Some people visit this site with the aim of finding out how to draw caricatures – and the basic answer is practice, and lots of it.

Every person has some inherent ability to draw, the trick is getting in the hard slog of practice so that you can develop a confidence in a
drawing technique which works for you. It’s also critical to play and experiment with various drawing materials to find the medium that suits you.

The best thing about learning to draw caricatures is you only need a few bits of paper, a pencil, an eraser and some faces taken out of a newspapers or
magazines – then you’re off and can start practising any time, anywhere!

The bad news is many people think you need to have got through a good 500 or more drawings before you start to achieve a likeness on a regular basis –
and I tend to agree with this – others will tell you that as long as they draw, for no matter how many years they’ve done it, they’re still learning.

The best advice is to just get stuck in and give it a go. Don’t worry if your first attempts are rubbish, sooner or later you’ll nail one.

Of the techniques that you can use, ones frequently referred to are variations on the “Norman normal” technique, where you compare the subjects face
to a bland mannequin's facial proportions – and where your subject varies from that, that’s where you exaggerate. Other techniques involve the “pivot
and axis” approach where you pick 5 or 6 critical points, see how these elements align or are angled, then exaggerate those proportions. Others start
with the face shape and the proportional exaggeration of the relationship of the features, then there’s technique which relies on a gut feeling for what
you notice about the face first, then work back. Then of course, there’s Ralf Steadman and Gerald Scarfe………

This is the great thing about drawing caricatures - it’s an exciting journey of self discovery and creativity where you’ll have the fun and enjoyment of
discovering your own way of doing it.