[Paboberto]

Well welcome to the Forum!

I am really glad you are here asking clowns about clowns, instead of just simply assuming a whole bunch of things and painting what you think clowns are, and never trying to figure out if that is true. The later seems to be the trend, and the results are almost always horrific.

I am sure others here have more helpful tips, but I just want to say, that to capture clowns well in a still image is hard. Still is not what clowns are or do, they are full of energy, and movement. Even if they are not hardcore knock-about slapstick clowns, they all have lots of life to them. A good painting or picture of a clown will capture that. It will really capture the the clown as a actual person, because that is what we are, no matter what kind of clown one is, not a idea of a human shaped creature that is all fun games and laughter, which a idea that applies really only to August clowns traditionally. White face clowns tried to be serious, and character clowns were just their characters... but more so.

Really to get it right you are going to have to face the freakieness, and go meet and watch some good clowns.

Interesting side fact: Bill Balintine, the first dircetor of Ringlings Clown College was actaully first a magazine artist who got a assignment to draw the Ringling clowns. They got him into some makeup and costume, and gave him a puppet snake in a basket, one night and got him into the ring. I think he ended up touring with them as a clown for about four years.