I just wrapped up this comic spread for New York Magazine last week.
I was commissioned to draw up a fictitious story about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes moving to Manhattan. The biggest challenge of the assignment was making Tom Cruise and Katie into recognizable cartoon characters.
The difference between a “normal” likeness and this sort of thing is that I need more freedom to change facial expressions and let them “mesh” with the cartoon world that the story takes place in.
(By the way, I should mention that there are some great illustrators who are able to do close likenesses and still tell stories, such as the greats Mort Drucker and Jack Davis)
Basically I wind up giving up on some degree of likeness in order to have something I can tell a story with.
I spent a lot of time doodling from pictures of Tom and Katie, trying to get a simple version of them that I felt still looked a bit like them. (I’m focusing here on Tom because I think my drawings of him were more successful.)
The hardest thing about doing likenesses, to me, is looking at the person through fresh eyes. Too often I think illustrators hear things like “Tom Cruise has a big nose.” And while there’s truth in it, I find that it taints any drawing I come up with and actually hurts my chance at getting a good likeness. I’m much more successful when I’m able to chip away at it with a clear mind and see for myself what stands out about the subject.
As you can see I had many, many more failures at this than successes, but the ones circled in red were close enough in my opinion to move forward to inking the rest of the piece.
This issue is currently on stands, through September 7, 2008.
R. Crumb Interview
Also, this weekend I received an email from George Kennedy, who recently interviewed the legendary Robert Crumb and released a podcast. Robert Crumb is one of my all-time favorite artists, though his cynicism can be hard to swallow sometimes.
Regardless, click HERE to visit George’s blog and listen to the audio!
Thanks for reading,
f.
8 Comments
Add Yours →Damn that’s smooth Frank.
Real nice balance of drawing styles.
You’re on a roll buddy.
hell yeah! I read the comic while at a library, and nearly choked trying not to laugh.
the illustrations are perfectly balanced, well done sir. the colours help to bounce the irony and wit of the story around, and i love your linework!
cheers,
Do Yeah
hey frank, I love how simple the caricatures of tom and kate are, great job. I’ll be sure to pick up a copy. Crumb is such a crazy and interesting person, I watched a documentary about him and his family last semester it was rather awkward/yet very enthralling to say the least.
-Steve
Thanks for the props, guys! *bumps fist*
Steve: The Crumb movie is pretty crazy, but I’ve read a bunch of stuff he’s written and the conclusion I’ve come to is that he’s not as weird as portrayed in that movie … but he’s definitely very unique.
f.
Another home run, you must have laughing your ass off as you did this. The weggie on the naked cowboy is hilarious!
mmhm I’m gunna read up more about him, I think his family sorta interested me more with their strange habits and lifestyles, (his younger brother esp.) more than he did. And I think in like uh mid – late 90’s he did a few comics on his family that I’ve yet to see.
TomKat story was perfectly handled in every way. Great stuff.
Frank,
Aside from the great advice, Tom is one of those impossibles.' I try to tell clients that some likenesses will not look like the person unless you don't make it look like them. Harrison Ford and Al Gore are also 'impossibles.'
Can't tell you how much I love your work good sir.