Date: 08th October 2025
Location: Chennai
The studio buzzed with pencils scratching and laughter echoing as our latest Basilic Bytes session brought caricature to life, A comical yet deeply expressive art form that reminds us how humor, imagination, and creativity can make our minds lighter and happier.
Inspired by Walt Disney’s thought, “All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures. It is the very nature of fantasy and fable,” the session explored how caricature goes beyond exaggeration. It’s about perception, storytelling, and emotion captured through lines.
The session was mentored by Syed Riyaz, a BFA student from Chennai with over 13 years of artistic experience in pencil sketching, oil painting, live art, and watercolor. His artistic journey also includes work in prosthetic makeup and collaborations with several renowned art directors in the Tamil film industry during his early years.
The audience came in curious and, let’s be honest, a bit impatient, excited for the funny faces and exaggerated lines they get to draw. But Syed had other plans. He began calmly with the basics of facial anatomy, explaining proportions, planes, and balance. The crowd politely nodded along, silently wondering, “When do we get to the caricature part?”
Just when they thought the anatomy section was wrapping up, Syed smoothly transitioned into eye replication exercises, showing how much emotion and mischief a pair of eyes can hold. By then, the audience had surrendered to his pace, sketching and laughing as they learned that every good caricature begins with solid fundamentals.
Finally, Syed brought it all together by demonstrating live caricature using an example from one of the participants by observing their features, expressions, and turning them into a cartoon that had everyone in the room grinning.
Reflecting on his experience, Syed shared,
“I was nervous because taking this class was a first-time experience for me. But as the session went on, I really had fun teaching, interacting, and showing everyone the artistic perspective. How caricature is created by observing and analyzing people.”
His words captured the essence of Basilic Bytes, a space where learning flows both ways, where artists explore not just techniques but perspectives, and where knowledge is shared generously within the creative community.
By the end of the session, every participant left with a sketchbook full of expressive faces and a mind full of ideas. A perfect reminder that art, at its heart, is meant to make us see, smile, and share.
