As a child in rural Kerala, caricaturist Shijo Varghese discovered that he was skilled at drawing sketches of people he interacted with on a daily basis. After many awards, launching books with caricatures of leading sports personalities and working in a graphics firm for many years, he decided to set up Shijokes, a venture that offers personalised caricatures for all occasions from birthdays, anniversaries and festivals.
Shijo says, “Caricature gifting is relatively new in India. The response has been overwhelming. We specialise in creating customised and personalised caricatures. We are getting enquiries from individuals and corporate entities as well. We are popular on social media platforms and have gained more than 2,000 likes on our Facebook page. The customers see it as a unique and funny gifting option. We take about six to seven days to work on a single caricature, which can occasionally go up, if you want a more customised caricature. To get started on a good caricature, we need a very good photograph of the people whose caricatures need to be drawn.”
The artist adds, “When I started sketching, I used to draw caricatures of my classmates and family members. I used to spend a lot of time studying their face and most prominent features. A good caricaturist must have excellent observational skills, look out for the different facial features of people and draw a sketch accordingly. An eye for detail is a very important skill for a cartoonist.”
Has technology changed the art form? “Not really. I prefer to sketch on paper first and then move on to a soft copy on a computer. Technology and paint tools on devices are great for adding colour and making slight modifications, but it is important to have an idea of a sketch. If you cannot picture a caricature in your head, it is impossible to create a good caricature, even with the help of the best technological tools. We get many enquiries for raw sketches drawn by hand.”
(Shijokes is located at1161/1, Jinan Towers, 4th Floor24th Main, 24th Cross, HSR Layout, Sector 2 and on shijokes.com)
