Customer Reviews

How To Draw Caricatures

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

June, 2001- I own more than twenty books on the subject of how to draw caricatures and cartoons. Following only five weeks of practice, I recently started working part time as a caricature artist at a major theme park (mostly for the fun of it). I have no previous experience in art or drawing. Studying Redman's book did more for me than any other. The key to success in caricature is being able to produce a clean, simple sketch that has adequate likeness to the subject's face yet, in a kind way, also employs some fun with "exaggeration" -- not distortion. Redman's book does the best job, for the complete beginner, of any text out there. This is one of the only instructional references that makes a special point to include at least one and often several photographic views of each subject before showing you how to construct the basic caricature drawing. There are many such examples of photo studies and caricature results. He also covers children and and a wide variety of ethnic groups. Redman includes examples of how to draw the same subject using several different caricature styles. There are also examples of famous people done in caricature. Too many of these to even count. If you combine this book with Jack Hamm's Cartooning: The Head & Figure to learn cartoon bodies to go along with the faces, you have a great pair of reference books. As a cautionary note, Redman's book does contain some cartoon nudity which I feel was not needed at all to make the text a valuable learning reference. Parents might want to remove these few pages before the book is used by children. This is a great learning tool. Good luck!
July 2, 2002- As a follow up to the above review, for those seeking the very best caricature training references, I must add a third book from the many that I have reviewed. I recently purchased, for a reference on cartooning, The BIG Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz. To my surprise and delight this turned out to be perhaps the best text yet on CARICATURE as the art form is applied in theme parks and private parties. Like Redman's book, Blitz offers many training exercises starting with actual photos of the person to be sketched and showing step by step how to "construct" the caricature. More than this, Blitz ties together at a beginner to intermediate level the techniques of "catching" a caricature likeness and adds a huge resource of comic techniques and gag ideas.
Redman's and Jack Hamm's books are still the best for starting to draw caricature. However, a theme park or private party caricaturist in their early years of development will see a BIG jump in skill, income, and tips after a thorough study of Blitz's BIG Book of Cartooning. Blitz's book, having been published in 1998 is more current in its examples and styles, and, due to its emphasis on gags and cartooning, more likely to hold the interest of young artists of say junior high or high school age. Warm regards, Brock

The most comprehensive book ever written on the challenging art and science of drawing caricatures! Lenn shows multiple examples of each face, showing how each decision the artist makes can lead to very different interpretations of the subject's features. The book is well organized and, naturally, copiously illustrated with examples of every race, gender, age, and body type imaginable. There is no other book on caricatures that covers the 'how' and 'what' quite so well as this gem of an art instruction book

I really like this book very much. I do think that there is an expectation of a certain amount of artistic ability from the get go but there is a certain amount of rudimentary skill building included as well.

It is a nice large size that I think is necessary for art instruction books and it is also a fairly big book as far as total pages go. One issue I have with many *how to draw* books is that they tend to be pretty thin. This is quite a nice size.

In the beginning there are a lot of examples of types and styles of features that people have...not in caracature form but just in general. I like this. I find this very helpful in general drawing as well as helping you focus on what features you can play up for the art of caricature. Proportion is also discussed with an eye on how to manipulate it. It is also a great lesson in general drawing.

The examples that are used to show what to do are quite good. there is a photo (or photos) on the page and the drawing that accentuates certain of the features. It's very helpful, I think, to start with an actual photo and see how the artist picked up on certain features in his finished drawing. I do notice that the people selected for photos *do* tend to have obvious traits that are easy to pick up on (a VERY square jaw... A *very* pointed chin... Large bags under the eyes, etc) I think this does get you used to looking for these things but perhaps a few more examples of less obvious features would be a big help.

Over all I like this book very much. It shows different styles and while the focus is on the caricature it isnt on making the subject look bizarre. Quite a good first book.

As a part-time caricaturist, I can attest to the value of this very instructive book. Yes, there are several celebrity caricatures sprinkled throughout, but more importantly, there are dozens of photos of "real" people -- friends of Lenn Redman's -- along with his step-by-step analyses of their faces. The principles of exaggeration are easy to follow with Mr. Redman's text and simple diagrams.

I've looked at several how-to books on caricature, and without a doubt, this is the most complete, professionally done and most fun. If you practice what you learn in this book (emphasis on practice!), you could very likely surprise yourself and others with a highly enjoyable skill and pasttime.

I recommend this book for anyone that wants to do caricatures. It is a step by step book on doing different faces from photos of different people. If you want to learn how to do a caricature, this is truly a good book to own.

M. Hoove

This book has to be the definitive book on caricaturing. I have read and re-read this book to such an extent that I need to order a new copy because the old one is so dog eared.

I have been a caricaturist for over twenty years, and this is still the best book on caricature out there. It covers the fundamentals very well without limiting the reader and Redman never misses a likeness.

How To Draw Caricatures is also not aimed specifically at the retail caricature artist, so it doesn't suffer from some of the generic formulas (that make generic caricatures) that several other recent books do.

There are some newer books out on caricature that do a fine job, but if I could only have one book on it gracing my bookshelves, this would be it.

If you've ever looked at a caricature with amazement and wondered "How do they do that?", read this entertaining and informative book!

"Caricature" tends to conjure drawings of people with big, grinning heads and tiny, superfluous bodies you might buy from an artist at a fair or theme park. In all the many books I've read on caricature, I've never felt that any of them really did justice to such a vital aspect of art. Caricature is about bringing out the essential aspects of any subject, not just comically large noses. Lenn Redman's book How to Draw Caricatures does a better job treating caricature as an artistic principle that most every other book out there.

Redman lays out a basic workflow; a set of guidelines that help you determine what parts of a subject you should exaggerate (or minimize) and how in a manner that can be applied to more than just ears and noses. Even though he never talks about caricaturing trees or buildings, you certainly could with Redman's method.

The book contains a vast number of examples and doesn't stick to one set "style" of how to caricature someone. In some cases he even revisits a particular subject to show a different approach to drawing them. Redman also covers caricaturing bodies, something a lot of books skip completely.

One negative mark on Redman's work is that his caricatures of children are rather lacking. Although that's a problem I've seen far worse in some other books, it does show that children is a subject that needs more in depth study in caricature books.

Also, owing to the relative age of this book and the author, the book includes a wide variety of caricatures from the 1930's-50's that show the artistic range caricature can take but isn't often explored today.

All in all, How to Draw Caricatures isn't the perfect book on caricature, but it's the best I've seen so far.

This book is a dissapointment. All it tells you to do is picture a perfect face in your mind with all of the facial features the perfect size. Look at the face that you're drawing and if he/she has any facial features that are too big, you make them even bigger and if he/she has any facial features too small, then you make them even smaller. Only true beginners will benefit at all from the information stated in this book. It never tought me how to draw caricatures like the ones I see people draw at amuesment parks or the ones I see in MAD magazine. The author doesn't have the same drawing style as them. It only told me the very very basics of caricaturing, which I already knew. If I were you I wouldn't buy this book, you can learn just as much by looking at how Tom Richmond and Chris Rommel draw their caricatures at tomrichmond.com and chrisrommel.com.

If you are looking for a comprehensive book on the subject of caricature, this is the book for you. The author meticulously breaks down the science of caricature from a conceptual viewpoint, and teaches you how to THINK like a caricature artist, not simply mimic a popular style.

The book is jam pecked with clear photos featuring subjects of every conceivable race, and gender, with photographs taken in front, side and three quarter view. The artist's drawing style is clean, and exaggerated just enough so it isnt distracting.

Unlike most books that just feature drawing the face, there is a section on caricaturing the body, something neglected by even the best caricature artists. His interpretations of the bodies are hilarious, and well worth the price of the book alone. Trust me, they really must be seen to be believed, and he draws them nude!

Len shows off his versatility in the book in one section where he demonstrates how one subject can be drawn from a semi photorealistic view, to highly exaggerated, to iconic and abstract.

Again, a must have book for the serious student f caricature. No, it doesn't take you by the hand, per se, but nevertheless gives you valuable insight in how to caricature holistically, instead of partially.

I've used many of hs principles in my own work as a professional caricature entertainer/illustrator, and they DO work!