Olle Magnusson is the second guest artist of our interview series. His caricatures truly are little precious masterpieces. What is most striking is Olle's extraordinary precision in grasping the likeness while maintaining an immediately recognizable style. He never fails! Distortions and exaggerations are always impeccably compensated by fine technique and elegance. Hanging lips, pointy chins or microscopic eyes, Olle knows exactly where to go and when to stop before losing the likeness. His pictorial technique achieves an amazing almost tactile effect adding dynamism and personality to his work.
Caricatures by Olle Magnusson (All Rights Reserved)
We featured some of Olle's mind-blowing works here also check his Facebook page for more:
https://www.facebook.com/olle.magnusson.31
Tell us a little about yourself
First I’d like to thank you for inviting me, it is an honor. I’m 51-years old and live in Linköping, Sweden. I work as Art Director and illustrator.
When and how did you come across the art of caricature?
I must have been 14-years old when I got a copy of Mad Magazine from my father visiting USA. There was a movie parody of the movie The Sting drawn by Mort Drucker. I was hooked. From there on I bought every Mad Magazine I could find.
Caricatures by Olle Magnusson (All Rights Reserved)
Do you make a living as a caricaturist?
When I was 20 I worked as a caricaturist and illustrator for different newspapers. I was a freelancer for 3 years and then started at an advertising Agency. I worked more as Art Director than Illustrator. As the years went by I just stopped making caricatures because it didn’t interest me at that time. Two and a half years ago I got interested again and bought a Wacom tablet and began to learn digital painting. Right now my main income comes from the Advertising business but since two years back I sell caricatures to different newsagents.
Do you get your caricatures published in magazines newspapers or blogs?
Newspapers buy my caricatures via Bulls Press and MCT-international. Agencies usually don’t tell me exactly which newspaper downloads them, but after searching around I have found some of them on American, European and Asian newspapers.
Caricatures by Olle Magnusson (All Rights Reserved)
Are you in touch with the world of art galleries?
No I haven’t got into that yet.
Are you physically in touch with other colleagues?
Just via Facebook, but it would be great fun to meet some of my colleagues.
Do you take part in gatherings, exhibitions, fairs, or guild/club?
No, but it could be fun if I have the time.
Caricatures by Olle Magnusson (All Rights Reserved)
Who are the masters you admire the most?
Mort Drucker, David Levine, Honoré Daumier, Anders Zorn. I also get inspired by my brilliant colleagues I meet in different caricature groups on Facebook
Does your online activity affect the way you approach your work? How much time do you spend online?
When I begun with digital painting I spent a lot of time looking at tutorials on Youtube. It helped a lot and I learned very useful tips from different artists. Nowadays I also look at oil paint and watercolor tutorials because you can approach digital painting in almost the same way. I probably spend half an hour every day looking at other artists work on Facebook. It gives me tons of inspiration.
Caricatures by Olle Magnusson (All Rights Reserved)
Can you tell us a little about your technique? Do you prefer digital, traditional, both?When I was younger I worked with pencil and finished the caricature in ink. Now it’s mainly digital, although I always sketch with pencil on paper. I like the feeling of the surface and in my case the base for the caricature gets better that way. Once I like the sketch I scan it and paint it in Photoshop. I work with a few layers. 1. background 2. main painting 3. hair. I usually spend 3 or 4 hours with a caricature. I know I should spend more time because the end result would get better, but mostly I don’t have the time. I focus on getting the eyes and mouth right. If you nail those it’s a good chance the caricature turns out great. Once in a while I do watercolor work. It’s great fun but I need to practice more.
Can you give some advice to young cartoonists?
Study artists you admire and spend as much time as you can drawing sketches of their work. Look at how they solve the head shape and proportions and their technique. It’s a good thing to try a variety of styles, you will learn something new every time. So if you want to work as a professional illustrator you have an advantage if you master cartoons, portraits and caricatures in different styles.
Do you have any hobbies or other passions?
I like to keep myself updated on what’s happening in the world, so I read the news, science and historical publications a lot. I also like music and all sorts of movies. In the summer I do a lot of fishing or just spend time in the countryside.