These days, when organising a wedding or private party, many people are looking for something different in the way of entertainment for their guests and hiring the services of a caricaturist is proving to be a very popular choice.
There are several reasons for this, which we will go into now. The caricaturist can be very mobile and move from room to room or in a large room, area to area, where ever the guests at the event are at the time. When working in a ‘mix and mingle’ format they have very little equipment, simply a clipboard, paper and some art pens. This allows them to move freely, finding the next guest who wishes to be drawn. While drawing live ‘on the spot’ at events, most caricaturists tend to work in black and white as this enables them to draw more of your guests, the average caricature takes about 5 minutes although this does vary from caricaturist to caricaturist. Some are quicker and some also add a touch of accent colour to the caricatures they have drawn.
Caricatures are drawn on A4 or A3 paper, usually individually, but couples often request to be drawn together. Once drawn, your guest is presented with their very own cartoon and this can be in various formats, rolled as a scroll, in an envelope or in a plastic sleeve.
If required, some caricaturists can also be easel based, where your guests go to artist to be drawn. This way is quicker and more of your guests will get drawn as a result. This is because the caricaturist is not wasting time wandering around, trying to source somebody to draw, which can often be a problem when people are moving around. There are a small number of caricature artists that only work using an easel and do not walk around caricaturing.
Caricatures are a great memento for your guests of your day and quite often end up being framed and hung on the wall at home. It also creates a great ice breaker at the beginning of the function when guests are twiddling their thumbs.
The paper can be personalised if required for a small cost, noting the occasion. This can be a sketch of the venue, a caricature of the bride and groom or text stating the date, location and what the event is.
It is hard to appreciate the amazing effect a caricature artist can have at an event without actually experiencing it for yourself. They create a fantastic uplifting funny atmosphere for your special day and provide endless amusement to everybody, quite often you will see a group forming behind the caricaturist watching what they do in amazement, as the caricature comes to life on the page, smiling and laughing all the way.
The average length of a booking for a caricaturist is three hours. Most caricaturists are flexible though and will work for one to six hours, though they will require a comfort break from time to time. Some caricaturists have a minimum booking period for which they charge, so make sure and ask about this. It might be that a particular artist has a minimum booking period of three hours, so if you book them two hours, you are getting charged the same as if you had booked them for three hours. This may still be good value, but you may as well book the artist for three hours and get even more for your money.
Author Resource:
Mark Grimwade has been supplying Caricaturists to draw Caricatures for weddings throughout the UK since 1995 and his company are now the countries leading source for this unique style of entertainment.