Tom's Mad Blog
August 13th, 2017 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Which kind of easel do you use when drawing live caricatures? A: I don’t use an easel per se but rather a drawing/drafting table or drawing board when I do live caricatures. It depends on if I’m drawing them at a theme park or a convention/event. At the theme parks we use drafting tables that have been modified. I replace the laminated pressboard table top with a custom made laminated plywood board (much lighter and thinner) that has a drawing paper holding tray on the underside of it, a clip scavenged off of a clipboard for holding the piece of paper I am drawing… READ MORE
August 11th, 2017 | Posted in MAD Magazine
One of the many side projects the gang at MAD has been working on lately is a live stage production called… wait for it… “The MAD Show“. As I understand it, the show is a combination improve comedy and musical, co-created by the people behind MAD Magazine and the comedy group Second City. This is not to be confused with the off-Broadway musical “The MAD show” from the 1960’s, which was written by MAD writer’s Stan Hart and Larry Siegel. The show is now in “developmental production”, which I take to mean they are doing a trial run of shows to see how it’s coming… READ MORE
August 10th, 2017 | Posted in News
I have just scheduled my first 2018 workshop- Aug 10-12th… and it’s in Switzerland! This one will be a little different than my previous workshops. The workshop is being organized by the Cartoon-Schule, a school of cartooning in Seon, Switzerland about 45 minutes outside of Zurich. While the workshop itself will be structured like my others, the school will be handling all payments for the tuition and providing the location and other logistics. I just show up and start teaching. The cost is CHF 550, and that includes: Workshop Lunch together on Saturday A signed edition of “The Mad Art of Caricature” A signed edition… READ MORE
August 9th, 2017 | Posted in General
Busy in teaching a workshop in NYC right now, so in lieu of my usual “Sketch o’ the Week” I thought I’d post a couple of pieces I did for some friends recently. If you are into comic books at all you will probably know who Mark Evanier is. He’s one of the best humor writers in comics, animation and television out there, as well and being a bona-fide expert in comics and entertainment history. Maybe you’ve enjoyed his work on Groo the Wanderer with Sergio Aragonés and Stan Sakai. Perhaps you’ve watched some episodes of Garfield and Friends, the animated show on which he… READ MORE
August 8th, 2017 | Posted in News
My Long Island City, NY workshop begins today! It's a great group of students ranging in skill level from beginners to seasoned caricature pros… should be a lot of fun! Class illustration above. I already have a few potential workshops for 2018 in the works. In fact I'm announcing one on Thursday, but it's a long, long way from here. READ MORE
August 7th, 2017 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Here’s a look at the second of my two pieces in the most recent issue of MAD. This is a two page spread called “Statements Redacted from the Comey Memos” and the writer in uncredited, meaning it was written by the MAD staff. What’s that? You want to read all the gags that surround the image? Well, lucky you! It just so happens that this issue goes onsale on news stands TOMORROW! So go on out and buy an issue, putz! READ MORE
August 6th, 2017 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Q: Someone told me you hold back on the exaggerations of your caricatures in your MAD Parodies for some reason. Is that true, and if so why? A: That’s sort of true–or at least true to a certain extent. First off, I’m not really much of a “mean guy” caricaturist. I do not exaggerate features to the point of grotesqueness… my goals are seldom to push the exaggeration as far as I can. I am more about exaggerating expression than anything else. Still, without exaggeration of the features all you have is a portrait, so clearly exaggeration in some form is a crucial part of… READ MORE
August 4th, 2017 | Posted in News
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival basically takes over the small lakeside town of Kendal, Cumbria, UK and brings over 70 comics creators and guests for three days of presentations, panels, classes and workshops, exhibitions and shows, films and a lot of other fun stuff along with signings and artists/publisher/dealer tables. I’ve never been but a few fellow cartoonists have and they can’t stop talking about how great it is. This year it takes place Oct. 13-15th. I’ll be a special guest there this year and as part of the events I’ll be conducting a “Master Class” on caricature. The class will take place Saturday,… READ MORE
