Al Lopez has been drawing caricature portraits professionally since June 1985. Personally he has draw them for many more years.

As a young boy Al enjoyed drawing cartoons of animals. In junior high he started making funny faces of his teachers. While attending the California college of Arts and Crafts, (BFA Drawing 1985), he would sketch comedians while they performed live at comedy clubs.

Al's first "gig" caricatures were drawn in pen and ink. After he met "Texas Tim" Webb at his "Designer Caricature Workshop" in 1991, he started using markers. As a result of the workshop, Al became "Big Al". Texas Tim said that people will remember you more if you have a catchy moniker. In 1996, Big Al won the "Silver Nosey" award at the National Caricaturist Network's annual convention in Houston, Texas. At the 2000 convention, Big Al's caricature of "Atomic Jenny" was voted one of the Top Ten caricatures of the year.