Get the best Group Caricature – Do’s & Don’ts for success!

Do you have a special occasion, anniversary, product launch, team achievement, or retirement you want to commemorate with a fun, custom-designed, group caricature? With over 35 years of experience in illustration, corporate branding, and design, Goofy Faces will create a unique and memorable piece of art for your team or family.

Like most artists these days, we do not have an art studio that is open to the public. However, if you are nearby one of our retail art stands like the ones we have at Los Angeles Zoo, Denver Zoo, Aquarium of the Pacific, The Florida Aquarium, St. Pete Pier or The National Zoo, you can drop by to be drawn live and in color by one of our talented artists while you wait. The next best thing to drawing live is to draw your group from photos. It’s important to have good, current, well-lit images.

A lot goes in to creating the artwork, so providing the best quality photos up front really helps make the process go smoother and helps keep your project on time.

What makes a good photo for your group caricature?

Here are some expert Do’s and Don’ts to help you pick the best photos to send so we give you the best end result!

• Do: Provide individual photos of each person you want in the final image. The best photos include:
  • The person’s full face, preferably including head and shoulders
  • Smiles (if you want your drawing to be of the person smiling, the artist needs to see their smile!)
  • Enough detail to see eye and hair color. If not, include that info with your request.
  • Small group pictures (of 2 to 4 people) can work as long as the artist can still see the whole face
• Do: Send original jpg files, with the face at least 2” wide at 300 dpi.
• Don’t: Try to grab headshots off of your company website or someone’s Facebook page
  • Why not? These images are sized to be seen online. So file sizes are usually small. The artist will not be able to enlarge them to draw and still be clear enough to create a quality caricature.
• Do: Send full-color photos.
• Don’t: Send black and white photos – unless you want the finished drawing in black and white!
  • Your artist can draw in black and white from a color photo, but to draw in color, we need to see things like hair and eye color.
• Don’t: Send a picture of the whole group. The faces are usually tiny in group shots!
• Do: Send current photos – the artist needs to see the person’s current hair style, facial hair, and glasses if they wear them (and you want them included).
• Don’t: Send graduation or wedding photos from 10 years ago! The artist draws what the artist sees. If you send a picture of Uncle Joe with a beard, you will get Uncle Joe with a beard. Asking for a change after the drawing is done incurs additional fees.
• Do: Make sure you can clearly see the face.
• Don’t: Send backlit pictures or pictures with lots of shadow.

How to order a custom group caricature

Your group caricature can take many formats. The possibilities are nearly endless! Once you have gathered your images, you’re ready to order. To get the best product that looks like your vision, note these tips:

For groups up to 4, use our online Caricature Shop! It’s easy-to-use and has all the information your artist needs to create a fabulous finished product. Be prepared to include the following details you want for your final image:

• How many people will be in the image?
• Will the final be black and white (less time and $) or full color?
• Do you want to see only faces or faces and bodies?
• Will the people be together in a group or doing an activity?
• What other background elements do you want? (additional fees apply)
• What size will you print the finished product? (Standard maximum size is 8.5”x11”.)

All custom orders are drawn digitally. When it’s finished, you will receive a link to your drawing or it will be emailed directly to you.

You can use your image to make personal prints, cards, t-shirts etc. If you want the final image to be larger than the standard 8.5×11 size, either because there are more people than will fit or you are making a large print or banner, please specify that in advance so we can make sure your image will reproduce with minimal loss of clarity.

Thinking about composition, do you want your drawing to be static (people standing around) or active? Maybe you want to see three best friends fishing or a group of engineers driving the car they built. It’s fun when you can see the caricatures engaging in a favorite activity or using the new product you’re launching. If you have a company or product logo you would like included, be sure to ask for pricing as it will usually be an additional charge for commercial use.

Please contact us with any additional questions! Or go to the Caricature Shop now.