The first one is quasi-traditional. The others I can hardly believe what I'm seeing. Great googa mooga. I love them but I'm not sure I'd let him near anyone I love.
Uh-oh. I think finger-mouth guy is going to give me nightmares.
Actually, Eftimov may have invented an easy out for caricaturists. After all, since he isn't commenting on your actual face, but really replacing it with a new one (something like what a funhouse mirror does), the customer isn't going to get mad at him and stalk out without paying. It might be safer than a real caricature, which aims at insight and potentially embarrassing truth.
I always thought Grigor is the best caricaturist i've ever seen. First off his caricatures are so sculptural compared to other's caricatures that it just indicates he's seeing things on a another level. He takes any small notch or twist in a persons face and extends it to the limit of the canvas. I believe if he had a 500 ft wall to do a "life size" portrait youd' still end u p with a 500 ft nose on that wall.
It's even more incredible how well he constantly maintains the likeness of his subject. But that's the nature of good caricature, picking just the right trains to emphasize. If you pick the right traits it doesn't matter how much distort them, and Grigor proves it!
Gabriel: I just checked and they are small. Sorry about that!
Anon: You're right, there is a Mulatier influence but "coarse" seems a little harsh. Grigor sometimes goes too far but I only judge people by their best work and Gigor at his best is amazing!
The caricatures are so distorted, it almost looks like abstract art...yet it still looks like the people he's caricaturing. How in the Hell does he do that???
Some of the best cartoonists make my brain hurt. It's wonderful!
Hmm, I seem to be the only one, but I'm actually not all that fond of these, if I look at them purely aesthetically I love them, but as caricatures it seems that they kindof fail because they're not at all recognizable as caricatures of the subject, they're just recognizable as caricatures.
applepwnz nailed it for me. I love the skill and emotion in these pictures, but as caricatures they don't sum up the person's personality or anything like Marlo. They don't really sum up anything except their own innate wackiness.
My problem with these charicatures is I couldn't see most of the resemblence from most of the charicatures model's and the charicature.
The color and drawings show good rendering but one of the big factor in doing a charicature is to point out the person you are charicaturing's most distinguished features or personality and bring that out. You can't just do it in their surface you must somehow capture the person't soul as well. I can't see the soul, I only see stuff made up on the surface.
If the end result is completely unrelatable to the original, it's a strikeout as caricature. These just seem like they exist for their own sake. That's fine but I wouldn't bother pairing them with the photographs.
Uncle Eddie has blogged on Grigor before- its worth checking out if you can find it in the archives.
But I am getting a bit of style over substance here, whacking things out of whack for wackiness sake. But it could be, if you were actually watching the people move, you might come back with the same particular exaggerations.
I still think he needs to get some actual editorial work, rather than the Coney Island boardwalk stuff, and he would, for the instances when there is enough of a likeness or dead on impression still there.
The bad side is, although he is much better than this comparison I am about to use, because every one he draws is actually drawn so differently, is that you get a style where everybody looks like the same grotesque distortion, like those damn Spitting Image puppets the UK did a show about 15-20 years back. In his case, it is just that the distortions are wildly different. But Grigor is much better than that, it is just that a very similar pitfall awaits him.
And even when it does fall in that possible trap, it has a lovely Basil Wolverton style charm of its own. It is like a Voice Actors bad impression of a well known actor, becoming a loveable character of its own, becuase it is such a bad likeness. And that is some of the best stuff there is.
Agreed, I don't see a need to pit them against each other. I think both are amazingly talented, just with different subjective approaches. And both are so talented and versatile as well, capable of doing whatever. Check out some of his more subtle caricatured fine art works on his blog. Awesome awesome guy.
>>Actually, Eftimov may have invented an easy out for caricaturists. After all, since he isn't commenting on your actual face, but really replacing it with a new one (something like what a funhouse mirror does), the customer isn't going to get mad at him and stalk out without paying. It might be safer than a real caricature, which aims at insight and potentially embarrassing truth.<<
That's a good point. It allows the subject to have as much fun with it as the artist. Especially if they want to make a specific pose or direct the drawing a bit. They kind of get a version of themself. Fun thing, maybe slightly reperesentable of who they are - but only on a certain day in a certain way.
28 comments:
The first one is quasi-traditional. The others I can hardly believe what I'm seeing. Great googa mooga. I love them but I'm not sure I'd let him near anyone I love.
i never heard of this guy, but he is great.
The last too pics are too small, Eddie!
Uh-oh. I think finger-mouth guy is going to give me nightmares.
Actually, Eftimov may have invented an easy out for caricaturists. After all, since he isn't commenting on your actual face, but really replacing it with a new one (something like what a funhouse mirror does), the customer isn't going to get mad at him and stalk out without paying. It might be safer than a real caricature, which aims at insight and potentially embarrassing truth.
Wow those are Cool! where'd you get them
These pictures are beyound OD.
I always thought Grigor is the best caricaturist i've ever seen. First off his caricatures are so sculptural compared to other's caricatures that it just indicates he's seeing things on a another level. He takes any small notch or twist in a persons face and extends it to the limit of the canvas. I believe if he had a 500 ft wall to do a "life size" portrait youd' still end u p with a 500 ft nose on that wall.
It's even more incredible how well he constantly maintains the likeness of his subject. But that's the nature of good caricature, picking just the right trains to emphasize. If you pick the right traits it doesn't matter how much distort them, and Grigor proves it!
The influence of Jean Mulatier, coarsely filtered by pure abstraction.
Guy: here's Grigor's URL: http://existentialdreams.blogspot.com/
Nate: That's a good insight about the sculptural quality of Grigor's pictures!
Gabriel: I just checked and they are small. Sorry about that!
Anon: You're right, there is a Mulatier influence but "coarse" seems a little harsh. Grigor sometimes goes too far but I only judge people by their best work and Gigor at his best is amazing!
lester: Interesting!
Brilliant. There could be a cartoon in this style. It'd be super hard to animate.
The caricatures are so distorted, it almost looks like abstract art...yet it still looks like the people he's caricaturing. How in the Hell does he do that???
Some of the best cartoonists make my brain hurt. It's wonderful!
great-great-great stuff.
It remembered me Marlo Meekins, actually.
Hmm, I seem to be the only one, but I'm actually not all that fond of these, if I look at them purely aesthetically I love them, but as caricatures it seems that they kindof fail because they're not at all recognizable as caricatures of the subject, they're just recognizable as caricatures.
Im still waiting on mine..Im a little nervous.
Ryan: You ordered a caricature!? When it comes why not link to it so we can see it?
applepwnz nailed it for me. I love the skill and emotion in these pictures, but as caricatures they don't sum up the person's personality or anything like Marlo. They don't really sum up anything except their own innate wackiness.
My problem with these charicatures is I couldn't see most of the resemblence from most of the charicatures model's and the charicature.
The color and drawings show good rendering but one of the big factor in doing a charicature is to point out the person you are charicaturing's most distinguished features or personality and bring that out. You can't just do it in their surface you must somehow capture the person't soul as well. I can't see the soul, I only see stuff made up on the surface.
That's my 2 cents
Sure Eddie.. Ill post it on my blog. I was going to get it done in person, but he's a busy dude.. I just sent some picts.
If the end result is completely unrelatable to the original, it's a strikeout as caricature. These just seem like they exist for their own sake.
That's fine but I wouldn't bother pairing them with the photographs.
Marlo beats this guy cold.
Uncle Eddie has blogged on Grigor before- its worth checking out if you can find it in the archives.
But I am getting a bit of style over substance here, whacking things out of whack for wackiness sake. But it could be, if you were actually watching the people move, you might come back with the same particular exaggerations.
I still think he needs to get some actual editorial work, rather than the Coney Island boardwalk stuff, and he would, for the instances when there is enough of a likeness or dead on impression still there.
The bad side is, although he is much better than this comparison I am about to use, because every one he draws is actually drawn so differently, is that you get a style where everybody looks like the same grotesque distortion, like those damn Spitting Image puppets the UK did a show about 15-20 years back. In his case, it is just that the distortions are wildly different. But Grigor is much better than that, it is just that a very similar pitfall awaits him.
And even when it does fall in that possible trap, it has a lovely Basil Wolverton style charm of its own. It is like a Voice Actors bad impression of a well known actor, becoming a loveable character of its own, becuase it is such a bad likeness. And that is some of the best stuff there is.
You don't have to have even a likeness of someone for it to be a caricature.
Caricatures are just exaggerations of certain features (can be one or more) for satirical effect.
Grigor and Marlo take completely different (most of the time) approaches artistically. Both are amazing, imo.
Agreed, I don't see a need to pit them against each other. I think both are amazingly talented, just with different subjective approaches. And both are so talented and versatile as well, capable of doing whatever. Check out some of his more subtle caricatured fine art works on his blog. Awesome awesome guy.
>>Actually, Eftimov may have invented an easy out for caricaturists. After all, since he isn't commenting on your actual face, but really replacing it with a new one (something like what a funhouse mirror does), the customer isn't going to get mad at him and stalk out without paying. It might be safer than a real caricature, which aims at insight and potentially embarrassing truth.<<
That's a good point. It allows the subject to have as much fun with it as the artist. Especially if they want to make a specific pose or direct the drawing a bit. They kind of get a version of themself. Fun thing, maybe slightly reperesentable of who they are - but only on a certain day in a certain way.
This guy's name spelled backwards is almost "VOMIT FROG"
caricature is a sickness and drawing them is the cure-
Brian said...
You don't have to have even a likeness of someone for it to be a caricature.
Caricatures are just exaggerations of certain features (can be one or more) for satirical effect.
Are You kidding? If there is no likeness,it's not funny. If there is no likeness, it's not a caricature. If there is no likeness, what's the point?
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