Caricaturing for The Masked Singer

My Design for the ITV Entertainment Show (Includes SPOILERS)

Recently, an oversized caricature head that I designed appeared on the UK version of The Masked Singer. It was a likeness of the show’s host, Joel Dommett, and you can watch a video (with spoiler) of the caricature head being worn by the mystery guest on screen here. The reaction of Joel and the celebrity panel to the caricature was pretty gratifying.

Below is one of my drawings on which the sculpt and fabrication were based. Also shown are photos of it in various stages of completion on the work-bench at Plunge Creations, who are also the very talented guys behind ITV’s Big Heads, on which I worked in 2016.

Below you can see the clay stage, based on drawings of Joel Dommett that I produced, and which are partially visible in the background. Plunge would send me pics of the sculpt at various stages of the process, and I would mark the modeller’s homework by doing correction over-drawings on the progress photos.

Here (below) is the head rendered in a lightweight material from a mould of the clay sculpture. It’s shown without eyes, hair, or paint applied. A kind of shoulder/neck harness is built into the head so that the contestant can wear it securely and safely on stage.

And this (below) is the finished item, with his costume awaiting him in the background. The wide smile isn’t just for aesthetics. It allows the mystery contestant to see out of the head, and to belt out a tune on stage.

I’m currently working on another project with Plunge, and I’ll post details in due course. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this brief insight into 3D caricature.

Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to my Substack so that I can continue to justify posting articles here. You’ll get access to my masterclass series, pieces about how I put painting commissions together, my creative process, and a host of other stuff about my approach to the magnificent art of caricature.