Book or Hire a Caricaturist from Book-A-Caricaturist.co.uk

Mr Sketchum (aka Alfie) has been drawing caricatures for over 20 years. He is happy to mix & mingle, table hop or set-up in a ‘stall’ format. Alfie draws portraits at events, and hands them to the guests. He can either 'mix'n'mingle' - during drinks before a meal, 'table-hop' - which means working the room and drawing people who are having sit-down dinners, or he can work from one place, as in 'stall format'.

Frequently Asked Questions...

How long has Alfie been doing this?
Alfie has been doing caricatures for as long as he can remember, but he started working professionally in the entertainment industry in 1999.

What does Alfie actually do?!
Alfie draws portraits at events, and hands them to the guests. He can either 'mix'n'mingle' - during drinks before a meal, 'table-hop' - which means working the room and drawing people who are having sit-down dinners, or he can work from one place, as in 'stall format'.

How long does each drawing take?
Three to ten minutes, depending on conditions - lighting, crowds and so on. Alfie is fast and gets as many done as well as possible.

Do we have to look at Alfie while he draws?
Not necessarily, but hopefully that won't be too painful a task! Alfie studied animation so got used to drawing things on the move. When he table-hops during a dinner, he must work whilst people are eating, so he’s used to coming second to the food.

What makes Alfie good at what he does?
All people are experts at judging likenesses whether they are artists or not. Alfie injects a lot of realism into his drawings. A lot of his sketches make people ‘crack up’, but many are just very appealing likenesses, with a little squash here or a little stretch there. He tends not to go near that "cheesy grin", where all the faces look similar.

Does Alfie ever get people who absolutely don't want to be sketched?
It's extremely rare. Alfie is very sensitive to people's responses so if it ever happens he would immediately know it and wouldn’t even begin to draw them. It's never been a problem. What does happen regularly is that people are initially a bit uncertain, and then when they see the result they're delighted because they can really see themselves in the sketch. You may see some on this site that make you think "Ouch! Bet THEY weren't happy!", but you'd be surprised how much people enter into the spirit.

Does Alfie do children's parties?
Yes! Alfie is good at drawing kids and gets on really well with them. They "get it". They like the drawings and are very natural when it comes to sitting. The parents are really happy with the pictures. With kid's parties, he asks that someone connected with the event helps him keep the subjects from straying.

Did Alfie study art?
Aflie studied at the Chelsea College of Art for two years, completed an Illustration degree at the University of Portsmouth for three years and drew animation for one year.

Does Alfie use special pens... what materials does he use?
Alfie uses brush-tipped felt pens on card. He works on A4 unless otherwise advised, in which case he can go larger or smaller. The drawings are presented in clear sleeves with a handy free rubber band. If a logo or message needs printing on the cards he draws on, he can also provide that service.