The wild, wicked world of caricatures

Zakir Hussain by Nanjundaswamy. Credit: Special Arrangement

A caricature of Sihi Kahi Chandru by Naganath. Credit: Special Arrangement

Pelé by Shijo Varghese. Credit: Special Arrangement

Fancy lending your face, the very index of your immaculately groomed personality, to a caricaturist in a wild, whacky mood to blow your nose out of every proportion? Or would you rather warn him not to exceed his arty limits, and stick to the basics? Well, it all depends on his style, and the control he wields on the pen that he assumes would listen to him!

In a blink, the pen or brush or stylus could transform your exalted visage to an obnoxious mix of eyes, nose and every conceivable sensory organ on the face. But ask the caricaturists, and they will swear: There is substance in style.

Style. That is something caricaturist Naganath G S has in abundance, as he ‘emboldens’ his lines right where the chins curve and noses point skywards. “That works when the nose or the chin stands out. But when my subjects have no features out of the ordinary, I give them a smile, even if they don’t smile,” he says. Massive, dominating heads with bodies diminished disproportionately — one look at Naganath’s caricature and you will know that it is his handiwork. The eyes and lips are expressions personified. “You need to tweak them to inject energy.”

Expressions galore

For Trichy-based Nedumaran, the hyper-realism of his caricatures syncs effortlessly with his absolute grasp of character expressions. In visualising football legend Pelé or Hollywood actor Julia Roberts, Nedumaran plays havoc with his masterly brushstrokes, never once losing sight of what strikes the eye first when these celebrities appear before him.

Digital painting is his tool, the one-way ticket to Nedumaran’s enduring caricaturing fame. “I used to sketch offline and did it the traditional way before. But after watching a lot of YouTube videos, and mastering the software and tools, I have adopted the digital mode fully.”

Detailing, textures, angular strokes, his art is a study in time consumption. “I take a minimum of three hours and a maximum of six for every caricature,” he says. The artist in him, doubling up as a digital wizard, is on a relentless pursuit of perfection.

A show of his 80 caricatures at the Indian Institute of Cartoonists (IIC) in Bengaluru, on February 4, will be Nedumaran’s first full-scale exhibition.

Moulding in one pic

In no mood to compromise on personalisation, both Naganath and Nedumaran are adept at moulding the characters in one picture. “You need to study the person from multiple angles, spot his mannerism to identify one character trait. Not many caricaturists do that. They just take one picture and exaggerate a few features,” notes V G Narendra.

But in no way is the detailed depiction inferior to the minimalists. In a few quick strokes, the likes of yesteryear cartoonist B V Ramamurthy or R K Laxman himself had captured the resemblance of political bigwigs galore. Politicians who refused to get off the front pages had a repetitive monopoly over the cartoonist mindscape. Laxman treated them with a flourish of his brushstrokes, quickly reminding his avid fans who they were in just a few lines.

Minimalism and detailing

Minimalism is clearly not caricaturist Y S Nanjundaswamy’s method. He switched from fine arts to caricaturing six years ago. “I do a lot of detailing.” That is precisely why he takes a minimum of eight hours to finish one charcoal caricature in a style rivalling fine arts. “I have rendered 80 musicians in that style. A caricature should have a lot of resemblance with the subject. In the rush to exaggerate features, many lose sight of the likeness and depend on an occasion,” he explains.

Shijo Varghese had shot to fame with his stunning caricatures of Indian cricketers. He packed massive doses of energy and passion into those frames. Like most others, he too had made that dramatic shift from pen and paper to tablet and stylus. But that was not an endgame for him.

He explains, “With digital tools, there is of course the advantage of iterations. It is easy to correct/redo. Advancing further, there is now a lot of discussion about Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and how that’s going to influence the art. But I am still a fan of traditional drawing.”

Old-fashioned ways

Not everyone has made that seamless transition to the digital world. That old-fashioned pen on paper method still keeps many artists doodling away to glory, with the commercial angle straight out of the window. Even the likes of Liverpool-based Tim Leatherbarrow has strictly kept technology away from his art.

Tim, whose Bengaluru connection had him draw pocket cartoons for a broadsheet, sticks to his wizardry but often gets commercial with live caricaturing. Getting a character animated without a trace of tech is his forte, all in pure black and white.

Live caricatures are a very different animal. Artists obsessed with detailing are not the crowd favourites. Instant gratification mandates that they get their money’s worth in 10 minutes flat. It could get risky for the sharpest of caricaturists if the subject delivers his/her verdict: “That looks nothing like me!”

But fresh from a live session at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Naganath is a happy man. “Not one complained,” he recalls with a smile.