This is a new section, still under development, but fun & informative. Let me know how you like it.

  Hi, I'm Marty, I've been doing caricatures professionally since 1978. I occasionally get people sending me e-mails asking about tips on drawing, coloring and how to get started (some are listed below). I try to answer them back, sometimes it's tough though. Hopefully this new section will keep growing. Some if it will be free, some will not. It will include online lessons in cartooning, caricature and marketing yourself on the internet along with insightful stories covering many of the situations I've run into over the past 30 years.
   Below is a sampling of some of the questions people send me and two quick little cartooning lessons. In art (and I guess almost anything) it pays to listen to as many points-of-view as possible. Some will make more sense to you than others, The important thing is that something will strike a chord and stick in your mind better than the others. So while you may have read or spoken to other artists about how-to-tips, take a look around my site, a good place to start is probably my blog "Caricature Talk".

How often have you heard (or said)
"I can't even draw a straight line" or "All I can draw are stick figures".
Well here are your first two lessons to get you to the next stage, have a pencil and paper handy.

Lesson 1: "Sketch Lightly"
This is one of the most important things to learn.
Build up the idea, go darker over the parts you like,
you won't even notice the sketch lines if you start light enough.

Lesson 2: "Drawing Ice-Cream Stick Figures"
As far as cartooning, there are lots of little tricks to starting figures, the same thing goes for head shapes, and backgrounds. Here's a simple way to get started a big step past stick figures. Draw some ice-cream sticks, they can be different proportions, some short, some tall and they don't have to be perfect. You can lean one over or even curve some. Click below to see some I did, play it back a few times then draw some of your own, see what you can come up with, I'll bet it's better than those old stick figures. Don't forget to add their feet.

Below is a little quicky cartoon showing the light sketch lines, and building up the
ones you like with darker lines. Note, these are done in the above ice-cream stick style.

There are lots of little tricks like this you can learn for doing quick bodies and heads.
When I get more time I'll start putting up more in-depth art tutorials, so please check back.

I sometimes get e-mails, literally from around the world, people asking me about giving lessons or for advice and tips, some sample letters are below:

Hello Marty,
 My name is "CB", I am also an artist, but I am currently teaching special education at a High School. My true passion is with art, however, and I was wondering if you had any advice as to how to get started. I have been commissioned to do work before, but I'm recently out of school and have many bills to pay. If you have any words of wisdom that you wouldn't mind sharing, I would be very grateful.

Hi Marty,
 I am a graphic artist/sign writer in New Zealand (that's the small 2 main island country SE of Australia total pop 4 million).
 I am currently teaching a couple of night classes in cartooning. My students are progressing really well and have requested that I teach them caricature techniques. The only caricatures I have done have been for personal use for humorous gifts etc: The results are good but not without a lot of brain strain and time involved.
 Your web site has been enlightening. Would you be willing to share a few tips that I can use to pass on to my students (a big ask I know) or point me in the direction of purchasable literature that will show me techniques so I can form them into a teaching package.
Your coloring techniques are impressive.
Thank you,
Regards
"RH"

The simple lessons above are for real beginners. If your interested in art, cartooning, caricatures, my answers to questions similar to the ones above, you might want to take an online lesson or two (when they're available).
Right now I see these lessons dealing with cartooning, caricature and marketing yourself on the web. They will also be filled with entertaining and insightful stories from my own experiences over the past 30 years of doing caricatures live. I consider caricatures as a "backdoor" to entering the exciting and lucrative world of cartooning. If you haven't come across my Caricature Talk section yet, take a look at it. It touches on some subjects and gives you a taste of what your in for.

To My Caricature Home Page: www.quicksketch.com

See more samples and learn more about my work my "Caricature Talk" blog!

Yes, Caricatures Go Over Great At Weddings Too!

See my "Caricatures From Photos" section

Animatics, Character Animations, Assorted Flash Stuff

A Humorous Sci-fi website I'm doing some work on:
www.ufonies.com

For those of you who search for;
free caricature of me drawn online, get my caricature free or caricature yourself online,
click here and smile while Roz draws you :)