If Art Deco was a cartoon, it would be rubber hose animation. But why should cartoon characters have all the fun?
Artist Kev Craven grew up with a fascination for the cartoons of the 1930s and '40s, and worked hard to imitate their style. He's always looking for new subjects to recreate in that style. He's done superheroes, movie villains, and even modern cartoon characters, taking them all back to the classic rubber hose appearance. Craven's latest series is recreations of rock stars in his rubber hose style. Not only does he illustrate the most familiar musicians, he records himself drawing them, so we can watch him do it.
@kevcraven Drawing Freddie Mercury of Queen in the 1930s Cuphead Rubberhose style. Who next? Rami Malek did a great job of playing him in the Bohemian Rhapsody movie. #oldcartoons #howtodraw #drawing #drawingprocess #queen
♬ SOMEBODY TO LOVE - ok… but john deacon
Ooh, it's all tubes and circles! And serious attention to detail. Like any caricaturist, Craven identifies the most unique attributes of a person's appearance, and incorporates them into his illustrations. We've seen Freddie Mercury, let's see how he does David Bowie.
@kevcraven Replying to @Legostarwarsfan6 drawing David Bowie Cuphead style! #rubberhose #davidbowie #ziggystardust #cuphead #howtodraw
♬ Starman David Bowie - TOBY !! 🫶🏻
And here is the finished work.
See twenty of Craven's rock legend series illustrations, from Michael Jackson to Angus Young to Kurt Cobain in a ranked list at Bored Panda. See the videos of how they were drawn at TikTok. And check out Craven's earlier works at Instagram.