Art Forte Gallery

There's a huge range of different forms of creative expression out there.

Even if we look at large areas of creativity like writing, painting, or dancing, within each are sub categories. And within each of those are further subcategories.

Then there are the true creative pioneers who are defining new forms of creativity even as you're reading this.

So within this vast array of artists that all produce what we consider creative art, what do they have in common?

One of the most fundamental elements to developing as a creative artist is to give yourself the time and commitment to evolve. And this means creating regularly. Not once a month, not once a fortnight, not even once a week.

Create every day.

Creating every single day is the best way – in fact the ONLY way - to reach your true creative potential.

Here's are 5 of the most compelling reasons why:

1. Creating everyday, at the same time, gives your creativity permission to express itself. Knowing that you have that time slot to be freely creative, means you naturally start to gather up creative ideas and inspiration throughout the day and subconsciously store it to be used during your creative time.

2. Creating everyday gives you more confidence in experimenting and taking your creativity in new directions. The less often you create, the more pressure you put on yourself to come up with something amazing each time. When you create everyday, if one day you don't get very far, that's ok because tomorrow you'll have the chance to create again. And the next day. And so on.

3. Creating everyday allows you to create large projects in a short space of time. If you wanted to write a 100000 word novel for example, but only sat down to write once or week or once a month, it becomes a very daunting task. If you write 1000 words a day though, you'll have your first draft done in just 3 months from now.

4. Creating everyday gives others around you a clear message. It shows you take your creativity seriously. You can be a comedy writer, but still be serious about your creativity and how important it is to you. It demonstrates that creating is a fundamental part of your daily schedule and your life. And the people close to you will respect that.

5. Creating everyday allows you to have more ideas. If you don't create regularly, you're less inclined to take note of the ideas you have throughout the day, because you don't know when you'll get the chance to use them. When you know you're going to be creating again the next day, you're more likely to notice and capture ideas, which will in turn lead to more ideas flowing to you.

The benefits of creating everyday are impossible to ignore.

If it's not currently something YOU do, then start to ask yourself how you can fit it in to your daily routine, starting today.

The results you'll see, after just a few weeks, can absolutely transform your creativity.

Getting Started!

When learning how to draw caricatures you will want to observe your subject and see which features make the subject recognizable. For example, perhaps your father has a large nose; noses are very popular features used for exaggeration in caricatures. The features that you choose to exaggerate should be features that make your subject recognizable.

Caricature vs Portrait?

The main difference in a caricature and a portrait is that a caricature is almost a cartoon rendition of the person. A portrait is more of a realistic view of the person. When you begin to learn how to draw caricatures, you will want to use people that you know. You will also need to have a good understanding of the basic layout of the human face. Techniques such as proportion and foreshortening can also be very handy. All techniques that you learn in drawing people can be used in an exaggerated manner when drawing caricatures.

Seeing the Subject!

Being able to see the subject "in the round" is the best way to get a whole sense of the subject you are drawing. You will also want to recognize any features that can be minimized as well. Not all features are exaggerated in a manner that makes them large, but you can also make them very small. For example, if you are drawing a person and they have a small mouth, you could make it even smaller in the drawing. This is a sort of a reverse exaggeration.

Dumb it Down!

You will also want to "dumb down" certain features. For example, hair is often "dumbed down" because you will not want to draw each hair in a caricature. This gives the picture more of a cartoon-ish look versus a portrait look.

Exaggeration!

Simple rules of drawing apply to learning how to draw a caricature. Don't exaggerate features that aren't naturally or easily recognized. For example, if your subject doesn't have a large nose, don't give them a large nose. Work on features that can be exaggerated without rendering the person unrecognizable.

A Caricature is a Caricature, if you say it is!