Tom's Mad Blog
September 21st, 2018 | Posted in General
The internet can be a wonderful thing, but it does have a significantly ugly underbelly. One of the worst aspects of the internet is that it has trained a generation of users that anything they can find on the web is theirs to use as they wish, simply because no one is there to stop them from stealing it and using it. The result is that “intellectual property” i.e. stuff people create like art, writing, photography, etc. has become devalued. Far too many internet users think they everything on the web should (and is) free for the taking. People who would would never dream of… READ MORE
September 20th, 2018 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
I did this illustration back in 2007 for a series of audiobooks of the original Sir Conan Arthur Doyle Holmes stories called “The Consummate Holmes Canon”, narrated by the terrific David Ian Davies. It was not a caricature of anyone in particular, just my take on a caricature of Holmes. They used different color effects for the various audiobook collections: I believe the eight different collections are still available on Audible.com. If you love Holmes these are some of the most enjoyable audiobook versions you can find… David is like a full cast all in one. -Tom is on vacation outside the country, so comment… READ MORE
September 19th, 2018 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Pencil on drawing paper. Original available in the Studio Store. READ MORE
September 18th, 2018 | Posted in General
There’s yet another lively discussion at the International Society of Caricature Artists Facebook page going on, this time about street, fair, theme park, etc. (known collectively as “retail” caricaturists, meaning they sell their work directly to their subjects as opposed to “gig” caricaturists, who are paid by a client to draw the people at the client’s event) putting up work on their display boards that are not their art but caricatures by others stolen from the internet. You see it a lot in tourist trap areas like Times Square, Montmartre, Leicester Square, etc. I’ve blogged about this multiple times. Like here. And here. Oh, and… READ MORE
September 17th, 2018 | Posted in Monday MADness
My illustrator’s copies of MAD’s new children’s book parody “Don’t Let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile” just arrived! The printed book turned out great. It’s a 9.25″ square hardcover. The book officially drops on October 16th, available at fine as well as sketchy bookstores everywhere. I will also have signed copies available in the Studio Store, as well as an option to get a sketch of the Penguin in the book. READ MORE
September 16th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How you save old work? Do you keep layered PSD files? Or do you merge layers to save space, knowing that you will never have to go back and edit them again? A: I used to archive everything on DVDs, with layered files and all. However I later found DVDs to be unreliable as several of them have become unreadable for some reason or another… I’ve lost a lot of old digital files as a result. For a while I would only save a flattened version of an illustration for space saving reasons as you cite. Nowadays with cloud data storage and spare hard… READ MORE
September 15th, 2018 | Posted in MAD Magazine
MAD has started posting sneak peeks of issue #4 on their Instragram, including this close up of a panel from the feature I worked on. It’s their “Halloween” issue, so many of the features will have a horror theme. I did the art on a six page parody that includes references to several classic horror films. It’s a departure from the typical MAD parody, a little like the “Xander and Kam’s Sneaky Previews” piece from MAD #2, with multiple films and TV shows being referenced. Can’t really say much more without giving it all away. MAD #4 hits newsstands Oct 17th. READ MORE
September 14th, 2018 | Posted in General
I am a member of an organization called the International Society of Caricature Artists (which, incidentally, I heartily recommend to anyone doing caricature professionally at any level). Right now there is a lively discussion going on on their members-only Facebook page about the trials and tribulations of what many call “cookie cutter caricature” and what I call “generic caricature”. I thought it would make a good topic for an article here. Briefly, “generic” caricature is when a caricature artist draws the same features over and over again on everyone, regardless of what that subject actually looks like, and is often seen in live caricature done… READ MORE
