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November 14, 2011
All too often, portrait photography looks staged and awkward. Kids can be particularly tricky to capture properly because they’re not usually big fans of wearing their Sunday best, sitting still, and following precise directions for a prolonged period of time. They’d much prefer to be depicted doing fun things, like baking a chocolate cake or playing football in the park. The best pictures of individuals are always taken when they’re concentrating on doing what they love.
Most families have a range of hobbies and getting everyone and their favourite things into a single frame is a pretty difficult task. Unless you come to us, of course. Caricatures from photos can be created from just a couple of images or a group of different and diverse photographs. If you want just one picture that shows all your loved ones at their very best it’s a great option.
Cartoon caricatures can show every member of the family as an individual, yet make sure they’re all together as a unit too. They provide a wonderful way of celebrating every person’s quirks, strengths, and personal joys, but also showing that the whole group is loving and cohesive despite those differences.
If you struggle to find a photograph that really shows each and every person in your family happy and laughing, consider letting Charlie draw you a caricature from a photo or a handful of photos. We’ll work with you to come up with a design that you’ll all love, and one that will show friends and visitors exactly what your fantastic family is really like.
October 22, 2011
So what have been the highlights of the business so far? We’ve been making cartoon caricatures at Charlie’s Cartoons now for almost two years, and it’s true that the day to day process is pretty exhausting. Some of it is exciting and creative, some of it repetitive, like in any industry. But I suppose the main thing that lets us have fun is the fact that we have to be immersed, very quickly, into other people’s lives. Good cartoon caricatures require intimate knowledge of people .
One definite highlight has to be when the secretary to Francis Baron, the former chairman of the Rugby Football Union, invited me to Twickenham to discuss producing a caricature of the England team, and of Francis himself. Now most cartoon caricatures require us to enjoy getting acquainted with people from photos and emails. For this caricature, I was actually invited to come and see the England versus Barbarians match, just to get a feel of the stadium! Anyway, I hope the feel was conveyed in the cartoon… because it was one of the best cartoon caricatures I’ve had the pleasure of doing, and one of the most immersive creative processes I’ve ever enjoyed.
Once the match was over, it was time to knuckle down and get to work. The problem was: I do most of my cartoon caricatures with watercolour on paper… and this one had to be done with oil paint on canvas! Added to which, the only oil paint I had were the primary colours: red, yellow, blue. Oh, and some green thrown in too. Not the easiest cartoon caricatures experience – but we got there in the end.
October 20, 2011
Kids’ caricatures are pretty tricky to make… Parents have a very subjective view of what makes their little boy or girl unique, and they are also very protective of the particular aspects, features, etc which make the child recognisable. On the other hand, children often don’t have that many obvious distinctive features out of which caricatures can be made. With their angelic little faces, what is there to exaggerate?
The answer is not to exaggerate anything, apart from emphasising that cute, big-eyed and big-forehead character that has been a staple for infant and child representation in painting and cartooning. But you can’t go generic when you draw caricatures. You can’t afford to just churn out a carbon copy little cherub every time someone wants a cartoon of their baby.
It’s a very delicate operation: First, to make the caricatures specific enough, context is key. Do they have a favourite place, a favourite toy, favourite clothes? Anything that is instantly recognisable to the customer, and to the child herself! Then, you have to identify the most infinitesimal defining features and render them ever so subtly, so as not to upset that cheruby look that parents will be looking for in their caricature.
A couple of times, admittedly, we haven’t got our kids caricatures right the very first time. Parents have come back to us with details we hadn’t even spotted, or to say that the draft is simply too generic, it’s too safe… Fortunately, that’s what our draft check phase is for. To make sure our customers always get the caricatures they want, whether they’re of kids or grown-ups.
July 25, 2011
Like many people, you may well have seen caricature cartoons. Such images often feature in newspaper sketches and magazines and you might have seen street artists selling the creations when you are out and about.
However, you may never have considered getting caricature pictures, whether as a gift or for yourself, because you simply don’t know how to approach the task.
The good news is, getting your perfect personalised caricatures may be much easier than you think. The web has had a major impact on many areas of modern life and this is yet another example.
Here at Charlie’s Cartoons we specialise in providing superb quality caricatures and the process of ordering through us could not be more straightforward. All you have to do is send us a few images of the subject in question. Meanwhile, details of the individuals or stories that feature them should also be provided.
We will then get back to you within 24 hours detailing some ideas for your custom caricatures and, if you like the sound of them, we will make a start. Of course, you can add to and edit these suggestions as you please.
After the process is completed, you should have the ideal caricature pictures, and all without having to venture out of your house to order or pick them up.
So, if you think you could benefit from creations like this, now could be the perfect time to investigate further. The only tricky part is deciding which photos to use.
June 8, 2011
When might someone think of making a caricature from photos? Well, typically there are two different types of occasion on which the idea might pop up.
Firstly, maybe you already have a photo from a special occasion that you would like to turn into a photo. If this is a real favourite, then the caricature could be even closer to your desired vision of those people and of that moment, than the photo itself! Think of how much you like the photos themselves, and then imagine, with all the creative input that a caricature artist will pour into your cartoon, how much you would love a caricature from photos that are your favourite in the world! We might be talking about a dad carrying his daughter on his shoulders, or a group sitting at a dinner table celebrating someone’s graduation. Whether it’s just one person or a whole group, a caricature from photos will tale the tale even better than a photo ever could!
Secondly, you might start the process from the other end and imagine what your perfect caricature might look like, describe your ideas to the artist, and go and look for the relevant photos afterwards. Even though in this case the characters would be taken out of context (a caricature artist could take a photo of you sitting on your home sofa and turn it into a caricature of you swinging on a vine over the Amazon river!), an interesting caricature from photos that just happen to be kicking about on your hard drive is always possible – you’ve just got to believe in the power of the imagination!
So don’t think you can’t make a great caricature from photos that aren’t that interesting – you can! Conversely, if you need to create a caricature of your boss sitting at his desk to provide a different but professional looking mug shot for a company website, and all you have is a photo of him dancing the Hula at a beach resort, then that kind of transplantation out of context is possible too. You’ll make a caricature from photos you never expected!
May 30, 2011
If you have just been married, or you have been to a friend’s wedding, there is a great way to remember the occasion, and this is with a caricature. All you have to do is send a photo of yourself and your new spouse – or the couple whose wedding you have been to – to Charlies Cartoons and he will create a fantastic caricature which captures the happy couple in an amusing way.
Wedding caricatures are a fun way to mark the biggest day of your life and when it comes to having your own caricatures, they are one of the most popular cartoon caricatures around, so why not have a look at some of the examples of Charlies work on the website.
While you’re there, take a moment to read some of the testimonials from the many satisfied customers and you will see why Charlie’s Cartoons is one of the most popular websites when it comes to wedding caricatures and all forms of cartoon caricatures.
When you send the photographs – two or three is the best way to let Charlie capture the essence of the person who will be portrayed – attach some information about them, for example, their favourite sport or other interests and any amusing stories if possible. You can receive the caricature from photos within 48 hours if necessary, so all you have to do now is decide what you want the cartoon to say about the person you will present it to.
May 21, 2011
Most of us will have seen caricatures on the walls of a friend’s house or in their office and the chances are you may have wondered where you could get custom caricatures from. There was a time not so long ago when the only places you could find artists who specialise in caricatures was in holiday resorts or on the streets of major cities.
These days it is so much easier to get hold of custom caricatures thanks to the internet, and one of the most popular artists online can be found at Charlies Cartoons. If you are thinking of ordering caricatures from photos of your friends or family, you need to have a look at Charlies site and see the samples of his work on display.
Whatever the occasion, you can order a caricature to help celebrate the day, whether it is a birthday, stag or hen party, a wedding or if you just want to let a friend know you are thinking of them, custom caricatures are perfect, and are sure to be treasured by the person you give it to.
Once you have seen the examples of the caricatures from photos on the website, ordering your own is a simple process. All you have to do is supply two or three photographs of the person you want depicted – and if possible, some amusing anecdotes about the person, or what their interests are – and leave the rest to Charlie and his expert eye.
May 17, 2011
What’s the best way to create a great caricature? Well, you could have a go at it yourself. Most people have. In fact, the common perception is that drawing a caricature is far easier than drawing a straight portrait. All you have to do is give the guy big ears, a big nose, big eyes, exaggerate a trait here and there, and bingo! You have it. Something funny for all to laugh at. All of this might not seem to difficult at the outset.
However, a caricature is more than just a loose exaggeration of what we see. As anyone who’s tried to get a likeness of prince Charles just by drawing a big pair of ears will tell you. Getting that quite indefinable, uncanny “thing” is something that everyone can recognise, and very few can accomplish. So if you were after a really good caricature for a special occasion, choose your caricature well, and be prepared to be surprised. Subjective interpretations vary from person to person, but truly great caricature artists just have that knack of making a person instantly recogniseable to all.
And the greater the artist, the more a caricature can depart from photo-reality while not only retaining the essence of the person, but actually accentuating it. An artist like Gerald Scarfe will reduce a person to an axe, a ship, a feather, a monkey… and that caricature will be more “them” than they could ever be in a photo. Similarly, but in an entirely opposite stylistic direction, a pop artist such as Julian Opie will reduce a likeness to anly a a few traits, distill the character into a few dots and lines, retaining only the essence which makes that character entirely unique.
March 21, 2011
There are few things kids hate more than getting dressed up in their Sunday best, having their hair done and faces fussed over, and then having to sit for a family portrait. Mum and dad will treasure these pictures for years to come but the kids (especially boys) rarely see them as anything more than an embarrassment and a chore.
One things kids do love is cartoons. Having cartoon caricatures made instead of studio photo portraits is not only something different, the results are far more interesting to the younger members of the family. Even the rowdiest of small boys are usually delighted to be included in family caricatures even if it’s close to impossible to get them to stop making faces at the camera under normal circumstances.
You don’t have to get a special photograph taken, although you can if you want to. Caricature photos should show each member of the family at their best, doing what they like most, or you can simply choose a few photos from the family album. As long as we can get a really good idea of the individual features of each member of the group we can create great family caricatures.
Cartoon caricatures can show the characteristics of each family member individually, and provide a very good record of what hobbies the kids had and what mum and dad were doing at the time it was made. They are perfect snapshots of the family unit- their likes and dislikes, their interests and their passions. And they are so much more fun than plain old photo portraits!
March 15, 2011
The great strength of caricature portraits as an art form (aside from the fun and good humour they embody) is the way they can show so much of an individual’s personality in a single frame. A photograph can illustrate and record a single aspect of a person, a single activity, a single situation. A caricature can go so much further.
We can include information about a hobbies and interests in custom caricatures. We can capture someone’s favourite outfit or a facial expression that is unique theirs. We can show their role in the workplace or the home and celebrate it. Personalised caricatures are always the best and they can go far beyond what the subject looks like.
Two people have input to custom caricatures. There’s the artist, who draws the cartoon, but there is also the one who supplies the photos and the information that goes into the artwork. In order to create the funniest, warmest, and most accurate caricature portraits we need to get to know the subject and for that we need your help.
That doesn’t mean meeting them. We’re more than happy to create a caricature from a photo. Do choose the photo wisely though. It should show the person as you want them drawn. Look through your picture collection and find a handful, preferably taken from different angles. Pick those that best sum up what you love about the caricature subject.
It’s also helpful if you can tell us something about them. Let us know what they like doing with their spare time and what makes them laugh. If they have a habit of raising a sceptical eyebrow or covering their mouth when they giggle, do tell us so we can integrate all that information into one great caricature.
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