Jelly Caricature: Get Cute Hand-Drawn Manga-Style Portraits Of Yourself In Singapore, Pets Are Also Welcome

If wacky face filters that turn us into anime and Pixar characters have shown us anything, it’s that we humans love seeing cartoonised versions of ourselves. While newfangled AI apps might be able to get the job done in seconds, nothing beats the fun of having an actual live artist doodling right in front of you, with the finest details of your cartoon self painstakingly filled in with proper heart and care.

For non-traditional caricature portraits with a cute manga-style twist, check out local art collective Jelly Caricature in Singapore. 

Photo from Jelly Caricature

Caricature booths are occasionally seen at carnivals and pop-up events, and if you’ve ever sat down for such a portrait, you’d know that these often play up one’s facial features in a humorous manner. So if you’ve got a wide forehead or big nose, be prepared to have these appear even larger in the final product.

While that’s all just for a bit of fun and laughter, not everyone appreciates having their looks exaggerated - especially if some of these distinctive traits are an existing source of insecurity - but that’s where Jelly Caricature fills the gap. With a Japanese-inspired slant, their hand-drawn art will ensure that you look cute on paper, all while staying true to the physical attributes that make you uniquely you.

Photo from Jelly Caricature

At present, a portrait for a single person costs $15, but you can make it a couple deal with your partner or BFF at $25. If your partner’s out of town, you can always show the artists a reference photo, and they’ll draw him or her in without any hassle! It’ll almost be like they were actually there, and the best part is, no one will be able to tell.

Photo from Jelly Caricature

It’s also possible to request to be drawn together with your favourite celebrities - which means you can now get a picture with your beloved K-idol oppa framed up on your bedroom wall, even if you haven’t managed to meet him in person!

The Wednesday Addams portrait above is testament to how well these drawings can resemble their subjects. If only Jenna Ortega could see this - we bet she would be honoured.

Photo from Jelly Caricature

Proud parents or paw-rents can also get keepsake portraits with their little ones; Simply top-up $10 for an additional baby or pet to be included.

Photo from Jelly Caricature

Scrolling through Jelly Caricature’s Instagram page, you might notice that the portraits differ a little from each other in terms of style. This is because there are multiple artists within the company, each with their own uniqueness.

That said, there’s no need to worry about the final product, for all of the artists are equally skilled and churn out their drawings according to a uniform set of guidelines - thus ensuring that the brand’s signature modern manga vibes are retained and your portraits don’t turn out looking wildly different from what you’ve expected.

Photo from Jelly Caricature

In any case, the respective artist’s sample works will be laid out, so you can check out their drawings and have an idea of how yours will turn out first before making your purchase.

Check out the couple portrait I got done, and compare it with the real-life version below - Jelly Carticature’s artists have certainly got all their deets down pat!

Photo from Jelly Caricature and Studio03

Currently, Jelly Caricature only does black and white marker-on-paper caricature portraits - all skillfully drawn in just 5 to 7 minutes - but they’re looking into expanding their range of offerings with coloured digital drawings in the near future.

Photo from Jelly Caricature

They don’t have a permanent physical store at the moment, but you can catch their booth at various upcoming pop-up events such as Artbox 2023 and The Hammock Market, as well as the temporary stalls at the Trickeye Museum and Orchard Gateway. Stay tuned for more updates via their socials here.

If you can’t make the trip down for some reason or another, you can send your photos over to them and have your finished portraits self-collected at Studio03, Singapore’s first and only Korean-style IC & passport photo studio.

Jelly Caricature’s price list:

Photo from Jelly Caricature