Tom's Mad Blog
January 23rd, 2013 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
And now for something completely different… Reader Daniel Singley wrote me a week or so ago to ask if I was ever going to do a digital video “Sketch o’the Week” like I promised I would back in 2008. Well, here it is, with mixed results (actual drawing time 18 minutes): [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGwVbRPnTk[/youtube] So, there you have it, a video record of a caricature of Homeland star Claire Danes, finished result way up above. I included the reference pics I used in the video as well. I am not overly fond of drawing on the computer screen. Even though I have a Cintiq, there is still… READ MORE
January 22nd, 2013 | Posted in Freelancing
De-BLAH Vu Dept. It’s finally happened… after almost seven years of writing Tom’s MAD Blog, I keep running up against the following problem: I get an idea about something I’d like to write about I do a quick search of my blog to see if I have written about it already I have The solution? Reblogging! Let’s face it, you readers don’t comb through the 6 plus years and 2,500 posts I’ve done looking for interesting topics. My mom doesn’t even do that. So, if I think up with a topic that I was planning on writing about, and thus still relevant in the world… READ MORE
January 21st, 2013 | Posted in General
Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the passing of the great Al Hirchfeld. Maybe it doesn’t show in my style much, but I count his work as a main influence, and inspiration, behind my wanting to do caricature illustration. I got to meet Mr. Hirschfeld once, and that meeting led to my getting the original pictured above. You can read that story here. This fall The Lovely Anna and I took a trip to Los Angeles…just for fun and to see some people there who have become very dear friends. We went out sightseeing one day, and visited the Paley Center for Media on North… READ MORE
January 20th, 2013 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I am an illustrator and cartoonist at heart, but since college I’ve been stuck working as a sign designer. I loved doing it at first, but over the last few years I’ve become pretty unhappy with it. The work I’m doing it’s really limiting and not where I really wanted to be. I’ve taken some time to get back to the work I enjoy doing, which is caricatures and cartoons. The reason for my email is I was wondering how you broke out into the scene? I’d like to get out of the design job and freelance full-time. A: Your story is a very… READ MORE
January 18th, 2013 | Posted in General
I just shipped out a whole batch of my Limited Artist’s Editions of The Mad Art of Caricature! You know, the limited-to-120 editions with the handsome, hand-numbered bookplate and the caricature of YOU (or whomever you want) drawn by me! Here are a few of the recent ones to show how these turn out: The pics… The drawing! The pics… The drawing! The pics… The drawing! The pics…¬¨‚Ć The drawing! Yes, these are still available, but we are well into the back end of the 120 limited editions, so if you want one don’t wait too much longer to order!: READ MORE
January 17th, 2013 | Posted in News
The Minneapolis Star Tribune had an article today about how the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul. MN will be closing after this school year after 89 years. They cite the recent recession leading to reduced enrollment and the lack of endowments as the culprits. This is the college I studied at, although it’s under a different name and has changed considerably since I graduated with a B.F.A. and an illustration major in 1989. Back then it was called the School of Associated Arts, and was housed in only one physical building, an old mansion on Summit Ave. in St. Paul. I transferred there… READ MORE
January 16th, 2013 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I started watching Homeland recently. It’s getting a lot of critical acclaim and it seemed like a show both The Lovely Anna and I could watch together . . . a rare thing since she like crap shows like Glee, Smash and Once Upon a Time whereas I like really awesome shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Anyway, we are almost through the first season of Homeland and I thought I’d do some caricatures of some of the stars of the show, starting with Damian Lewis. Is it just me or does he look like Steve McQueen? Might be just me. READ MORE
January 15th, 2013 | Posted in Freelancing
That was quick. The secret project I mentioned on Saturday is already out of the bag! Bleedingcool.com posted the news today that DC Comics will be celebrating MAD‘s 60th anniversary with variant covers of some of their main titles including Justice League Of America, Justice League, Batman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman, Supergirl, Detective Comics, Batwoman, Green Lantern and Teen Titans drawn by the Usual Gang of Idiots. Since they specifically name me as well as Sergio Aragon?¬©s, Al Jaffee and Peter Kuper, I guess there is no sense in being coy. If you could go back in time and ask my 8… READ MORE
