Wedding Caricature - Step by Step Drawing and Painting of a Caricature for Wedding

To me, likeness of the subject is the most important aspect in a caricature. This is especially so for a wedding caricature. The failure to achieve a certain degree of likeness will totally defeat the purpose of a caricature. Of course, this is only my personal opinion, other caricaturists may not necessarily agree with me.

In order to capture the likeness, good reference photos are essential.
Tips:
(1) It helps to get good resolution reference photos, so that you can see the interesting facial details such as double eye-lids, moles, nose hair, etc.

(2) If possible, obtain the frontal, three-quarter as well as profile view of the subject so that you can have a better feel of how the face looks three-dimensionally.

To begin, I will study the reference photos carefully and choose the best angle that will allow me to highlight the most salient facial features. Then I will make several thumbnail sketches of the face on paper and scan them into the computer. Using Adobe Photoshop and Wacom tablet, I will further refine the drawing until I am satisfied with the resemblance.

Ying is passionate about dancing and her husband-to-be, KS, loves singing. There are many ways to draw a dancing bride and a singing groom. While endless possibilities allow greater room for creativity, it also means more time and effort in doing research and brainstorming.

After looking through numerous images on the internet, I picked a handful that I think were useful. Besides reference pictures, I also got my boyfriend and myself to try out some poses to see if they works. Eventually, I came out with what I thought was interesting:

Ying wanted her wedding card to be monotone in sepia. To make the design more interesting, I took the liberty to make some parts in white. This will give the viewers a better focal point.

After completing the invitation cards, Ying said they would like to use the caricature to decorate the reception area. I offered to do a full colour caricature for her. I intended to give her a full colour wedding caricature print on her wedding day anyway. So now I just have to complete it a bit sooner.

Alright now, here comes the fun part... How about a pink wedding dress for our bride?

After showing Ying the various versions, I got the following feedback: