the art of Will Terrell

I will be doing caricatures tomorrow at the Garden and Arts Center: Festival from 9-6!  Come by and get a caricature!  Just $10!!!  (46th and University in Lubbock)  I don’t do Live caricatures much anymore.  So this is a good chance to get out and get one.  Plus the Festival is usually a lot of fun for the whole family!

See you there!

-Will

I bring my sketchbook with me every where that I go, and I try to do at least one sketch each time. Its been a great learning tool and It’s been easier and easier to get into the practice the past few months because I have someone to draw with. I’m very lucky that my girlfriend Amber is also an amazing artist and my best friend. And one of our favorite things to do is draw people together. Last night we were out at Rosa’s Cafe for the awesome Taco Tuesday, and we picked out this amazing character to both draw.

I forget though, just how out of sorts it can seem for people to draw in public. Normally I sit off to the side where no one really notices, but last night we were on the isle and dozens of people were walking past and whispering and coming back to talk to us. Lol. I still think drawing from life in public is one of the best ways to develop your craft. It does take experience though to get used to the attention it sometimes brings. I’ve drawn thousands of caricatures in my career, with all sorts of crowds, so I’ve learned to work a room. But if you’re just starting out, just remember that to most people anything more than a stick figure is something to be admired, so drawing, at whatever skill level you’re at is worth sharing. Just remember to smile and have fun.

-Will Terrell

This is Kevin Krumplebottom, a sour old man with corn teeth and vinegar breath. He hobbles when he walks and wrinkles when he sits, and to the best that I can recall, was surly just about every moment of the day. I met Mr Krumplebottom when I was just a fresh faced young cartoonist hungrily seeking out the beginnings of a career in comics. I must have been 19 or 20, with dreams far bigger than my talents could muster. In my pursuit I was directed to Mr Krumplebottom for advice in starting up a business for my art. I remember doing my best impression of a professional, dressed neat and nice with my little business card and idea pad, showing up on time for the meeting and being led in by the secretary. With a quick cordial hello and a moment of overview. Mr Krumplebottom grumbled a bit and splayed about in his chair like a sack of loose potatoes, before finally leaning forward and postulating that “There is no money to be made in Art. You should do anything but become an artist…. “ “In FACT,” he opined… “you should become an accountant!”

It was a very short meeting. Mr Krumplebottom, thanks for the advice. I don’t think I could have become an artist without you!

-Will

I did this caricature for a Podcast called 2MT – it stands for Two Mikes and a Todd.  Pretty clever.  I bet their pods are clever too.  Go listen to them cast them! (Obviously I’m not too hip on the intertubment casting business.)

-Will

I’ve been thinking about Bob Marley for some reason all day. Couldnt get it out of my head. Decided to repaint a sketch I’d done a couple years ago when I was in Court Jones’ Caricature illustration class at the Watts Atelier. That was probably the most rewarding class I’ve ever been in. Even though I was prolly in the worst place in my life for it at the time. I got a lot from the school, but especially from seeing all of his demonstrations in that class.

Today when I was babysitting my sis’ kids I did a couple really good pen and ink sketches. I colored one of them tonight just to get my mind off the dreb. This is like a whole new level for me. I’m really excited. This is almost something I might see in a book or magazine ad, or something. And it took less than an hour! He kind of reminds me of Bernie from “Weekend at Bernies.”

My hope is that I’m creeping up to that level skill-wise (and discipline-wise) to start getting the higher paying illustration work some of my freelancer friends tell me about. I knew nothing about graphic design when I started. I’ve just stumbled into it, and every day I learn something new about this career. So far, most of the time it seems like I could make more working at 7-11. But then there’s this bright shiney part of the time when I make more than a lot of people do in a month. That paradox is what has kept me from a real job the last 5 years. It hasnt been pretty. But I’ve definitely learned a lot. I’m thankful to be fortunate enough to have done all this. Someday I’ll get there. I now some artists that do the same thing at nearly the same level as me, that make more with one illo than I do with ten. Its good to know that’s out there. Till I get there, I’m grateful for the commissions and comic coloring I have. I feel really lucky that I have these opportunities. That and I’m sure it could be a whole lot worse.

–Will

I love this show!  “Whats Karma?”  “I don’t know… its something Carson Daly came up with.”

I did this as a warm-up this morning.

–Will Terrell

–Will Terrell