Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Marilyn


I figured that if I have to look at the same face for three weeks in a row, then I'd go for someone a bit easier on the eye than some of the exotic specimens we've been subjected to recently, hence my choice of Marilyn Monroe. I also thought she would be easy to caricature - hair eyelashes and lips and you've got it! Or have you...? It's turning out harder than I thought.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pretty girls are bit of a challenge in my opinion. I have done some caricatures of Marilyn and the only things I exaggerated were her eye lids, eye lashes, forehead, big hair, small chin, and big red lips. Your sketches look good so far. I would do as Jason advises me, make a caricature sketch, and then make another caricature sketch from that sketch, it works! :)

Doug said...

I think people that are pretty or handsome are harder to caricature because what makes people look good (in our culture anyway) is how symmetrical their features are. When people's features are symmetrical it's hard to get the subtleties of their likeness. If you've checked out Redman's book, he creates a thing he calls the "in betweener" that looks like a perfectly proportioned doll basically that allows you to push and pull from that. Marilyn is like trying to caricature a woman version of the "in betweener".

Richard Watts said...

Thanks both, I'm glad its not just me struggling with what I thought would be an easy portrait. Its really easy to make marilyn grotesque as well, which I don't want to do.

Patrick LaMontagne said...

I like #3...I think that's the strongest likeness. Only my humble opinion, of course. My wife says I'm wrong sometimes, although her judgment has been called into question ever since she chose a cartoonist for a husband. :)

Richard Watts said...

Thanks Patrick, I value your opinion as I think your work is brilliant.I would like to be able to see her eyes so I'll work on that.Your wife has excellent judgment by the way.