Using the Vine app...

If you have a smartphone or an iPad, chances are you've heard of the Vine app... 

it's a 6-second video-loop camera (overseen by Twitter) that you can use all in one fell swoop, or chopped up into stop-motion animation. Creatives of all types from comedians to cartoonists (often they are the SAME person, as you'll see when I give some recommendations at the end of this post) have discovered its uses. I've been using it mainly for caricature reactions. 

Here's a link to Seenive, a web viewer for Vines---click to see all my Vines.

When I have some free time, though, one of my favorite things to do is make little rock-star homages:

When you download the app, you can see who follows who, but here are links to the outstanding Vines of two of my friends: Marlo Meekins and Celestia Ward.  

College coeds on a beautiful spring afternoon

By Saturday afternoon, I had caught a few hours sleep (after drawing til the wee hours at an after-prom) when it was time to head to a college street fair. I barely used any paper here because the students all wanted twosomes, threesomes and even a few foursomes. Check them out, along with a stop-motion video clip:

The third guy in this one showed up after I'd started the lower two, but I still managed to fit him in. It helped that he was verrrrrrrry tall!

Three pretty ladies!

Heh heh wow!

Adele, sketched with markers

She's this weeks's subject for Traditional Caricature Art Contest on FB. I used Markettes, Micron,  and Pitts...varying markers with varying ink levels (meaning, some of them were pretty dry...I used those to get the shine on her hair).

I remembered I wanted to make a Vine clip after I'd gotten a ways in on it...

Amazing artist. What songwriting and singing...

Caricatures at an amazing Bar Mitzvah!

My first event on Saturday was one where I'd been booked for a loooong time...

 I'd drawn the Bar Mitzvah young man at a fair several years ago, several times...he had a great face and attitude. That's him with his sisters, above. I've also drawn his parents more than once, they've been guests at different functions where I've drawn... so our paths have crossed enough that they graciously invited me and my Other Half to be guests as well as part of the entertainment for Jarryd's big day.
Since my Other Half was with me, I asked him if he'd take photos. He was all pumped about using my new Iphone app, Vine, which takes 6-second video clips---it turned out to be quite the creative outlet for him! ( Thanks, Marlo!) He got some awesome footage of my subjects and other goings-on. For easier viewing for the un-Vined,  I compiled a bunch into one Youtube video. Check it out!

This celebration stood out in many ways: the DJ from Hot Hot Hot was top-notch, the food was scrumptious, the candle-lighting ceremony was moving... 

and the SOCKS were awesome:

Congratulations Jarryd, and thanks for having us!!!

Halloween gigs 2012

This past weekend I did two parties...one was for kids, and one was for teens. The teenage one was held in a strobe-lit tent on the lawn; they situated me and my easel right next to the food, including a big bowl of...cheese doodles. Well, the nasty things are the right orangey color for the season, but anyone who knows me will tell you: I HATE THEM. The smell alone, let alone the taste and texture, make me nauseous. But for the love of caricaturing, I soon forgot about them and delved into drawing faces and costumes. :-)

 Devil girl!

 Sumo wrestler!

 Nerd! I told him the pocket label was great--it said "My mom loves me"

 Cop and kimono-clad Asian dude!

Pirate couple!

At this party, I drew full-body BW-with-orange-background caricatures. There was a bunch of teens in and out all night so I don't know how many I drew.

The photo machine next to me even provided some swag:

Yeah, I dressed up. My much-loved long black witchy dress is soooo versatile.

Here's a little video vibe from the party, to a song that makes me draw even faster!

Bye, tent!

The other party was for eleven-year-old girls. I do know my number of drawings because I took this group photo,

plus this one of two late-comers who were drawn after the group photo was taken:

Total: Nineteen, in a tad over two hours, and these were full body with some color. I told the girls they could have a full-color face or a BW face with some color for their costumes, and that's what all but two opted for. 

Below: a closer-up view in progress.

This young lady hired me for her upcoming bat mitzvah---two+ years away!! :-)

Wedding smiles!

On Saturday evening, I drew at yet another wedding, but this one was extra special--the bride's grandmother is a dear friend of mine, so I was able to attend the ceremony too. What a beautiful couple!

The bride, her daughter and the groom poured sand from three bottles into one--to signify the beginnings of their new family...awwwwww!

Here's the radiant bride with her grandparents:

The theme of the wedding was "circus," an unusual one, but very kid-friendly, as there were a number of small ones in attendance. Enjoy some photos of the atmosphere under the big tent:

The cake, with fondant-caricatures of the couple!

 Our table designation. :-)

The matron of honor made her remarks with the help of an iPad!

And now for some caricatures :-)

The photographer was everywhere and keen to get a caricature, too!

Last but not least, the couple of the day:

Signed and matted!

My own handsome man was with me and took some wonderful photos and footage:

Congratulations, Taylor and Josh!

A fun 1st birthday (just like last week:-)

August seems to be a huge month for birthday parties ( I have five booked in a row in two weeks)---and yesterday was this cute little guy's:

It was held in a nice suburban back yard and even spilled over to the neighbor's, where I was situated:

Here's a few of the guests, and one reaction clip:




After being asked to draw even longer than originally planned, which is always a pleasant surprise, I then got to sit and enjoy the next entertainment: a puppet show!

My 'caricature reactions' video

I'm learning how to use Imovie! Here is my first project!

Haha, okay--that's just a screenshot. Below is the actual video. I just put a somewhat shorter version on my Gigmasters page, and it will probably turn up in a few other places too. :-)


Update: I have now been assimilated (by Youtube!) Resistance was futile. ;-)