I was recently commissioned to draw a Caricature for a Food Truck. I was sent only this one reference photo, and I was told that the guy should look like a greek god and that I should include that border design

What does he sell? All I could see was something about Fries and Ketchup. So I designed the following picture ~ figuring that whatever else it is that he sells ~ the idea of a whole sea full of lots of French Fries would be sure to attract customers. Many people just love french fries:

But my Client.... go figure..... My client ordered a 2nd Caricature based on this photo. He said it's because he was expecting a closeup of the man's Face ~ which is what I usually draw. I usually draw Face Only to keep the energy Up at Parties. My Client wanted the man's face to be large. And he wanted me to include that border. And Meat:

I felt glad to accommodate him. I like to keep my clients happy, and I felt glad to draw another Caricature. But I wonder.... wouldn't the first one (with the sea of fries) serve his purpose better?

Update: Client said "WOW!!!" with the 2nd Caricature that he ordered. And I can see what it is that must have affected him. The 2nd Caricature has Big Impact. Dramatic colors. Yes. Another job well done

I will be drawing at a 70-year-old's Birthday Party tomorrow, so I figured I should draw a bit. Warm up you know.

I drew a few Caricatures based on random photos. Good thing I'm doing these Warm Ups because I had bum-starts on the first two pictures that I drew. I had to restart the one with the Green Arrow because everything was too tenuous. And I had to restart the 2nd one (lady with gray hair) because I forgot to soften the staring front view of the reference photo. Then, I figured that I should draw a man.....

Feeling too tired to give it much umph. It's probably more important that I get some Sleep than that I keep drawing

Whenever possible, I like to take photos of the Reactions to my Caricatures. Delighted Guests. Happy Surprises. It helps me re-live the experience.

When I arrived at the venue/bar for this Party, I felt like it was going to be one of those Drawing in the Dark events oh. But no ~ as I walked in, I saw that they had an outdoor 'porch' on the water ~ oooh ~ uhoh about that too ~ do i have my sunscreen with me, or would i have to take the time to go back to my car to get it? It was like 100-degrees out there that day.

But no ~ not that either Yay. Turned out to be a great Event. My Client had arranged for a well-lit Indoor area for the Caricatures afterall ~ her Guests could easily see the Activity from outside on the porch as well as from inside in the bar. It was all open so meandering back and forth was natural. And my Client kindly arranged for a Big Fan to be directed towards me. I felt so comfortable. I felt like I was able to do my best work, and I felt like the Guests felt comfortable and welcome also. Easy-going.

Here are a few of the Caricatures that I drew. And the Reactions of the Guests. People having a Good Time at the Party:

Had a few minutes before going in to the Bat Mitzvah yesterday, so I went back to practicing Tame Caricatures. Each of my approaches feels different than another approach. I finally discovered how to switch easily from Tame Caricatures to Cartoony Caricatures. And I realized that my best choice for Speed and Quality would be to:

Draw Individual Females as Tame Caricatures,

Draw Couples and Groups as Cartoony Caricatures,

and Draw Males as Cartoony

Using very little, if any, predraw (perhaps just size or placement), I approached the Tame Caricatures with Outside-In in my mind even though I frequently drew the Inside before the Outside. And using very little, if any, predraw (perhaps just size or placement), I approached the Cartoony Caricatures however it hit me ~ usually like yes yay also Outside-In.