Chronicles of a Caricaturist

CHENNAI: Who wouldn’t want to see a caricature of themselves? These days, wedding cards with the couples’ love stories are told through them. Open to a lot of innovation and giving the cards themselves a cool look, they are becoming increasingly sought-after and caricature artists are in demand, says Raja Maran R, an artist.  He makes live and digital caricatures too, earning a living out of drawing them.

Raja, who recently switched over to caricaturing as his full-time profession, finds it profitable because there aren’t many in town who are into making live caricatures, and simultaneously, there is a demand for caricatures as gifts for weddings and parties. “I have been making live caricatures (with pen and colours) for over 12 years and digital caricatures for four. Recently, it became my full-time profession and I find it profitable,” says the artist.

Speaking at an exhibition of his caricatures at the Ambassador Pallava, Egmore where over 25 caricatures of the artist are exhibited for a week (until May 31), he says one of the most demanding ventures that also fetches him a lot of orders is a wedding. Especially during these months when it’s the wedding season among Hindus, there is definitely an increase in those wanting caricatures. But there are a consistent number of orders for Christians and Muslim weddings all around the year, he explains.

“There are very cliché orders like the bride and groom as Radha and Krishna, them coming out of an aeroplane or even a car. But then, there are orders wherein I have to use my creativity as well. They explain their requirements in an abstract way and I can use my imagination too,” adds Raja.

Besides weddings, other orders come in from corporate companies and for illustrations in books. “Corporate ask for caricatures in numbers of 200 and 300 and making illustrations on books is fun. To make just a single caricature, it takes close to three hours and the end product is satisfying, although the process is laborious,” he signs off.