Getting ready for tomorrow'sEvent (that would be Today already). I figured I would draw a Plain Direct #Caricature because I will be working with other Artists who kinda 'fill in the blanks'. I used a photo from my website as reference ~ a woman I had previously drawn At a Party.

No predraw. No fuss. No thinking. No jumping in to the interaction. Takin it easy.

But there's always something that catches me. This time, I figured I would pay more attention to Values when I was Coloring it. I wanted everything Colored so the Whites would stand out as White. Here's what I learned from my experience:

1. You don't have to work so hard at an Event. They want it Quick, and my regular Color Application would have been fine. Would have been much Quicker. Even though it wouldn't have empahsized the Whiteness of the Whites.
2. Egads ~ I went for something unusual with the 'Eyes'. I wanted to show the Darkness that I see in the reference photo. Not a good idea. It looked awful. But the show must go on. So what did I do? What did I have here? Oh, just a Wite-Out Roller. That worked.
3. Never Never ever Color the Teeth with the skin-color. Even though I used a lighter touch with it on the teeth. No.
4. And the rest was all fine. I didn't have to Size it specifically for Her attributes. I could just fit in whatever fits in. Probably nobody can tell if I am IN the experience or if I am jus dwawing a pichur. So I can change my intensity based on whatever I feel like doing. For myself.

One of my upcoming gigs is a little different than usual. I was hired to Photograph the Guests for 1/2 Hour, and then spend 2 Hours drawing Individual Caricatures based on my Photos ~ while the Guests will be attending a lecture in a different room. I don't expect to get much animation in the pictures ~ not only because I am Not a photographer, but also because it's supposed to be a quick tap on my phone.

My Client also said she would most likely want a Tame style like she saw me do at a recent Party. Oh dear ~ I hope I'll remember how I swung into that request previously. I remember feeling surprised with how comfortably successfully I was drawing at that previous Event. But it was done in person ~ Not from photographs that time.

So okay. This probably won't be too hard, but I'll have to Produce. So I grabbed Reference Photos at random to practice. To warm up before the Event.

I planned on timing myself as I did the Linework on each one ~ keeping it moving ~ and then going back in to each one with Shading. But that didn't happen. As usual, once I start doing something, issues come up which change what I'm interested in.

The first one I drew ~ 2 and a half minutes of linework ~ that one looks like the reference photo. Not too strong of a likeness, but it would get a good laugh because I easily picked up on unique things that his face does.

But uhoh ~ I'm not sure about how it would go over at the Event. Because my Client had said Tame, and the people wouldn't Be there for me to guage their responses and adjust myself as I go along. It is very Tame and simple to me, but I don't know if my Client meant Generic when she said Tame. So I drew it again.

The 2nd one I drew ~ also 2andaHalf minutes ~ trying to tone down the expression ~ perhaps make it a little more angular ~ that one doesn't look anything like him. And it's still not 'Flattering', aka nothing too interesting. This approach definitely will Not do.

So I tried the same reference photo a 3rd time. Staying Generic, and also Changing the strong action of his Eyes. Aaaand ignoring the nose-lines that pull into the forehead . Lol ~ that one looks most like him but who would want it? So boring. What sort of effect would it have on me to draw like that for 2 Very Focused Hours Oh. And I didn't even remember to Time this one. Because I probably spent more than 2-and-a-half minutes just looking at it and trying to figure out what else I could do with it besides what I actually See. And I also used a slight Predraw on this one. Only on this 3rd one.

and the studies go on.....

Continued: Okay. I'm feeling very ready and happily confident for drawing the Caricatures at the upcoming Party where I will be drawing from Photographs. I feel like it's going to b easy-peezy Fun afterall.

I had been feeling a little wobbly because my Client set up the Entertainment much differently than is usually done. So I practiced at home to make sure of my approach.

I had felt confounded with the first one I drew ~ I thought it was because the Client made me feel like I would have to control it too much. I tried the first one 3 times.

But apparently, I wasn't the problem. The difficulty with the first Caricature was just because that One was a difficult one. All the rest went bip-bip-bup. If anything, the reason I stopped my easy pace was because my mind started wanderng. It's like 3am here already. Long day.

I hope I will be allowed to go through all the Photos as linework this way, and then go back into them with shading.

Looking forward to it. I've been drawing in the Studio. But I can't post it here yet. Because I was working on an upcoming Proposal Caricature. Doesn't feel right to show it to other people before my Client gets to see and use it.

So I figure I'll just Tell you what I did so far. This Proposal Caricature is different than all the others that I've officiated.

I usually draw Proposal Caricatures from photos that my Client sends me. And then I pretend to draw it at the Event, giving more attention to the Couple's Experience. But this Client requested that I handle it differently. He wants me to be able to draw the Clothes, Earrings, Hairstyles, Landscape, Flowers Of the Moment. And of course, we won't know what his intended will be wearing until Day Of.

I guess I could just draw it all on the spot ~ I am accustomed to drawing lots of people on the spot at Parties and Events. But my Client specifically wrote: Loosely Quoted "Might take a little too long. I don't want her to get suspicious or impatient. However, I don't want it to be incomplete. Are you able to start some of the drawing in advance and then draw our attire, background, or whatever else. If you're unable to do it, that's ok. We can do the whole drawing in person." Unquote. I like to give my Clients what they want, so I'm trying to plan it out now, and then actually draw it Day Of. My Client wants (and it paying for) a much bigger production that what I could do in the short time he wants the Event to last.

So here I am, doing my beloved Predraw. He sent me photos of the beautiful place where we would be (I can't tell if it will be the same season as in the photos), and he sent me photos of himself and his 'future bride'. I wanted to pull the many reference photos into Photoshop, but that didn't work easily. I don't know what some people do that make their photos or paperwork impossible to download from their emails, but that was the case with this one. Took me a long time to figure out how to access the photos.

I'm not a fill-in-the-blanks sort of 'Artist', so I feel unsure of whether or not this predraw would be a waste of time. Depending on what I would want to draw about their attire and environment (he especially mentioned that she's into her earrings, and it would be a good idea to draw the ones she wears that day) and what sort of flowers are in the area (and what if it rains and we have to move to an alternate Indoor location altogether!?!).....

Good thing that I like to draw and dream about my drawings ahead of time. I figure that whatever I end up seeing Day Of, my Pre-Studying will be very helpful.

The next time I spend time on this project, I must look up 'Radiant Cut' diamond rings. My Client mentioned that the ring is 'Radiant Cut' as though I know what that means? I'm figuring that it's probably a diamond.

My current Studio project is creating a singing alien Crooner for a the Art on a cd album for a Friend. Not at all finished, but this is what I did so far.

I particularly like how I made the alien shiny Gold. I feel like this job is bringing me a step towards that dream I had of painting in Procreate as though it was Oil Paints. By encompassing just a 'Thing' instead of trying to make a full Painting, it finally got me using the Procreate Tools in a more Painterly fashion.

I'm feeling like this might be My way to go for my subsequent Procreate paintings. To just outline each 'Thing' and deal with it individually. I'm even feeling like I might want to just make everything Shiny. Just because I'm liking to do this right now.

It's a look. It can be my style ~ for a while ~ since that's what I'm interested in. Might be.