This is just a quick note to apologize to those who have ordered copies of my MAD book “Bo Confidential” with either a Bo or Alfred sketch, or more recently with a caricature sketch of someone from a photo in the last several weeks for the delays on getting these books out. I have been working feverishly on a couple of jobs which have impending deadlines, and will still be tied up through the weekend on them. I have not forgotten about you, and I appreciate your order and your patience.

Next week I have Tuesday slated to do all the sketches and caricatures and ship out all the copies of the books thus far ordered. I have to do it on Tuesday as Wednesday begins a period of intense travel for me where I will literally be out of both the studio and (for most of the time) the country for 5 out of the next 6 weeks. More details on all that later.

Thanks again for your patience and I hope you enjoy the book and sketches when they arrive.

I had taken down my little sidebar ad for my art show at the Toonseum in Pittsburgh on Monday as it was suppose to close on the 4th. However I received their e-newsletter that says they have extended the show until October 18th! So, back with the sidebar ad. Now you have a little bit more time to go see the show and be nauseated.

Check out the Toonseum’s website and blog for details on upcoming shows, their big move and other news!

Click for a closer look…

I was given this great little gem by fellow Minnesota cartoonist David Phipps at our recent NCS Chapter meeting. He ran across it as an antique store or some such recently and thought of me, being a huge Mort Drucker fan.

This is the cover of a comedy album from 1966, coincidentally the year I was born. On the album are comedy sketch with impersonators John Byner, David Frye and Will Jordan doing the voices of all kinds of politicians, celebrities and other characters. Obviously Mort did the cover art, chock full of his usual caricature brilliance.

My favorite one is Dean Martin juggling booze bottles while balancing a drink on his nose.

Well, it finally happened. Yesterday was the first day since the inception of The MAD Blog that there was no post. Not even a Dreaded Deadline Demon. I will plead exception as I was trapped in airports with delayed flights and missed connections and did not arrive back home until midnight last night. Oh well.

In the meantime here’s a couple of super-fast sketches of some of the “political heads” I’m working on for this iPhone app project. I did these sitting in the airport, about 3-5 minutes each, and they pretty small at only about 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall. They will be inked (sort of) and then colored for the project. I do the sketches for these very loose and rough intending to make corrections when I ink them, so some of the relationships of the features will change in the final and of course the features themselves will be much more accurately drawn.

In case you are wondering, these two guys are Rep. Glen Thompson, Pennsylvania 5th District and Rep. Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico (non voting member of the House of Representatives).

The North Central Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society had our annual fall meeting this past weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Organized by former (and long time) chairman Ken Alvine, the chapter had several planned activities and speakers over two days.

On Friday, eight or so of us went to Sioux Falls’ Lincoln High School to participate in “Career Day”. We set up individually in the library and talked to small groups of students about what we do and how we do it, and answered their questions. It is always great getting to talk with kids about what being a cartoonist is all about… they are always extremely interested. I think it’s because they find it hard to believe anyone can make a living drawing funny pictures. Come to think of it, I know a few parents who also find that hard to believe despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary.

The next day we met at the delightful Zandbroz Variety bookstore for three special guest speakers- Chris Browne (Hagar), David Mowder (Hallmark) and Mike Edholm (Martians, Undercover Cockroach) followed by a book signing with Paul Fell (Huskernutz) Chris (The Complete Hagar- 1973-1973) Jeff Koterba (Inklings) and myself signing MAD‘s Bo Confidential.

Chris Browne’s presentation had us in stitches…

David Mowder shares some PhotoShop secrets

Dave’s demo

Chapter chairman Mike Edholm’s presentation

Mike shares his latest project

Me and Chris at the book signing

That evening we had the pleasure of being invited to Chris and Carroll Browe’s lovely home for a wonderful dinner and even more wonderful company.

At the Browne’s home

In Chris’s Hagar studio! R to L: Dave Carpenter, John Hambrock and Scott Holmes

A Hagar Sunday in the works!

An unruly chapter meeting

The whole crazy gang in Chris and Carroll’s kitchen!

Great time as always. What fantastic people Chris and Carroll Browne are. Thanks to them, Ken, chairman Mike and everybody for putting on the event.

Having grown up mostly on the east side of the Mississippi in Wisconsin, and having suffered through the 80′s as a Green Bay fan, here’s what I’m hoping to see when the Packers take on the Vikings tonight… but it’ll be a tough one.

The last weekend of September The Lovely Anna and I went to New York in part to attend the opening of an art show of work by the Long Island chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, aka the “Berndt Toast Gang”. The show featured, among many terrific artists, the work of my long time friend Ed Steckley.

Ed is a very talented illustrator and cartoonist, as well as being one of the best live caricaturists I have ever seen… and that’s saying something as I have seen some thousands of them. He does a lot of storyboard work for commercials that you have probably seen on TV, as well as publication work including a piece in MAD some years back. For the show he did six beautifully painted watercolors of classic pin up girls but drawn in his distinctive half caricature/half realistic style. Ed was a manager for me for many years in my Six Flags parks in Missouri and in Massachusetts, and started drawing caricatures for me at Valleyfair in 1992. Ed has a recently revamped website well worth a visit.

Any time we get an excuse to visit NYC we take it… it’s a great place to go.

Here are some pictures from the show:

Me and Ed Steckley

Great crowd at the opening

Some great stuff by Ray Alma

More Ray Alma work

My favorite of Ed’s terrific watercolors

The Lovely Anna and the Goldbergs

The work of John Reiner and Bunny Hoest

Caricaturist Marty Macaluso and Don Ohrek

Close up of Don Orhek’s work

Me, Ray Alma and Ed

Heather and Ed Steckley

Work by legend Stan Goldberg

Another Stan Goldberg piece

Q: My question is about freelancing in the drawing area, like you, how you charge your clients? I mean, do they pay you before drawing or after that? or just 50% at the beginning and the other at the end of the project? How much is normally the price for each project? Because the client often fear the price and at the end they will not work because of that.

A: These are actually many questions, so I’ll try and answer them one by one.

Do you charge the client before you start the work, or after?

That depends on the client. A new client that I do not know much about, or a client that gives off a “questionable” feel I will require an advance payment on the job. I then require a second payment after the pencil stages are approved, and then the balance upon delivery of the final art.

Would you charge 50% at the beginning and the other at the end of the project?

A typical breakdown is this;

• 25% advance
• 25% upon approval of pencils
• 50% balance due upon delivery of the final art

I do that for clients I am unfamiliar with just to make sure they are serious. However I only require 25% rather than 50% or more because trust has to go both ways, and they need to know I am going to fulfill my end of the bargain as well.

If it’s a client I have worked with before or who has a well known reputation I won’t bother with that arrangement as it is somewhat inconvenient for the client.

How much is do you charge for each project?

That is basically impossible to answer as each project is different and each client is different. You have to take into consideration the use of the artwork, the budget of the client, the deadline involved and how busy you are at the time.

Here’s a post I did some time ago that gives the best answer to that question I can come up with.

The client often fears the price and at the end they will not work because of that.

That’s not a question but it is a topic for discussion. All clients want to get the work done for as little as possible. However some clients are not really clients, but someone looking for something either for free or for way below a reasonable market price. Those are the type of “clients” that I would require an advance from.You cannot be concerned about if your pricing is too much for a given client or job, but must charge according to what you feel if fair for a job. If the client accepts that price, they are now a real client. If they do not accept, then they were never a legitimate client in the first place.

Thanks to Kin Yeyu 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!

The caricature artist community here in the Twin Cities got a big shock last month when artist Joe Williams passed away suddenly from complications with diabetes. Joe was in South Dakota doing a fair when he was found dead by a fellow artist.

Joe worked for me for several years at my booth at the Mall of America. He was quite a character, doing everything from caricatures to murals to airbrush t-shirts and bedsheet banners… you name it, Joe did it to earn a living as an artist. When the traffic versus rent at the Mall of America became too out of balance Joe bought my equipment from me and took over the booth himself, which he ran for a year or so before moving on to do fairs, festivals and the like.

Joe was a real private guy who was reticent to talk about his background or family. His friends realized after his death we knew nothing about his family or who to get ahold of. Almost nothing was found among his few possessions to allow anyone to locate his next of kin. He was unmarried and had no permanent residence… he lived mostly on the road doing fairs and events, and with friends when back in Minnesota. Joe eventually was cremated and was interred on October 1st in St. Paul.

Minnesota public radio did a piece on him some years back.

The YouTube link above is a short video tribute by caricaturist Trevour Meyer.

Joe will be missed by his many friends.

This is just a reminder that the International Society of Caricature Artists annual convention is coming up fast, exactly one month away on Nov. 2nd. I understand from current president Robert Bauer that attendance is already at record levels, and that’s before the last minute people show up at the door.

Unfortunatley for those who did not register before Sept. 30th, early discount registration is over and it’s now full price to register:

• Members- $250
• Member guests- $100 each
• Non- Member “Seminar Only”- $125

It might be a bit more if you show up at the event looking to register on the spot, so register early for a little savings. Click Here to get more info and to register.

The schedule of events has been released, so here are the main guest speaker times and events:

Tuesday, November 3
1:00 – 3:00pm GUEST SPEAKERS: Tom Richmond & Mark Fredrickson

Wednesday, November 4
1:00pm – 3:00 pm SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS: Hermann Mejia and Sam Viviano
3:30pm – 4:30pm GUEST SPEAKER PANEL: Fredrickson, Mejia, Richmond & Viviano
7:30pm – 9:30pm VIP Reception with Guest Speakers (gold members/special invite only)

Of course there are a great many other workshops and seminars going on, as well as the competitions and the creation of literally thousands of pieces of great caricature art int he main room throughout the week.

This will be a great event. It’s rare that this many MAD contributors get together to speak at the same time, and very rare to see so many of the “newer” members of the Usual Gang of Idiots featured. It’s also unheard of to have a non-member admission option for those just wanting to see the main speakers.

If you have an interest in caricature art, this is the place to be.