Tom's Mad Blog
December 17th, 2013 | Posted in General
If you read this blog regularly you will know I do not often endorse blogs or websites here… mainly because I figure you’ve wasted enough of your time reading my drivel you can’t afford to go off reading others. However, the occasional blog come around where I just have to say “take a look at this” because it is one of those rare birds that actually had something interesting to say that is more than your typical internet snark or “10 most this and that” lists. I posted the image above in a recent Sunday Mailbag. It was done as a wedding gift and promptly… READ MORE
December 16th, 2013 | Posted in Monday MADness
The guys at MAD sent me a surprise the other day (it wasn’t a check… that really would have been a surprise). It was this hardcover Superman special printed, and presumably being sold in, France, with my cover illustration: Clicky to embiggen… The inside contains mostly the same material as the MAD Presents Superman magazine special of this past summer, including my parody of Superman Returns. Everything is of course translated into French. It’s hard to scan the interior of a hardcover, but here is one of my pages translated: Sadly, it’s no funnier in French. MAD actually has a long tradition of not only… READ MORE
December 15th, 2013 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: My question is around developing caricature skills. How would you guide someone who would like to be a caricaturist? Would you suggest to start practicing with portraits to then jump into caricature? What skills the aspiring caricaturist should go in deep to obtain expertise necessary? A: I think the answer to that question would be a little different for each individual, but in general I would say most aspiring caricaturists would benefit greatly from a solid foundation in portraiture. I say that mainly for two reasons: First, strong drawing skills are important in caricature and becoming good in traditional realistic drawing will always be… READ MORE
December 13th, 2013 | Posted in News
Hard to believe but I just ordered a fifth printing of The Mad Art of Caricature! The staying power of the book’s sales is really amazing, especially through traditional brick and mortar stores. My distributor really goes through them, and we have very few returns meaning they aren’t sitting on shelves too long.¬¨‚Ć I don’t think I will run out of the current stock before the reprint arrives, but it will be a close thing. I have made little progress with the “version 2.0” of the book, which was to include material I cut from the original book due to space, and some things I… READ MORE
December 12th, 2013 | Posted in General
Someone’s mom is not going to be pleased. READ MORE
December 12th, 2013 | Posted in Tales from the Theme Park
This tale took place in my first year of drawing caricatures at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL, in the summer of 1985. Disclaimer: This was before I’d met my future wife, The Lovely Anna. This was only the second year that the company I worked with, Fasen Arts, had the concession at this park, which was one of the biggest in the Six Flags family at the time. Fasens originally were from Minnesota and had an operation at Valleyfair outside Minneapolis, so their venture into the Chicago area park was staffed with nothing but artists from Minnesota. They transplanted us down there for… READ MORE
December 11th, 2013 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Well, actually actor Sam Claflin, who plays Finnick in the new Hunger Games movie, “Catching Fire”…but I’m sure HG fans (or “Tributes” as they are lamely trying to be know as) don’t care. This is a quick study. READ MORE
December 11th, 2013 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Yet another exclusive sneak peek of one of MAD‘s 20 Dumbest People, Events and Things of 2013, this one courtesy of Elite Daily online. Artist: Scott Bricher. Incidentally, this piece happens to be the centerfold of the printed issue… not sure if MAD did that on purpose, but it’s appropriate, don’t you think? READ MORE
