Practice techniques

So... Been swamped with commissions since October. Which is wonderful in many ways. For one, I LOVE being busy doing the work I love, plus there are so many different styles and mediums on these commissions, that it's a refreshing process.. Switching from art stix caricatures, to a watercolor caricature, to oil, etc is a big help in refreshing my eyes and my art brain/imagination. This is alot like my daily practice routine.

I'll let you in on a few of my "warm up" secrets that I use daily, to inspire me and get me going :)

When I get to the Caricature stand in the morning, (not complete without my Starbucks of course), I start by doing just random lines, squiggles, circles and all kinds of shapes on the paper. I always try to start out super fast, but sometimes I can be in a funk and not really want to go fast. This is where I "force" myself to think about drawing fast. Many times in the past, when getting to the stand, I'll have people already wanting a drawing before I can barely set my art bags down, or turn the lights on. In this case, I don't get to warm up like I like to, but lately that's been working out OK :) haha.. Forcing yourself and staying determined to stick with a certain "practice" or style of practice, can create a wonderful habit that you can get used to.

Another way I've been practicing lately, and encouraging the girls at the stand to do, is Memory  drawings. I've seen some of my favorite artists, such as Brian Oakes,  post things like this on facebook, and thought it was a great way to stimulate one's artist imagination. ( I used to draw "Casino" people all the time on my breaks, but Strat management has a new break area for employee's now, so I don't take the time to sit and draw in the casino. )

This guy was sitting at the roulette table about a week ago, when I was coming back from Starbucks. The top part of his head was straight across, completely flat! And you could tell he didn't have any teeth in. I knew immediately that I wanted draw him.  I don't take pictures of the memory drawing subjects, as that would defeat the purpose of it being a "memory drawing". lol. It's really fun to try to focus on the image in your brain, and do exactly what you vision on the paper, without any reference other than your brain :)

I saw this lady in the elevator a few months ago, when I was training the new girl Tami. I was trying hard to be subtle about staring at her. Elevators are small areas, and people know when you're staring at them. lol.. This lady was Japanese, and ALSO had no teeth in. Not purposely seeking out old people with no teeth. Just a happy coincidence.

This guy I saw in passing from Starbucks again, the other day. He was a total pear shape.

 So draw from memory. It's fun, and good practice both for the hand, as well as the imagination. Try to draw people that you saw just at a glance. :)






Peace Love and Paintbrushes xoxox
Amanda Nikki

Inspiration drawings

I've been working really hard on my character design. Between Joe and stephens books, I've been disciplining myself to draw a few new zany characters each day. I'm not as free with the face parts as Stephen Silver is, but then again I just started doing these toon people back in January after I got Stephens book in the mail. These books really help alot, especially on days when you feel like you have no oomph to draw. Some days, It's like my hand has never used a marker or pencil before. It sounds crazy, but there are days like that. Some days when I don't even want to LOOK at a marker. But latley...that hasn't happened so much.



I've been using the Faber Castell Pitt Brush pens to color my characters. I'm not crazy about the way they blend, but it works for now. Just to get the idea's out of my head. I really don't want to get the copic sketch markers, or the prismacolors because of how bad they smell. I have enough headaches. So I've been doing extensive searches on Dick Blick and other websites, to find good quality artist illustration markers that DON'T SMELL. I found a few that I'm still thinking about. I did buy a couple different flesh toned Tom Bow markers. So far I like them mainly for the skin tones.

Goofy Caricature doodle

I've been playing around with imaginative caricatures from my head, between customers at the stand. I've also been experimenting with the prismacolor col-erase pencils, for backgrounds, but sometimes also for different shading techniques. Basically, whatever I'm in the mood for at that particular moment.

I see areas where I'm weak, and ones where I'm getting better by the day. I still have trouble with cartooning teeth, but I've been taking more risks on customers caricatures latley, trying to stretch myself beyong my comfort zone.

Either way, I'm having fun with it. :)

Practice Body from Magazine

So heres some new/old art that I've been promising. When I'm at work, it can get pretty slow sometimes. Especially in the winter time....and ever since the economy took a huge canonball down the crapper. So, between drawing customers, I'll either draw caricatures from magazine photo's, made up people from my imagination, or I just doodle random stuff in my sketchbook.

1. I did this cartoon from a magazine photo. Most people know who Ice-T is right? For those who don't, he plays Detective Tutuolla on Law and Order SVU. There was a photo of his wife Coco in one of the celebrity magazines we keep at the stand, and well....I couldn't resist drawing her. I was actually a pretty small photo, but the contours of her body just begged to be drawn. And I'm always trying to improve my cartoon bodies.

Rough sketch with Blue Col-Erase

Finished with Black Faber Castell Fine Tip Pitt Pen.

8 year old Mermaid-princess

So, I went to the post office across the street from my house to mail the "Naked enchilada and pineapple princess mermaid" caricatures(go past the last posts to view the caricature) a few weeks ago. And when the mail lady saw it....she ordered one of her daughter. Now, Sarh knows me well from all the shipment I sent years ago when I was a military wife and I used to send my husband many boxes overseas, so ya...she knows me. So anyways...

Heres her daughter logan.....


And here's the caricature....

Flight Attendant Caricature

Another caricature through my e-mail. This guy lives in London, UK, and I guess a friend of a friend of a friend that was in vegas who had a caricature done by me, gave him my card. So this is his girlfriend, and he wanted a flight attendant style, similar to a picture he saw in a dr.s office. Soooo...

Heres his girlfriend.





Here is the drawing the guy sent me to go by. (I changed it a little when I drew it)


And here is what I came up with....

Caricature through e-mail

Okay, so I drew this lady Kristi and her "other half" Randy, back in september, and I gave them my business card. They were a great couple! So then, I get an e-mail from her, saying she wants me to draw TWO original caricatures in a "different" style. Apparently, he likes to make her Enchilada's at 4am, and she gets to sit in his office chair with a perfect view of his "perfect" behind. However, she loves mermaids, and he calls her his "pineapple princess. Soooo....this is what I came up with....

Christina Aguilara

This was actually my first attempt at Christina Aguilara. Came out ok I think. I wasn't really going for exaggeration. More just her overall likeness. I'll exaggerate her at a later date.

Letting go...and Angelina Jolie

I've been a Caricature artist now for almost 2 years, and I'm "letting go" and experimenting a little bit more everyday. Thus, my caricatures are getting better every day that I let go a little bit more. I exaggerated quite a bit tonight, and people loved them all. Unfortunatley, I did not take any pics tonight. Grrr...Oh well.

Sometimes it's hard for me to loosen up, because well...I worry about the customers reaction. Sometimes I care tooooooo much about hurting the customers feelings....and yes, yes I know...being a caricature artist I really need to develop thicker skin. So far it all seems to be going ok.

So I'm going to post some of my best, but these were done a few months ago. I have to say that Joe bluhm is my inspiration. When I started working as a caricaturist in April of 2008, a great artist that was one of my co-workers at the time( sadly he doesn't work there anymore) showed me Joe Bluhms "Rejects" book. Funny, my co-workers name was joe too, and I guess Joe got the book at a signing event or something, and joe bluhm drew a quick caricature of my friend joe in the book. SO AWESOME! So this is when I began getting inspired, however I was still learning how to be comfortable with the marker, so I wasn't even thinking of trying his style out.

It is now over a year and a half later.....and while I have in no way mastered the damn marker...I am quicker and more confident in my strokes. However, I have to agree with Mr. Bluhm. It gets soooooooo boring doing the "cute" "generic" "average" and overall "plain" caricatures day after day. So I started playin around earlier this year.

When I started exaggerating a little, my first "victims" were brad and angelina. Seriously, you know they have awesome faces. I don't know where my first ones are but, here is my most exaggerated Angelina a la' Joe Bluhm Style (which I'm no where near as great, but...I'm trying



I think this is my favorite of all my pieces because it's my first real exaggerated celebrity that still LOOKS like the celebrity. :) Makes me proud of myself, considering how my first few drawings were!!! lol