• Job: Caricature artist, Newnan

Photos by KARL W. RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

Bob Comeans compares his self-portrait drawing with the real thing at his home. He attends festivals, weddings, company parties and other events to create 'gentle' caricatures of people. During the week, he's an aircraft mechanic for Delta Air Lines.

(ENLARGE)

Bob Comeans and his self-portrait caricature

• What I do: It takes Bob Comeans about two minutes to capture a person's character on paper. He draws caricatures — cartoons that emphasize people's facial features and personality traits — at fairs, company picnics, school events and even weddings.

"I'm an entertainer through the artwork," said Comeans, 50. "My goal is to help people have a good time."

They also take home souvenirs — portraits drawn in black marker or color crayons on cardstock — that Comeans creates on his portable easel or laptop pad.

"I like to draw fast," he said. "They are in the chair two minutes, then go back to the party."

Comeans works at fairs and festivals, such as the Georgia Renaissance Festival, where he charges individually for the caricatures, and at corporate and private events, where he's paid a flat rate for a certain number of hours.

His sons, Landon, 13, and Connor, 15, help at festivals by holding up signs "to hawk them in," then framing the drawings and taking the money.

"I draw everybody and anybody who want to be drawn," Comeans said.

He starts with an outline of the face, then looks for a prominent feature — hairstyle, goatee, eyes — that he "gently" exaggerates.

"I try to capture their most distinctive feature. With women, it's usually the hair that does it. With men, it's often facial hair," he said.

Adults are easier to draw, he said, because they have more character in their faces than children do.

The result isn't a formal portrait, but what the person looks like as a cartoon.

"I don't go to extremes," Comeans said. "It's a caricature in a gentle way."

• What got me interested in this: "I was interested in drawing in high school, playing around with caricatures," Comeans said. He attended art college and worked for a while as a graphic artist.

Comeans had held a variety of jobs before he got the idea to become a caricaturist. At his sister's wedding about two years ago, he saw an artist drawing caricatures of guests. "I watched him for three hours," Comeans said. "I thought, 'I could do this.' "

After practicing for about a year, "I went public and just kept right on going."

Sitting at an easel isn't his full-time job. During the week, Comeans is an aircraft mechanic for Delta Air Lines.

• Best part of my job: "I get to go where people are happy," he said. "They sit and smile at you. When I'm finished, I flip around the drawing, and they're smiling."

• Most challenging part: "Trying to focus and concentrate when 10 people with drinks in hand are at your elbow and the DJ has the music cranked up," he said. "You can't look like you're focusing and concentrating."

He also must keep his subjects comfortable, relaxed and smiling. Because people don't like to be stared at, "I look at people without looking at them."

• What people don't know about my job: "People are in a hurry. They don't want to pose for me for 15 minutes," he said. "That's OK with me."

• What keeps me going: "It excites me," Comeans said. His goal is to grow the business enough so he can retire from Delta in a few years.

• Preparation needed for this job: You need an interest in art and people, Comeans said. "I went to art college and worked in the field. I went into entertainment and learned to handle people and crowds."

Beyond artistic skill, Comeans recommended getting training to learn the technical aspects of art.

He also said he has to know business and marketing.

"Drawing pictures is 10 percent of the whole operation," he said. "You have to market, sell, promote and find venues. Then you have to make people happy when you get there."

Comeans attended Columbus College of Art and Design and the former Columbus Technical Institute in Columbus, Ohio. He has been a graphic designer, professional ski instructor and emergency medical technician. He also studied magic and has performed as a magician.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.

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