Sketch of the Week ~ Jim Carrey

Sketch of the Week

January 31, 2017

Jim Carrey

Not my best drawing but I always learn something, even from a mediocre drawing.

Sketch of the Week ~ Jan 24, 2017

Sketch of the Week

Samuel L Jackson

Digital Painting in Photoshop

Reference Photo

Sketch out and set up on its own layer, lowering the opacity to get it a level that doesn't impact the painting levels.

I set up the layer above the sketch as the details layer, above that I set up a layer just for the glasses as I'm feeling at this point I may have made them too exaggerated. Below the Sketch layer I set up the layer for the main skin tone. Just below that I set up a layer for the background colour for which I use a light blue.

Layers

Top layer - Glasses

2nd layer - facial details

3rd layer - initial sketch (will be discarded)

4th layer - skin tone (to allow sketch to show through above)

5th layer - background colour 

The majority of the work is done on the details layer, building up skin tones. I hardly ever use swatches once a painting has been started. I may use the swatches initially to lay down colour but after that I primarily use the colour window and use the eyedropper tool grabbing colour that I have already laid down in the painting. I zoom in often to work on details and usually have the navigator window open to allow me to have a thumbnail view of the painting in progress. I also like the navigator tool for quickly zooming in on the working and reference images.

Though mot shown here, I decide the glasses are too big to allow an acceptable likeness so I adjust them smaller. Takes a bit of wrangling but I'm happy with the change.

One thing I am learning is that don't be afraid of mistakes and don't be afraid to change something. If you're not quite sure, save your file and "save as" a different file. Then you can compare which is a great tool when you are just learning... and I'm always learning.

After I'm happy with the look of the painting, I add another layer on top and fill that with a grey colour, add noise from the filter menu and adjust the opacity down to add a grainy feel to the painting. Add another layer above that for my signature (I don't want the grainy layer to affect the signature)

Again for your perusal, the finished painting. I hope you liked it. Feel free to comment with a critique or question.

Sketch of the Week

January 18, 2017

Joe Viterelli

Quick black and white digital sketch done in Autodesk Sketchbook on a Wacom Cintiq tablet.

Sketch of the Week

Since I am now a full time cartoonist/caricature artist, I should really start to post more on social media and my blog. It's like going to the gym, we always make excuses for not doing it but know what the benefits can be if done properly.

I have a sign taped to my wall above the computer that I'm writing this at that says... Tuesday is Sketch of the week day... so today's sketch is of a good Canadian kid.

Ryan Gosling

January 10th, 2017

Digital drawing, created in Autodesk Sketchbook, drawn on my studio Cintiq21ux (still running after 6 years).

Hope you enjoy this drawing... back to working on commissions.

Benefits of using Caricatoons at your trade show booth

Digital Caricatures at Trade Shows

Are you planning to have a booth at a trade show in the near future but are struggling with how to increase engagement to bring people to your booth.

Consider using digital caricatures to draw (no pun intended) people to your booth. People will line up for their free caricatoons once they see the quality artwork that is being created in 6-7 minutes. Once those people are in line, you can use this as your chance to engage with these potential clients/customers and get your message across and isn't that the main reason you are at a Trade Show?

Each drawing is displayed on a large flat screen and this display can be seen from the trade show floor. Curiosity brings them in, the technology used intrigues them and the quality artwork keeps them around and your representatives are there to answer any questions they may have.

The following is a testimonial from a client that hired me to draw.

“Caricatures at a Health and Safety conference? Why not! We never expected to have such an amazing turnout at our booth and it was all thanks to Daryl’s incredible talent and charm. Seeing as we are a company in Ontario, we took a chance on this Artist from British Columbia and coordinated with him from across the country. He was both helpful and professional from start to finish!

It was suggested to us that we try the digital caricatures which were new to us, but we could not be more thrilled with the end results! It was absolutely captivating to watch the display screen as Daryl sketched the faces and added colour and custom backgrounds. Moreover, it was incredible to see the amount of detail that was included in just 6-7 minutes per person. We received and continue to receive many compliments from the attending delegates and exhibiters. Overall, our experience at the conference was a huge success. It was a pleasure to share our double wide booth and to watch a true artist in action. We would highly recommend Daryl’s services for any corporate event or party!!” 

~ Breanne Hunter, Grand River OH&S

Templates with your Company's Logo and/or Call to Action will appear on each drawing.

Custom background(s) can be created for each event such as this one below.

Here are more examples of drawings created while at trade shows. It works, believe me! I dare you to find another way to bring people to your booth at the same cost Caricatoons charges. If you have anymore questions you can visit www.caricatoons.ca and click on "live events". I would love to hear from you. 

Anatomy of a gift caricature drawing

Retirement Poster and gift drawing for the

Vancouver Fire Department

Step one: I review the email and/or phone conversations with the client to try and develop an idea of how the drawing will take shape. Sometimes I know exactly how the drawing will go due to a detailed interaction with a client that knows what they want. Sometimes I'm given a list of ideas for the drawing but no clear expectations. I always start the drawing with an idea of where I'm gonna go but allow myself to be flexible with changing that plan.

In this case I was given a small list of ideas but enough to get going on. He played lacrosse, hockey, soccer and he likes to wear shorts and sandals. He has a dog too that everyone at the firehall sees often, so I'm to incorporate the dog somehow. I envisioned in my mind how I wanted to see him and his dog in the drawing but really hadn't settled on a background other than, it's the fire department and the city is Vancouver. So I start drawing with no clear idea of what the final product will look like.

Step Two: Gather the reference photos together and create a rough sketch

Step Three: Once I am happy with the rough sketch, I'll reduce the transparency of that layer, add a layer on top and start the "inking" process

Step Four: Create layers underneath the line drawing and build up the colours of the face. Once that is done, I'll combine all the layers to create one layer for his head.

Step Five: On another layer I rough sketch out a body, following some of the info from the client, shorts, sandals and a lacrosse stick.

Step Six: Ink and colour the body and combine together on one layer.

Step Seven: Hide the layer containing the body. Then import the picture of his dog and create a rough sketch, ink it and colour it. Here is where I decided to incorporate the soccer ball.

Step Eight: Combine the man and his dog together and come up with a background. I decided that he had just driven an old firetruck up onto a hydrant with the city in the background. Not a huge idea but I think it looks good.

Step Nine: Send a low resolution water-marked image of the drawing to the client for perusal. This is where 90% of clients finally start getting creative, sometimes too much but I walk them through the process. I allow a bit of revisions within my price that I originally quoted but major re-draws or constant changing this and that requires additional payment. In this case the changes/request were relatively minor. The clients(s) decided that the shirt should be a firemans shirt with captains bars, that I needed to add a hockey stick somewhere in there and there needed to ne a bumpersticker with the name Norman on there. This guys name wasn't Norman but they said he would " get it".

Here is the final, approved drawing.

I love my job. If you want to order a caricature cartoon as a gift contact me by e-mail or visit my website.

Cheers

Hand Painted Caricatures on Wine Glasses and Beer Mugs

The process

The design phase

I have templates in my computer for the glasses that I currently use for painting caricature cartoons on. I pull up the appropriate template and design my cartoon in Autodesk Sketchbook on my Cintiq Companion.

After I am happy with the design and/or the client has approved, I then start the process of cleaning the wine glass off with soap and water, then dry it and clean it again with rubbing alcohol.

Once the glass is clean, I measure out the area I want the drawing to be placed on and check to ensure the template that I have printed out is to the proper size.

I then, as a guide, place the template inside the wine glass. I use a cloth to push the paper up against the curvature of the glass.

The next step is, using the template as a guide and using the appropriate paints for multi surface, block in the colours required for the painting.

I find that multiple coats are required to make the colours opaque and smooth. Some colours go on easier than others but I find if I add a tiny bit of white to each colour, it makes it easier to apply. I can always add the full colour in after.

Once I am happy with the blocking in, I use my magnifying light and start to add the details.

After all the details are done, I go over the painting and scrape off any excess paint with an exacto knife. I also inspect the painting for any required touch ups.

The next step is to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and put the cup in for 30 minutes. After the time is done allow the glass to cool off in the oven before handling. This step cures the painting and allows glass to be washed without losing the artwork.

That's it. Here is the finished painted wineglass with the happy client... in this case my Mom lol.

Here are some other examples of wine and beer glasses.

Contact me by my email with any inquiries for this or any other service that I offer. You can also check out my website for other products and services I offer.

Happy drinking