I don't know how caricaturists do that thing they do. Conjuring likenesses from shapes, marks and hieroglyphics- as practiced by your Eric Palma's, your Piven's, your Brodner's and your Kirsten Ulve's among many others - is a spooky kind of alchemy . I grant that my definition here is a narrow one ( I am, after all, excluding concept and context ) but I've always considered "real" caricature to be a remote and mysterious talent. Luckily, I'm usually just asked to get a likeness -maybe even a "humorous likeness" if the wind is right . Here are a couple of recent efforts. Above, for Kelly Doe at the NY Times, who requested a pensive looking Warren Buffett and needed a drawing in a couple of hours.