Face Off: How to Draw Amazing Caricatures & Comic Portraits [Paperback]

Harry Hamernik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2006

Discover the fast, fun art of drawing comic portraits!

Face Off shows you how to draw life like never before. Caricaturist Harold Hamernik shares the secrets to capturing the sillier side of friends, family, celebrities, strangers—any face that crosses your path.

40 step-by-step demonstrations show you how to sketch whimsical and expressive likenesses while developing your own quick, loose, improvisational style. You'll get expert instruction on:

• Drawing eyes, noses, mouths and other features.
• Creating portraits in front, three-quarter and profile views.
• Adding color to your caricatures, either by hand or via computer—instruction you won't find in any other book!
• Tips for making a likeness more masculine (skip the eyelashes), more feminine (lengthen the neck), younger, older, sexier, goofier—all while making a portrait your subject will love.
• How to draw hair as two simple lines, why drawing the parts of a face in the same order every time can cut minutes off your work, and tons of other handy tricks of the craft!

Practice the simple techniques in this book, then start drawing! It's the most fun you can have with paper, pencils and markers!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Harry Hamernik has taught caricature drawings for attractions including Sea World, Legoland, Disneyland, and King Island, as well as the Art Academy of Los Angeles and Orange County Art Studios.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: IMPACT (September 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581807597
• ISBN-13: 978-1581807592
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Figure Drawing

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book October 17, 2006

By D. Flaws

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Harry Hamernik is one of the people I learned caricatures from about 10 years ago at Sea World In San Diego. He then moved on to be manager at Legoland and Knott's Berry Farm. I helped him start operations at Knott's, hiring 30+ artists who never drew with a marker or with a live model in front of them. It was the first time I tried to train that many artists but Harry had already been doing it for years, every season a new batch of crazy artists. So he knows how to present the needed information and reach a wide range of people. Unlike a lot of the "how to draw" books being produced these days by general artists who try to capitalize on the expanding market by publishing books outside of their field of experience, Harry is a working professional in the field. He's also an instructor at The Art Institute in San Diego, so he knows how to teach.

I also continue to teach caricatures and was thinking of writing my own book but I won't bother now. There's not much I could add to this book, I would just saying the same things in my own words. He's thought through the quick sketch process and included everything a beginner would need to know. It will also help a more experienced artists who's self taught or needs a fresh perspective on the craft. It's full of useful, step by step examples with photos of the model to compare the drawings to. He's made my job a lot easier, now when I hire an artist and begin training them I require that they practice from Harry's book and I just check on their progress.

I highly recommend this book.

Don Flaws

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have Book! October 10, 2006

By J. Morris

Format:Paperback

Face Off is the exact book I was looking for in getting started with caricatures! Most books I have found only have front, and sometimes profile view, but Face Off has these and ľ view along with coloring techniques! I really like the diversity in people and the age range really helps me to learn how to draw all types of people. My friends and family love it when I draw them and now it actually looks like a cartoon version of them! I would recommend this book to everyone!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book I've been looking for. May 21, 2007

By Fred N. Randall

Format:Paperback

This book combines both great artistic skills with instructional skills to create an excellent book for the less experienced caricature artist. I found much that I could use in improving my own caricaturing within this book's pages. The author shows step by step partial drawings along with the completed black and white caricature, as well as the colored in version. I like the author's caricaturing style, not over exagerated, but very recognizable as the person pictured. This is the book, that I think I will get the most use out of, of the 4 books that I purchased together. I really love it.