About
About Drawing Booth
Drawing Booth is a team of roaming live sketch artists who create custom portraits of guests at corporate events, luxury celebrations, and brand activations around the world.
Founded in New York in 2014 by artist Elke Reva Sudin, Drawing Booth pioneered the use of digital tablets and mobile printing to create interactive portrait experiences directly within the energy of an event.
Today the Drawing Booth team operates across major event markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and London, with frequent events in San Francisco, Boston, and destination locations such as the Hamptons.
Over the years, Drawing Booth artists have created more than 55,000 live portraits for guests at events ranging from intimate private celebrations to large-scale corporate gatherings.
Each portrait is illustrated in real time and printed instantly on-site, creating a personal keepsake guests take home with them.
The Origin of Drawing Booth
The idea for Drawing Booth grew out of a different approach to drawing people.
Before founding the company, Elke Reva Sudin studied illustration at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she trained under reportage illustrator Veronica Lawlor, known for her firsthand drawings documenting events such as September 11th, and portrait artist Tim O’Brien, whose iconic covers for TIME Magazine have shaped modern portrait illustration.
Lawlor taught students to draw directly from life — quickly, instinctively, and close to the action. Artists were encouraged to move through a scene like journalists, capturing the energy of a moment rather than observing from a distance.
That philosophy later became the foundation of Drawing Booth.
After graduating, Sudin began sketching portraits at concerts using paint markers and a sketchbook, walking through the crowd and giving drawings to attendees. The experience revealed something powerful: people loved seeing themselves interpreted through art in real time.
Early Drawing Booth events used the iPad Air and digital drawing apps like Procreate to sketch portraits live at events.
Before the Technology Caught Up
When Drawing Booth launched in 2014, Sudin purchased an iPad Air to experiment with drawing portraits digitally at events.
At the time, the Apple Pencil had not yet been invented, and artists relied on early third-party styluses such as the Jot Touch, which required separate charging.
Sudin tested numerous drawing apps before discovering Procreate, which remains the primary platform used by Drawing Booth artists today.
Early events required teaching artists how to turn on an iPad before they could even begin sketching.
As tablet technology evolved, so did the Drawing Booth experience.
By 2016, the studio integrated Canon Selphy mobile printers, allowing portraits to be printed instantly while the artist continued moving through the event. Guests often experience a moment of surprise when they realize their finished portrait is printing directly from a small printer worn at the artist’s hip.
Drawing Booth’s creative use of mobile printing has even been recognized by Canon as an example of how artists are pushing the limits of portable printing technology in live environments.
A Different Kind of Event Artist
Traditional caricature artists often sit behind a table, creating lines that slow down the flow of an event.
Drawing Booth artists work differently.
They move through the room, sketching guests while conversations and celebrations continue around them. Each portrait is drawn from scratch on a digital tablet and typically completed in five to seven minutes, depending on the level of color and detail.
Artists must be able to draw while standing, engage guests naturally, and capture a person’s likeness quickly without interrupting the rhythm of the event.
The drawings are not automated and not based on templates. Every portrait begins with a blank digital canvas.
Guests receive a glossy 4×6 printed portrait within minutes, along with a digital copy delivered during the event.
The Energy of Live Illustration
According to Sudin, drawing people at events is as much about energy as it is about technique.
When a guest relaxes and allows themselves to be observed — even for a few moments — the drawing becomes more expressive and personal.
Many guests initially assume the portraits are created by an app or drawn from a template.
When they realize the drawing is happening live and entirely from scratch, the reaction is often a moment of surprise followed by genuine delight.
Capturing a subtle detail — a gesture, a posture, the exact tone of someone’s skin — can make people feel truly seen.
Events We Serve
Drawing Booth works primarily with organizations and hosts seeking a refined, interactive experience for their guests.
Events frequently include:
Corporate gatherings and internal company events
Technology conferences and product launches
Brand activations and experiential marketing campaigns
Luxury weddings and private celebrations
Museum galas and cultural events
Destination events in locations such as the Hamptons
Approximately 65% of Drawing Booth events are corporate, with the remainder split between private luxury events and brand activations.
Where We Work
Drawing Booth provides live sketch artists for events across the United States and internationally. Our artists regularly work in major event markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, and Boston, as well as destination events in places like the Hamptons and other luxury event locations. With teams based in multiple cities and a headquarters in Houston, we are able to bring our roaming portrait artists to corporate events, private celebrations, and brand activations nationwide.
Headquarters
Houston, Texas
Major Event Markets
New York City and entire Tri-State Area: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester, Long Island, The Hamptons, Southern Connecticut, New Jersey.
Los Angeles
Chicago
Miami
London
Frequent Event Cities
San Francisco
Las Vegas
Boston
Washington D.C.
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Dallas
Seattle
Drawing Booth provides live sketch artists for events in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Boston, and destination events worldwide.
Drawing Booth artists sketch portraits live at events in Los Angeles and other major cities across the United States.
