Tom's Mad Blog
January 16th, 2020 | Posted in News
I just updated my “Appearances” page with all the dates and cons I will be appearing at in 2020. I’ve greatly scaled back on my convention appearances this year. You will find me at: C2E2- Feb 28-Mar 1, Chicago Emerald City Comic Con- March 12-15, Seattle Wondercon- April 10-12, Anahiem San Diego Comic Con- July 22-26th, San Diego New York Comic Con- Oct 8-11, New York Never say never… I may end up at a couple of other ones this year but right now this is it for 2020. Come visit The Lovely Anna and I! READ MORE
January 15th, 2020 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
`I’ll have to resort to a flashback SotW again this week… this is one of legendary actor Spencer Tracy I originally did in 2008. I added the grays when I included it as a spot illustration in my book. READ MORE
January 14th, 2020 | Posted in General
I did the art for another little comic gag story in Viz #292 this month, on sale in the UK and via subscription elsewhere. I am enjoying these short stories and the small panel format. It’s a big departure from the larger MAD panels that are stuffed with dialogue and visual detail. The smaller format forces me to simplify the imagery/panel design in order to tell the story. The editors/production folks add the word balloons after I do the art, BTW… READ MORE
January 13th, 2020 | Posted in Monday MADness
This week’s Monday MADness is a look at the splash page from MAD‘s parody of “The Following” from issue #525 (Feb 2014) written by the great Arnie Kogen. This parody has the dubious distinction of being the only parody I did the art for 100% digitally… inks and all. It was an experiment on my part just to see if I could do it, if it saved time, and if the results met my expectations. The answers were yes, no and no. Don’t get my wrong, I am not disparaging digital inkers. There is fantastic work being done digitally that I greatly admire. It’s just… READ MORE
January 12th, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’ve got a question about what you see (visualize) when you are drawing a caricature. When I try to draw something (caricature or otherwise) I can’t really visualize what I’m drawing until it’s on paper. When you begin a caricature, do you know what it will look like or are you ever surprised with how a drawing turns out? A: It’s a little of both, especially when doing studio work. Yes, I have a decent idea of what I want the image to look like in my head, but it’s not like I see the finished product in its entirety. It’s a little like seeing… READ MORE
January 10th, 2020 | Posted in News
I’m announcing another 2020 workshop location, this one in Indianapolis, IN, on Sept 11-13th! This might be my last US workshop this year… I’m working on a two workshop trip to Australia that will book up October and November. December is a tough month to have a workshop anywhere due to all the holiday gigs many caricaturists are busy with. Weekends in December are hard to find time in to do something like this. So, if one of my workshops is on your resolution list you might want to jump on this one. It might be your last chance in 2020. READ MORE
January 9th, 2020 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
This was done (I think) for the now defunct Fade In magazine back in 2004 for a story about the various politicians who were possible running mates for John Kerry in the 2004 election. If I remember right the story focused on Hollywood supporters or connection to various democrats, which made sense because Fade In was a movie industry publication. There were a bunch of spot illustrations with the different candidates and their famous supporters. That art is lost but I did find this one pencil rough for a spot with Dennis Kuchinich and actor James Cromwell: READ MORE
January 8th, 2020 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
No time for a proper Sketch o’the Week today so I’m digging into the archives for this watercolor sketch of Matt Damon. READ MORE
