One art critic compared the new Harry Kane bronze statue to a bulging-jawed comic strip character. The infamous Cristiano Ronaldo bust in 2017 gave the chiseled soccer star a chubby face and goofy smile.

Making a sculpture look like its subject is a new idea, an expert says – in the past, sculptors rarely depicted people accurately.

Sculptors are offering tips to avoid pitfalls. London-based Hywel Pratley says sculptors must first get the subject’s profile correct “and then you can go forward with more confidence.”