Let's Toon Caricatures [Paperback]

Keelan Parham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0972563806 | ISBN-13: 978-0972563802

This is an instructional book on how to draw cartoon caricatures. With over 150 photos to practice from, it is the most extensive caricature book ever published. Multiple styles and medias are explored and there are step by step examples of how to draw caricature faces and cartoon bodies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Over the past ten years, at my caricature stands at major theme parks and resorts, I have trained many of the artists who've worked with me to draw caricatures. This book had its beginnings as a training manual for those artists. Then I began to think of all the people I've drawn who asked how they themselves could learn to draw caricatures. That's when I realized that other people would be interested in this book as well, and began to rewrite it with that in mind. Whether you want to draw caricatures for fun or profit, or just want to learn about another area of cartooning, I think you'll find this book valuable. It's written so that beginners can understand it, but more advanced artists will benefit from its examples, concepts, and andecdotes as well.

About the Author

Over the past decade, Keelan Parham has drawn hundreds of thousands of caricatures for guests at major theme parks, resorts, and special events throughout the United States. In addition, he is serving his third term as the Vice President of the prestigious National Caricaturists Network(NCN), the international caricature artists' society. He has received the NCN's awards as the World's Fastest Caricaturist, and the Best Abstract/Design caricaturist.

Keelan's cartooning work has appeared in magazines, comic books, children's books, and various advertisements.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Lunar Donut Pr (January 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972563806
• ISBN-13: 978-0972563802
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd had this when I started drawing caricatures!, September 29, 2003

By 

Leon S. Barwick III - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let's Toon Caricatures (Paperback)

If you're like I was as a kid -- and I still am today -- you're mesmerized by the professional caricaturists you see at fairs, theme parks and parties. How do they do get a likeness so fast, and in so few lines? When one drew my siblings and me at the mall when I was a teenager, I was determined to learn that skill, and spent years drawing all my friends (luckily, they *stayed* my friends) until I got good enough to make some money on the side.

I'd been at it a few years when I discovered Lenn Redman's "How to Draw Caricatures," truly a great book. But it was a long time before I found another excellent teaching resource: this book by Keelan Parham.

As a member of the National Caricaturist Network, I was always impressed with Keelan's (the two-time vice-president of the NCN) work. His style is very clean and polished. He not only makes it *look* easy, in his book he *makes it easy* to draw caricatures -- or at least easiER.

His lessons are simple and well presented, with plenty of real-life examples, each photo next to his exaggerated interpretation.

He skillfully enscapsulates a lot of what I had to figure out long ago through trial and error, such as what features to draw first, and how to "be nice" when drawing someone's flaws while still retaining a likeness. This book could've saved me a lot of trouble!

However, there's still a lot of stuff for older amateurs and even pros to learn. His section on "action angles" for drawing bodies was quite helpful to me, as were pages with tips on better line quality (something I still struggle with), how to place two people on a page (as another reviewer previously mentioned), and graphic shortcuts when caricaturing men, women and kids.

Looking for a well-presented, easy-to-understand how-to on caricaturing? There are only a handful of books on the subject, but fortunately, this is one of the best, for beginners and more experienced artists alike.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Caricature Course!, November 8, 2005

By 

T. N. Wells (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let's Toon Caricatures (Paperback)

For a complete novice who suddenly realised it would be fun to have a go at drawing caricatures, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Other "how to" books on the subject left me feeling inadeqate and incapable of drawing anything resembling my victims. When Keelans book safely and quickly arrived to me here in the UK, the easy step by step illustrations immediatley gave me the confidence and skill I was lacking and my results have rapidly improved.

I now find myself staring a strangers trying to decide how I would tackle their caricature by wondering what their head shape is and how their features are arranged. Thanks Keelan!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have reference, November 7, 2004

By 

J. A. Bowyer, Jr. (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Let's Toon Caricatures (Paperback)

Keelan Parham shows beginners and experienced artists an excellent approach to the art of drawing caricatures. You'll find this book to be a comprehensive, entertaining, exciting and easy to follow tutorial filled with start-to-finish examples. Keelan explains the value of line quality, simplicity, accessorizing and much, much more. This book is written for anyone who draws or is interested in drawing caricatures, and best of all: it's FUN. I highly recommend it!