Ahhh... The city of brotherly love in Summer time- 80 degrees and sunny, while surrounded by 10's of thousands of people make for the perfect day to draw.
Here are some of the highlights, including the premier of my new banner - thanks to www.DistinctGraphicz.com.  A special thanks to fellow caricature artist Schay Glover (3rd pic) and his amazing wife for their generosity. At the bottom I added some personal photos from Easton, PA. Can't wait until next year already!

Caricatures by Ryan has just teamed up with some of Disney's Finest Face Painters.
Check out this site for some great work! www.sabiensfacepaintings.weebly.com/

Digital Caricatures are becoming a great way for the bride and groom to offer something new and unique to their guests. I will be posting some of my recent weddings on here shortly to show you how much fun they are having with this. The good ol' Pen and Ink is still the most demanded but Digital is coming in a close 2nd!
I'm even offering a full color caricature (digital) to the bride and groom as a gift for hiring me for more than 3 hours.

When I am at an event a lot of people- kids especially want to know how to get started and where to buy everything (Cost of Entry). Every artist is different but there are certainly some things that never change.
Here are the supplies that one would need to get started and what I use:
• French Easel- A must! It's portable and has held up for 8 years so far!
• Markette Markers- buy these from www.big-smile.com Tell, Jodie I sent ya :)
• Good Cover Stock Paper- 60lb or heavier 11 x 14 is a good size.
• ULINE Bags- 12 x 16 , 2mm work great.
• Prismacolor Art Stix- I purchase these from www.dickblick.com
• Beret'- Gotta go to France and get this one :) Adds to the ambiance!
• 11 x17" -Fiber Craft foam sheets- I use these under the drawing, helps the prismacolor look  
   like pastels and very smooth. Can purchase a pack of them at Michaels.
• Clip on Lights- and an extension chord.
• Color Markers- Sometimes for gift caricatures I use 100 marker set from
   Michaels- They are inexpensive and offer a good range of colors. $22 or so
• Chairs- I use 3 folding chairs from Ikea- Terje
• an HB Pencil and White eraser is a necessity for sketching.
• Referrence Links for items and books- See below!
Good Luck!
Ryan
    

My most recent Gift Caricature I completed for a woman in Boca who's friend was turning 40. I had to add in the husband into the pic as well.  This one was done completely on my Cintiq 21 and emailed.  She also received a full body avatar to use on facebook etc.  I am also attaching some screen shots of my process.
I sketched it first on the tablet on a separate layer from the final line work and color layers, of which there were about 4 of each total. Layers are good as you can turn things on and off and it saves you if you want to change something. I fixed her eyes from the initial inked-sketch and the composition was modified as well. All sone in photoshop.

People have asked me how do I do what I do? I used to say it was in the "magic" marker... now that I've offered digital, I have to make up another story :)

First off I'd like to say that you must love the digital world if you want to get into this.  Its not easy and it can be a big learning curve. Most tried and true artists love the pen on paper feel and fluidity it bring to a drawing. While I can't argue that point I will say digital has its own advantages, IF, you have the right equipment.
This is no time to penny pinch. The right tool will get you the right result as long as you bring the patience and the skillz!
The tools of the trade:
Well, I must take a moment to call attention to my equipment of choice.  I was working on a WACOM Graphire 4x6 Digital Tablet and "managing". This tablet did the job but was certainly not offering the interaction I desired. Since then, I have since upgraded to the Cintiq 21 UX.  This tablet is amazing.  It is very natural and easy to use once you get the brushes and feel for how it all works.
Here are the specs below if you would like the best price online! Most sell for over $1,999. Amazon has it for less and it was free shipping too!
Operating System
I am Running Vista on my laptop with it and using Corel Painter X and Photoshop depending on the need. Sometime in the studio I move over to my Mac Mini as well, Running OSX 10.4.11- a bit behind I know. :)
LCD Screen of choice
At big Corporate Events and major events that warrant and pay for the "supersized" effect, I offer a projection set up and a larger 28" LCD Display. This LCD is a Hanns-G or I-Inc. (same). You can pick these up on Tigerdirect.com when they run specials... usually they are between $299 - $350.

Printing and Projecting
As far as printing - The best portable, fast and low cost printer I've found is the Epson Picture Mate Dash.(see below)  This thing prints at $0.26 a sheet, and takes only about 36 seconds to print as compared to most 75 second printers that are more expensive.

I got a call from a sweet lady just west of Orlando that I had met at a Festival 6 months ago. Turns out her and her family own/run a convalescent home and wanted me to come up to draw caricatures of the 75 residents! I had not anticipated this one being such a special time but it was one that I will never forget. I made some great friends with Ed, Joy and Peter who made me laugh more than I made them. Some were lawyers, and dancers and school teachers and influential back in the day...that part is sometimes hard to remember, that they were once very active and contributing parts of our society. I hope to go back in the fall or winter. Here's a snapshot of the day of my special friends.

A New York couple wanted a Christmas Gift that was unique.  This is what was delivered.  Rumor has it I helped her fall in love with him all over again!

People always ask me how I work. Here's a close up picture of my set up in the studio. I usually place the laptop on the side of my easel and sketch as if your right in front of me. It works nice because I don't have to remind you to smile :) This one was a Mother's Day Gift from the Grandkids of a family in Orlando.