February 17th, 2002 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Your 17 February 2002 YouCanDraw.com every other week Caricature |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Howdy all This week instead of a finished caricature you’ll see a few quick sketches, some very rough “roughs” that will lead up to the finished deal. Truth is I haven't drawn for almost a month (with the move and all ) and I’m rusty! (Of course that’s always my excuse.) And who have I chosen for the honor this week? None other than talk show legend Larry King. First observations So getting right to it, what struck me first about Larry was his hairline, his glasses, where his eyes line up within the glasses (always just under the top rim of the glasses), and something that goes on around his mouth. By that I mean Larry talks a little more out of one side of his mouth than the other - there’s an asymmetry there. If you ever watch him on television I think you’ll notice this. When he’s not smiling and just talking his lower teeth seem to flash very often too. (There’s some things I only notice after watching someone for a while - things I don’t notice in one or two snapshots.) Other things I noticed - The overall shape of the head is almost that of an exaggerated light bulb - very broad at the top and tapering to a relatively pointy chin. I didn't appreciate the small chin because the overall size and shape of the head dominate his visage. (I’ve been looking for a place to use that word “visage”:-) Mr. King always seems to have a full head of hair too - but I didn't notice that right away because he has SO much forehead. Also, note the shape of the nose: starting from under the bridge of the glasses the nose subtly jumps out, then hooks down a bit through the main body of the nose until you get to the tip of his nose - where it becomes angular and large - almost carved out Karl Malden style. At some level I think everybody notices this, but until you consciously go down your checklist of facial features, (and sub features) and take the time to scan and explore each feature and sub-feature, it isn’t readily obvious. But isn’t that what all of us are shooting for as artists - to be thorough observers? OK. Those are things that grabbed me. Now to the drawings... Of all the sketches the one with the red asterisk (bottom center) is the one that somewhat gets in the ball park of Mr. King. The other sketches, like the one on the top left, there was more playing with the height of the forehead than with the other parts. Common to three of the four drawings is the shape of the nose, the eyes, the glasses, and attempts to nail what is unique in his lips/teeth/mouth. The lower right picture is ok for showing the height of the forehead but misses pretty bad on the mouth. But you know what? All that’s just fine! It’s the experimenting you do in the course of drawing anything that makes you a better artist and “recorder”. So don't get hung up on not getting it right - I’ve tried four times here and am only now getting close to “figuring out” what makes Larry King look like Larry King. One last thing: a lucky accident As I was drawing the picture with the red asterisk I was quickly running out of space at the bottom of the page. That forced me to squash the part of the face beneath the nose. The result: it pulled me from my need to stay realistic and forced an exaggeration - and surprisingly, an exaggeration that seems to work. :-) So now I have a good feel for how to approach the final exaggeration... which you’ll see in two weeks. Until then stay well, keep warm and keep on drawing - Spring is coming! Warmly, Jeff PS - Here's a couple links to some Larry King pictures: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/ http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/king.larry.html http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0517884534.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg Also check out any books by Larry King at Amazon (or any book store for that matter) for some great pictures - click on the "larger picture" option. Jeffrey O. Kasbohm Executive Director (310) 676-2998 4702-C West 130th Street Los Angeles CA, 90250 http://www.YouCanDraw.com "Once and for all getting you drawing faces and caricatures" mailto:comments@youcandraw.com
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