent the main facial features. The left column shows the sequence I usually follow to construct eyes with a single reflective spot indicating the direction of the light source (sun or electrical lighting). The examples in the bottom left corner show the different approaches for depicting light colored eyes and dark colored eyes. The middle column shows different symbols for drawing noses, and the right column shows different mouth symbols.
When approaching a subject for a cartoon portrait try first to figure out the general shape of the face: Does the model's face look more like a circle? a square? or an inverted triangle? Then loosely sketch the outline of the face, so that you can add the cross guidelines that will help place the different facial features. Observe your model carefully, and take note of the relative distances among the facial features: are the eyes close together or far apart? What's the distance between the eye line and the bottom of the nose? how wide is the mouth? Do the corner of the lips line up with the pupils? In other words, you are figuring out how the model's unique characteristics compare to the average head symbol in your mind. The general idea in caricature portraits is to exaggerate the sitter's more distinctive traits in order to achieve an immediately recognizable likeness. Thus if someone has small eyes, you might tend to draw them smaller to emphasize that fact. If someone has a big nose, you might draw it larger. Yet, I would recommend exercising some editorial restraint and err on the side of kindness by striving for pleasing attractive drawings rather than wildly exaggerated cartoons poking fun at the appearance of your models. Think of celebrating your models' inner child and beauty rather than thoughtlessly highlighting what they might perceive as their imperfections.
Trying out different hair styles and viewing angles.
Putting it all together by doodling a few more random faces.
Trying to capture a likeness by concentrating on details like the stylized freckles on the cheeks, the shape of the head, and the outline of the hair line framing the face (bottom left corner).
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