Measuring is not against the rules

When you are carving a human figure and something isn't quite right, don't be afraid to pull out a ruler and check some sizes.
Sure you can exaggerate some features, but it is important to create a believable figure. Sure, I make heads larger on a caricature than I would a realistic carving, but that is where most of the character is expressed.

I have notice a movement toward excessively large hands in caricature books. It's understandable when hands are proportionate they seem too small, but personally, extra large hands don't work either.
The story I always get, is that the hand should be equal to the distance from chin to hairline. So if the head is made larger to express more character, the hands end up huge compared to the arms.
I guess the answer is to stuff them into the pockets. :-/

If the hand is equal to the distance from the chin to the hair line, by extension everything else should be relative to the distance from the chin to the hair line. End result - nothing is out of proportion. I'm with Rick, put em in the pockets.

I even had to buy a book on how to make the hands in the pockets look right. Making them look like something that should be there was harder to do than it sounded.

Ken in So Cal

You could always dispense with the hands and give him a couple of hooks ... lost his hands in a hay baler of something. Then, there was Edward Scissor Hands.

Hands are one of the first things a person sees, when looking at a caricature carving. I try to show the hands in as many carvings as possible, always doing or holding something. It seems to fascinate customers. I agree that hands that are too large tend to take away from the piece. Big Al

P.S. It's nice to see some action on the 'Caricature ' column. Big Al

[don]

Definatly hands doing something help the look of a caricature. And I think big is ok if what they are doing show a reason for it.like a fisherman hauling his nets has strong weathered hands and face and a more neutral expression. If the caricature is more of expression, then perhaps larger hands would detract from the overall effect. A drunken cowboy or a peering birdwatcher would seem to get their image across more from their pose and their dress than from hands doing anything. But then I usually put the hands in pockets or mittens too. :-D Don