Time to pay for my playtime away. I have a ton of stuff going right now:

MAD Movie Parody- Crunch time for the finals, due on Friday. Sorry, can’t share that stuff for a while, but I’ll post it as soon as the issue hits the stands.

Scholastic- Two jobs going right now for them, including some small caricatures of historical leaders like Peter the Great, Nicholas I, Stalin and a few others. Here’s a few of the initial studies:

They like simple, cartoony style caricatures for their publication so I downplay the illustration and rendering a bit and do a MAD like job on it.

CD Cover- for an audiobook collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. I can’t get started on that until I get this MAD job done.

Here’s a couple of images from jobs a month or so back, that are in print now so I am therefore able to post the art:

Workplace poster job:

Pencil sketch

Final (ink and digital color)

Ad job:

Gotta get to work….

I’m back from another terrific time at the NCS Reuben awards. The board members and officers really work hard to make this event fun, entertaining and relaxing every year. They secure the sponsorship of the major syndicates like United Media, King Features and others to pay for lavish dinners, parties and gatherings throughout the weekend, which also includes a number of guest speakers and plenty of time left over to hang out with friends and colleagues. Sleep is often an afterthought, with parties going until the wee hours every day.

Festivities kicked off this year on Friday with two guest speakers, Jerry Van Amerongen and Mort Walker. Jerry does the panel cartoon “Ballard Street” (formerly called “The Neighborhood”) and he shared a lot of his work and insights into his process via a Powerpoint presentation. Jerry is from my neck of the woods, so I am very familiar with him and his work. Terrific and funny stuff. Unfortunately, due to the job I had to work on Jerry’s was the only seminar I was able to attend. I missed Mort’s talk on Friday afternoon and both Bud Grace (Pirhanna Club) and Sam Gross (The New Yorker) on Saturday. That was a shame and I wish it could have been different…

Friday night was the traditional welcome cocktail reception that I blogged about on Saturday. This is always a lot of fun, where you see many famous and legendary cartoonists who are all very approachable and easy to meet and talk with. Over the 9 years or so I have been a member, I’ve gotten to know a lot of cartoonists and have seen many of my caricaturist friends (those who are also illustrators or animators) become members, so there is no shortage of conversation. As always, we hung out closely with good friends Keelan and Barbie Parham (and Brady!), Ed and Heather Steckley and Steve and Heidi Silver. All are some of my favorite people and Keelan, Ed and Steve do inspirational work. I also was able to finally meet Mike Luckovich, last year’s “Cartoonist of the Year” and the mega talented editorial cartoonist. He attends the same church as my brother in law in Atlanta, yet we never seem to have found ourselves able to properly meet and chat. Also attending, as most years, was former MAD editor Nick Meglin and his delightful girlfriend Linda Maloof, and MAD art director Sam Viviano. It’s always a pleasure to spend some time with them. There are too many others that we see every year and have a lot of fun catching up with to mention, so I won’t even try.

The weekend isn’t all fun and games. There is NCS business as well. On Saturday morning I attended the NCS business meeting with the board of directors. Sometimes these meetings have a lot of fireworks and heated arguments from people with strong opinions or beefs about this or that. I can see that being on the board is no easy task, and I applaud all the board members for their sacrifices. This year was very subdued and ended quite quickly. Following this I had to attend the annual chapter chairpersons meeting, where NCS Board Chapter Chairman Greg Evans (Luanne) stepped down in favor of new board member Mike Lynch (freelance gag cartoons) who will now act as chapter liaison with the board. I was recently elected vice-chairman of our North Central Chapter, and attended this meeting in the stead of our chairman Oliver Christianson (Hallmark’s “Revilo”), who could not come at the last minute.

Saturday night was the black tie awards dinner. Emceed by Dan Pirarro (Bizarro), it featured a presentation of the NCS silver T-square award for outstanding service to the society to Joe and Luke McGarry. Joe and Luke are the 19 (or maybe 20?) year old twin sons of former NCS president Steve McGarry (Mullets, etc.) who have worked for years on the NCS website, multimedia presentations and other projects for the society. Mort Walker also received the Gold Key award, the NCS’s version of the Hall of Fame and it’s very exclusive company he is in. I think I heard that only 8 cartoonists have ever gotten the Gold Key. Mort is unquestionably the Grand Poobah of the NCS, having created the long running “Beetle Bailey” and “Hi and Lois” and being one of the longest tenured and most respected members.

The awards themselves are kind of a blur for me. It’s hard not to be nervous when you are nominated. My pal Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) won for Newspaper Comic Strip. Steve Brodner won for Magazine Illustration, the other category I was nominated in. That’s my fourth nomination in that category, and no wins so far. Just being nominated with the likes of Brodner, Jean-Jaques Sempe, C.F. Payne and others is a rare honor. The big Reuben for “Cartoonist of the Year” went to Bill Amend (Foxtrot). Bill’s strip has been consistently entertaining for a long time, and he has had this coming. Congratulations to him for the great honor. Here’s a list of all the winners.

Sunday consisted of my having to miss the NCS brunch to attend a meeting of the NCS Foundation, the non-profit charity (for lack of a better word) wing of the NCS. Technically it’s a separate entity, with it’s own board of which I am a newly elected member. The Foundation’s purpose is to administer the principal and determine the bequeathment of moneys for programs like scholarships and the Milt Gross fund for cartoonists with financial hardships. New board chairman Daryl Cagle (editorial/freelance) led a crisp meeting and I will be sharing some of the programs we will be implementing, including scholarships for aspiring cartoonists and details in how to apply, in future blog posts.

Sunday night was a good bye party featuring a Salsa dance band. The last several years this was the traditional “roast” evening where they put on a big show and skewered some long time member, but that was not done this year. There were many people who left early and did not attend this last part of the weekend, but many did and it was still fun to visit with people I had missed at previous functions. There are certain times of the weekend where it’s okay to ask for autographs and sketches, and Sunday’s brunch and evening party are two of them. My kids got lots of comics and books signed by the likes of Bill and Jeff Keene (Family Circus), Mort, Brian and Greg Walker, Chris Browne (Hagar), Rick Stromoski (Soup 2 Nutz), Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm) and a few others.

It was a great time. It was more laid back and low key than some of the past Reubens, and I think that was on purpose just to provide a less hectic and scheduled event. A great deal of thanks needs to be bestowed on outgoing NCS president Rick Stromoski, his life Danna, incoming president Jeff Keane and the rest of the NCS board for the tireless work in putting the Reuben weekend together. Great job and many thanks.

Here are some more pictures from the weekend:

Mort Walker signs a comic for my kids

Sam Viviano, Linda Maloof and Nick Meglin

Rick Kirkman, Steve McGarry, Daryl Cagle and Jeff Keane

Sparky’s widow Jeanne Schulz and The Lovely Anna

Bill Amend and myself

Barbie and Keelan Parham, Heather and Ed Steckley,
Heidi and Steve Silver

Anna and I

Linda, Nick and John Reiner

C.F. Payne and myself

The wonderful Chris and Caroll Browne

Gabrielle and Anna watch Bil Keane sign a book for them

MAD art director Sam Viviano can’t believe I actually won an award.

No time to blog right now, as we are on our way back home from the NCS Reuben weekend. I will write a comprehensive synopsis of the event tomorrow.

I just thought I’d say I am pleased to announce I did win one of the two divisional Reubens I was nominated for on Saturday night. I won for Advertising Illustration. It is a huge honor and it’s quite moving to be recognized by a group full of legends, inspirations and incredible talents such as the NCS. I am humbled and honored.

Q: Do you believe a person can learn to be a great artist? Meaning a person that shows a little talent, do you believe that person can be developed into a great artist? I have viewed studies of “historically” great artists such as Picaso and such and viewed the transformation of the level of his drawing (not very good at first) and then 5 years later after intense study the splendidness of his drawing. I am just starting to pursue my dream of being a great artist (enter the college of art here in the fall) and I think I am above average compared to the normal person’s drawing ability but there is so much I do not know or “see” for a better word at this time. Can a person be taught to draw what he/she “sees” and not the symbols the mind has created and be a great artist.

A: Tough question, both because the terms “talent” and “great artist” are unquantifiable. I believe there must be a spark of natural talent present for someone to be able to develop into any kind of effective artist. If you have zero talent then you can somewhat learn to draw mechanically but you’ll always be missing an important piece of the puzzle. However, the level of natural talent does not determine how good or far someone develops as an artist. That is all up to the individual, and how hard they work at developing their abilities. I know many very naturally gifted artists who have never grown into their abilities nor become successful because they lack the drive and determination (and sometimes the humility) needed to work hard at their skills. An artist must be highly self critical and objective about their own work in order to grow. Sometimes if you have a lot of natural talent you don’t feel the need to work at becoming better, and therefore you do not become better. Those with lesser talent, by necessity, work harder and sometimes achieve greater skills and success than their less energetic but more talented brethren.

That said, great natural talent coupled with hard work is the only combination for that rare, true greatness in art. Take a baseball player as an example. Almost anyone can learn to play baseball, but you need natural athletic ability to become a really good player. Extremely hard work can bring you to the pinnacle of your abilities, and maybe even to the major leagues. However, even among the major leaguers there are some who have superior natural talent, and given the same hard work they will rise to the top and outplay those with less talent, no matter how hard they work. Not everyone has it in them to be a Hall of Famer.

I’m a good example. I am not the most naturally talented artist, but what I lack in talent I make up for in effort and determination. I am very critical of my own work… not enough to cripple me with self doubt but enough to see glaring weaknesses in what I do and understand I need to keep working at becoming better. I’ve seen ( I think) constant growth in my work over the years as a result of that attitude. I don’t have any illusions of ever reaching the level of a Mort Drucker or Jack Davis, but I can promise you I will reach as as high a level as a Tom Richmond can reach. Whatever that level will be, I’ll be happy with it. I think I have a lot of room for growth.

There is an old saying: Art is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration… meaning it just doesn’t happen, but has to be worked hard at. Work as hard as you can, don’t be discouraged by failures and never let anyone tell you you can’t do something.

Thanks to Daniel Singley for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!

It seems to be inevitable that I end up having to bring a job along when we go to the Reuben weekend. It never fails that some deadline is looming and it’s either bring it with or don’t go at all.

Oddly, it almost always works out that the place I end up working in our room is the bathroom. It’s the one room in which I can work late at night (or early in the morning) with lights on and not disturb The Lovely Anna. It’s also the one place where a spill of ink or wash water, or a piece of kneaded eraser, will not destroy carpeting. So I am usually banished to the John to slave away.

The NCS always manages to host the Reubens in a very luxurious hotel. The room rates they negotiate for members is outrageously inexpensive compared to the usual rates at these places, so we often find ourselves staying in a $400-$500 a night five star hotel for a fraction of that price. This year’s hotel may top them all in that regard. Anna jokes that I have inked artwork in some of the finest hotel bathrooms in the world.

So, I find myself inking away today in the bathroom of our Ritz Carlton room. You have to love freelancing.

The sound of a running toilet is so soothing…

After a very late arrival on Friday morning, The Lovely Anna, myself and three of my four kids are in Orlando for the NCS Rueben awards, which are being held at the swanky Ritz Carlton.

Fridays festivities were quite laid back. Jerry Van Amerongen and Mort Walker spoke in the afternoon, and the traditional Friday evening welcome cocktail party was outside under the stars. Here are some pictures from Friday at the Ruebens:

Animator Steve Silver and caricaturist/illustrator Keelan Parham

Anna, Barbie Parham and Brady Parham

Popeye was there! Here he is with my son Tommy..
(Popeye is the one on the left)

Heidi Silver and Heather Steckley

Brady gives illustrator Ed Steckley a well deserved nose tweak

“Pearls Before Swine” cartoonist Stephan Pastis and myself

NYC cartoonist Mike Lynch taking a picture of me taking a picture of him

John Reiner (The Lockhorns) and Mel Lazarus (Momma and Miss Peach)

Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues) and myself

There were many other cartooning greats there but I wasn’t as fast with my camera as I wished I was… I was too busy talking shop with everybody. I’ll have many more pictures from tonight’s black tie awards dinner.

Once again it’s time for the National Cartoonist Society‘s annual Reuben Awards, this year in sunny Orlando, FL. We arrived last night and today begins the festivities. There are some great speakers lined up in Sam Gross, Bud Grace, Jerry Van Amerongen and Mort Walker, as well as lot’s of other fun stuff. They’ll be a few MAD men around as well including art director Sam Viviano, former editor Nick Meglin and who knows who else.

As I wrote in this post, I am nominated for a few divisional Reuben awards in “Magazine/Magazine Feature Illustration” and “Advertising Illustration”. I’ll find out on Saturday night if I get to haul any hardware home with me.

In the meantime, I’ve got my digital camera and my laptop, so we’ll be doing some “Live from Orlando” Reuben blogging this weekend.

We have a wireless home network in the house, with our DSL line connected to a wireless router in my studio. We run a 802.11g Linksys unit and have an extender up on the top floor. My Mac is the only computer hardwired into the router… all the kid’s and The Lovely Anna’s computers have Wireless-G adapters and connect to the internet in that way. We are pretty secure with no broadcasting of a network SSID (the neighbors cannot see our network, and you must know the exact name of the SSID to access it) and password protected login.

802.11n is the latest flavor of wireless. It’s supposedly up to 5 times faster, using multiple antennas to increase bandwidth as well as range. Apple recently released an updated Airport Extreme Base Station using 802.11n technology that promised that faster bandwidth and the much greater range. I picked one up to see if I could switch to an Apple network in the house, in anticipation of getting Apple TV once it becomes prime time.

While Apple says it will work with both PCs and Macs, it’s not very easy to set up with PCs. I got my kid’s computers, which all use a USB Netgear wireless adapter, to connect but Anna’s adapter, a D-Link, refused to do it. My Macbook Pro hooked up like a champ. When connected, all the computers networked just like they did before and it all worked just fine. Obviously it’s a hardware compatibility issue.

The other problems? The range was actually worse than the Linksys. I don’t know if they only count totally open space with regards to increased range (i.e. in a cornfield you get three times the range), but at least for me it did no better getting through floors in my house than the Linksys did. It also didn’t much like to play with the portable Airport Express I configured to use as a repeater for the upper floor where the kids computer’s are. While it seemed to configure just fine, the kid’s computers refused to connect to the Express and insisted on trying to connect to the weak Extreme signal. Getting rid of the extender, a serious eyesore in our top floor hall, was one of the selling points of this for me.

The other was faster speeds. It occurred to me as I was using the new network that we would experience no increase in internet speed with the Wireless N router. My DSL line operates at 1.5mbs and the wireless G router was many times that speed already… having a faster N router would not make the DSL line any faster. Besides, unless I replaced all the wireless adapters with Wireless N ones, the speed gain for file transfer would be non-existent anyway. The only computer capable of running the N flavor was my Macbook Pro. Transferring files from it to and from my studio Mac would be faster (didn’t really notice that, either) but only if none of the other computers was transmitting data. When a “G” adapter sends a “G” signal to the Airport Extreme, the fastest the Airport Extreme can run is at “G” speeds. “N” adapters are handcuffed.

I took the Airport Extreme back with regrets.

If you are an all Mac home and have the latest Airport cards (N) installed, or get them upgraded, then this router is for you. Expect to have to add an Airport Express to extend your range if you are going through multiple floors, and be sure you name your Express something besides the same SSID as your main router, or you will not be able to connect to it as opposed to the distant Airport Extreme. That I think was my mistake. If you have any PCs in the house, stick with Linksys, Netgear or others for now. Hardware compatibility with wifi adapters is too sketchy right now for a mixed environment. Maybe one day Apple will make an Airport USB wifi adapter that will work with PCs so everything is compatible. If that happened the Airport Extreme would be a great all around solution for basic home networking needs.

Read this review for more info, but the reviewer seems to agree with much of my experience.

Tonight is the big season finale of “LOST”, which I will miss because of…

I also haven’t seen the season finale of “Heroes”. Thank goodness for TIVO. Now I just have to avoid listening to anybody discussing either show until late next week…

In the meantime, as if anyone has the time to waste on a game as opposed to watching TV, there is a new game for the iPod out based on the LOST TV show. Just what I need, another possible distraction.

LOST Game Screen Capture

It looks extremely cool. You play as Jack and have to find food and water (and dynamite), take care of the other castaways, avoid the black smoke and other LOST activities. According to the game’s iTunes page (you’ll need iTunes to visit that link) the ‘storyline’ was written by the show’s writing staff. As Jack you interact with other main characters such as Locke, Sayid and Kate (woo hoo), meet and try to escape “The Others”, visit the island’s hot spots like Black Rock, the hatch, etc. The game page has a short demo which features photos of the cast as they “speak” and gives you a glimpse into the different parts of the game.

Since the game’s written by the show’s creative team, I wonder if it will start out exciting and then you’ll find yourself running in circles for a few hours before it picks up again. Heh, heh. Sorry… couldn’t resist.

LOST has really gotten good here at the end of the season. I’ll write a post finale article later, once I beat the DDD and can sit and enjoy it.