Most people hear the word caricature and say,”a caricature artist, that’s just for kids.”
People seem to associate a caricaturist with their youth. Perhaps it was that caricature drawing they got at Disney or the Jersey shore when they were a kid.
With my experience in the party and entertainment business, I can tell you that is a myth.
Adults love being sketched by a digital caricaturist . When I’m set up at a fair, usually I draw mostly kids. When the drawings are complementary, at a party it seems to motivate people to take advantage of. They don’t get the opportunity to get sketched quite often. That seems to be the key to them sitting down in the hot seat. Then it’s a chain reaction and everyone gets into it. I hear from adult woman “make me pretty” as they giggle. They walk around at a high priced wedding, laughing and showing off their picture to others. I can tell you that at weddings a caricaturist is a real icebreaker. You have many people sitting together that do not know each other. When they display their cartoon portrait, they start to open up to each other. Many people have told me having a caricature sketch artist at their wedding made the party more fun. When I tell people I draw caricatures at parties the instantly think it’s just for children. I immediately explain to them the majority of my cartooning events are for grownups. The greatest selling point of having caricature artists at a wedding is it’s also a wedding favor. So you get more bang for your buck. You get wedding entertainment and great wedding favors.
And having a cartoon artist is quite reasonable when you figure that you take care of both options.
At Christmas and Holiday parties you hear the comments from people when they see me drawing caricatures. They say “what are we 12 years old”? These are the same people that line up for a caricature later in the party. They tell me they didn’t realize how much fun it is to get drawn. They woman say draw my like Angelina Jolie, the men tell me to draw them like Brad Pitt.
At Trade Shows I get the same comments. Most people say they will never have a caricature drawing because it’s just for kids. These people always break down and get one done. It’s great fun getting a caricature they tell me. They tell me I’m the hit of the event, and caricatures are the best entertainment they’ve seen at a party. Many say, “This is such a fun and original idea”. I hear them saying, “Who thought of this”?
As you draw you can hear all the laughter and humorous comments about the drawings. I start to laugh myself as well. It’s a wonderful feeling to bring a smile to the faces of so many people. That’s what I like about my job.