Cartoon by Daryl Dixon: how I drew Norman Reedus

Cartoon by Daryl Dixon: how I drew Norman Reedus in The Walking Dead

There are characters who, although they belong to a television series, end up being part of popular culture. Daryl Dixon is one of them.

Interpreted by Norman Reedus, Daryl became one of the most recognizable characters in The Walking Dead: its appearance, its expression, its attitude and, of course, its inseparable crossbow form an image that is immediately recognizable.

That's why I decided to take him to the cartoon field.

In this article I want to teach you how I made my caricature of Norman Reedus characterized as Daryl Dixon, from the choice of the reference to the finished drawing.

Why Daryl Dixon?

When I decide to make a caricature of a known character, I'm not just looking for the person to be recognizable.

I look for the attitude, the challenge, the possibility of capturing the expression of that character.

In the case of Norman Reedus there is a lot of material to work with: the shape of his face, jaw, gaze, hair and that slightly challenging expression that characterizes many of his interpretations.

But then there's Daryl Dixon.

The character has a very defined aesthetic. Clothes, hair, attitude and especially expression are part of your visual identity.

All that offers many possibilities when it comes to exaggerating the features and turning the character into a caricature.

Norman Reedus, the actor behind Daryl

Norman Reedus was born in 1969 in Hollywood, Florida, and began his professional career as a model and actor before becoming an international figure.

He participated in films such as Mimic y The Boondock Saints, but it was his incorporation into The Walking Dead in 2010 which definitely changed his career.

Daryl Dixon was created specifically for the television series and was not part of Robert Kirkman's original comics.

The character grew throughout the series to become one of its most popular protagonists.

And an important part of that identity is associated with Norman Reedus himself.

For a cartoon, this is especially interesting: It's not just about representing an actor, it's about representing the actor. become a character that the audience immediately recognizes.

The first step: find the traits that make Norman Reedus recognizable

Before you start drawing, there is something fundamental: observe.

A caricature is not simply about making a bigger head or bigger eyes.

Exaggeration works when you start from a previous observation.

In Norman Reedus there are certain elements that stand out especially:

• The elongated structure of the face.
• The marked jaw.
• The shape of the eyes and the look.
• The nose.
• The cheekbones.
• The hair.
• The characteristic expression of the character.

My goal was to get that, even taking those traits farther from reality, it was still evident that it was Norman Reedus playing Daryl Dixon.

From sketch to caricature

Once the main features have been studied, the part that interests me the most as a cartoonist begins: processing.

The sketch is the moment when practically everything is decided.

Here I don't try to get a nice or finished drawing yet. The important thing is to find the structure, correctly place the elements and decide which traits I will exaggerate.

The cartoon has to maintain a certain balance.

If you exaggerate an element too much but there is no relationship with the rest of the face, the result may no longer resemble the model.

That is why exaggeration must be controlled.

Building Daryl Dixon

After the sketch comes the time to incorporate those elements that turn the portrait of Norman Reedus into Daryl Dixon.

The clothes, hair, expression and characteristic elements of the character help to build the scene.

This is where the cartoon starts to work as a small illustration.

I didn't want to just do a Caricature of Norman Reedus.

He wanted her to be recognized immediately. Daryl Dixon.

The drawing process

One of the things I enjoy most about this type of work is to see how an initially very simple image acquires personality.

First is the sketch.

Then the definitive forms appear.

Then come the details, shadows, volumes, and elements that help build the expression.

And little by little the character begins to appear.

In a cartoon, each line has a function.

A small modification in the shape of an eyebrow, a slightly more exaggerated jaw or a different expression can completely change the resemblance.

That's why the process isn't simply copying a photograph.

It consists of interpret and transform it.

The final result

And this is the result of my interpretation of Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon.

The intention was to keep the elements that make the character recognizable, but bring them into the language of the cartoon: exaggeration, expression and personality.

For me, there is precisely the grace of a good caricature.

Caricature is NOT about making an exact copy of a photograph.

It is about making the design look like the model and, at the same time, have an identity of its own.

What makes a cartoon work?

A cartoon can seem simple when we see the end result.

But behind it are many decisions.

What traits to exaggerate?

How much to exaggerate?

What expression to use?

What elements of the character are essential?

Where to stop the exaggeration so that the resemblance does not disappear?

These are questions that are part of the creative process of each work.

And that is precisely one of the parts that I am most interested in showing in WO Orons: not only the result, but also how a caricature is built.

More cartoons and works by WO Orons

This caricature of Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon is part of my collection of works inspired by well-known characters from film and television.

If you are interested in discovering other works and knowing how they are built, you can continue exploring the WO Orons blog.

You can also know our works of custom caricature and discover how we can transform a photograph into a completely personalized illustration.

Do you want a personalized cartoon?

A cartoon can be much more than a portrait.

It can represent a profession, a hobby, a film, a character or simply a personal story.

If you have an idea and want to turn it into a drawing, you can contact WO Orons and tell us what you have in mind.