Tom's Mad Blog
April 2nd, 2013 | Posted in News
I just found out that longtime MAD artist Bob Clarke passed away on Sunday from complications from pneumonia. He was 87. I only met Bob once, at an NCS Reubens weekend in 2000 when it was held in New York City. He was pretty spry and sharp, and a gracious and humble guy. His work in MAD was always terrific, and while he didn’t get the kudos and attention of guys like Mort, Jack, Sergio, Don or Antonio, he was quietly one of the mainstays of the Usual Gang of Idiots and one of my favorites. Interestingly, he was one of several artists that were… READ MORE
April 1st, 2013 | Posted in Monday MADness
Welcome to a new feature here on Tom’s MAD Blog called “Monday MADness”. This will be a weekly (duh) post to break up your usual Monday doldrums with something (hopefully) funny having to do with MAD Magazine. It might be something I did for them from some past issue, some news or something new, a “behind the scenes” story or a link to something they have up over on their website. It may be my only post for the day or I may do a more usual post as well. Regardless, this is the inaugural Monday MADness (cue sound of crickets chirping in the dead… READ MORE
March 31st, 2013 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What is the best way to make up a funny expression for a caricature when all you have is a single photo reference with the person having a bland expression? A: Before I answer that, I have to point out that you really can’t make up an expression for someone and still call it a true caricature. A person’s expressions are as individual as their nose or any physical feature. People smile differently, cry differently, scowl differently… their features react to and express emotions in very unique and individual ways. If you are trying to do a good caricature of someone conveying a certain… READ MORE
March 29th, 2013 | Posted in General
Every once and awhile I get something like this in my inbox that really makes me smile: Tom, I’ve read EVERY book that was ever written on caricatures and at best I never considered myself anything more than an amateur caricaturist. After reading, then studying your book, I am now working the beach in Ft Lauderdale daily.Thanks to you I am now a professional caricaturist. You made a lifelong dream come true, and for that I thank you. Sincerely, Tim Timothy Wittneben Deerfield Beach, FL. That is perhaps the highest compliment anyone who has written a “how to” book of any kind can get. You… READ MORE
March 28th, 2013 | Posted in General
Some people seem to be confused or just terribly misinformed as to how the process that results in the three nominations for the National Cartoonists Society’s two online comics divisions work. Much of this seems to stem from a few people jumping to conclusions because this year the three nominees for “Best Online Comic: Short Form” all ended up being from Universal Uclick’s GoComics website. Said assumptions ran the gamut from the NCS jury being lazy and not looking beyond a single source of online comics, to bias in voting for “syndicated” online work rather than independent work, to accusing members of the Online Comics… READ MORE
March 27th, 2013 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I know I said I’d be starting a series of caricatures from The Walking Dead this week, but considering the show ends for the season Sunday that’s bad timing. Instead, in honor of his 50th anniversary, I’m going to start a Doctor Who series of the different actors who have played the intrepid main character. In chronological order, of course! First up, the very first Doctor, William Hartnell. EDIT- For those not familiar with the blog, I post a caricature sketch every Wednesday. This series will be weekly installments, not daily (sorry! I have loads of work to do!). Look for the second Doctor in… READ MORE
March 26th, 2013 | Posted in General
The National Cartoonists Society just released the nominees for their divisional awards for 2012. From the NCS Website: Congratulations to the 2012 divisional nominees for the 67th Annual NCS Reuben Awards! The winners will be announced Saturday, May 25th at the Reuben Awards dinner in Pittsburgh, PA. TELEVISION ANIMATION Todd Kauffman, Executive Producer, “Sidekick” Alberto Mielgo, Production Design, “Tron: Uprising” Rich Webber, Director, Aardman Animation Studios, “DC Nation” FEATURE ANIMATION Rich Moore, Director, “Wreck-It Ralph” Joann Sfar, Director, “The Rabbi’s Cat” Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Director, “The Secret World of Arriety” NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATION Mark Brewer Bob Rich Dave Whamond GAG CARTOONS Roz Chast Sam Gross Mick Stevens… READ MORE
March 25th, 2013 | Posted in Freelancing
Clicky to embiggen… Every once and awhile I pull out some artwork from an old job that might be interesting to share. These two full page illustrations were for InfoWorld magazine circa 2005. The story was about Bill Gate‘s “plan” for the future of computing. The concept was that Gates was supposed to be not just predicting where computing was going, but was supposed to be one of the chief architects of that future. We decided on making him the coach of a football team. I personally wanted to make the players into robots with computer screens for faces, etc. because it seemed to make… READ MORE
