Sunday Mailbag- Full, Profile or 3/4?

Q: Piggybacking off the previous Q and A about how you begin a live caricature — outlining the face first, or starting with the eyes, nose and mouth, then working around that — what angle do you prefer…a straight-on head shot, or three-quarter? And should one be preferred over the other, relative to highlighting features the best or one being more “dramatic” than the other?

A: It depends on the face, but in most cases a 3/4 angle is most descriptive of the subject. It gives you a much better dense of depth with the face, and you see elements of the front and side of the head.

That said, I prefer drawing a straight on angle of the face doing live caricatures for two reasons. First, it’s easier to do than a 3/4 view because you only need to deal with symmetry (making sure the two sides of the face balance) as opposed to the more complex nature of a 3/4 view. That makes it faster for new artists to get the hang of. The main reason, however, is for the subject to more easily recognize themselves and others in the drawing. You seldom see your own image in any angle but straight on. In most photos you are looking at the camera, and of course you look straight at yourself in the mirror (albeit a backwards you). When you talk to someone you usually face them, so you are used to seeing people in a full faced angle, and much more used to seeing yourself from straight on.

Profiles are the easiest way to draw a face, but people seldom see themselves in profile.

Thanks to Joel Kweskin for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!