Today I'd like to feature a caricature illustration that I recently completed. My client was a young woman who wanted to surprise her boyfriend with a fun piece of artwork; a caricature that reflect the fun they have together and the appreciation they have for each other.
The ideas...sometimes I go with elements reflecting who and what the person is about - interests, career, and surroundings. This time, I thought it appropriate to just focus on this couple and put them in familiar and fun surroundings.
The client and boyfriend live in New Mexico, so I thought it would be fun to put them in a natural setting that has a feel for the area and also put them on a horse, appealing to their fun/laid back sensibilities. They both love New Mexico and though city dwellers, they appreciate getting out of town and into nature.
Technique: I start with a pencil sketch, working on getting a likeness and developing composition. After scanning the sketch I start working on the details in Photoshop. I work in several layers - one for the cliffs, one for the trees, one for the fence, one for the main characters. I have a Wacom drawing tablet that allows me to draw and paint with a pen like tool with a variety of brushes, opacities, and of course the rest of the Photoshop tools.
When I get the image almost finished, I add a few more layers; putting in a nice beveled border created with various shades of blue, varying opacities and brush shapes. Pulling the symbol from the New Mexico state flag; I drop those into the corners.
After going over it again and adding some finishing touches, I flatten the image and save a copy, convert it to CMYK, take it down to Kinkos and have it printed on a tabloid size glossy heavy weight paper and send it out to the client. And there you have it.
Have a great week everyone....
Aloha,
Tom
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