Tom's Mad Blog
January 28th, 2013 | Posted in It's All Geek to Me!
When Apple’s iPad started the tablet computing craze, one of the Holy Grails of these light and extremely portable devices was using it as a digital drawing board ala the Wacom Cintiq. In the case of the early tablets, the problems in the way were a lack of pressure sensitivity, and that the touch screens were designed to work with fingertips, not a precise stylus. The drawing instrument “solutions” were these terrible styluses with a big, marshmallow-like pillow at the end that was not ideal for fine drawing or linework, and of course no pressure sensitivity at all. (NOTE: before I go on, please spare… READ MORE
January 27th, 2013 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You have mentioned several times that before you went freelance, you started your own caricature stands in theme parks, but I don’t think you’ve ever taken us down the road of how that came about, and what you had to do to make it happen (or if you have, I haven’t come across it yet). What’s the story? A: I have told parts of it here and there, but never the whole tale. I’ll try and keep it brief, as it’s a long story in detail. Back when I was a student at the University of MN, I was skipping a particularly pretentious art… READ MORE
January 25th, 2013 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Clicky to Embiggen… Right now I have basically nothing on the drawing board, except the dreaded “almost ready” sort of projects: MAD Job for #521– Promised to be “meaty”… might mean I am drawing cows. Still in the works in editorial. DC Comics job– Previously mentioned forthcoming assignment… WB Product illustration– One down on this two illustration job, second one still in development so in temporary limbo Workplace poster illustration– my usual monthly assignment, direction not yet delivered That’s it for certain jobs bound to be on the way shortly, although there are a few “maybe” jobs in the works as well. I don’t… READ MORE
January 24th, 2013 | Posted in Freelancing
I got a big box in the mail the other day, containing The Absolute Ultimate Gutters Omnibus Volume 3 in all its hardcover and glossy, oversized page glory. So-so cover art . . . but otherwise a handsome book. If you are not familiar with The Gutters, and you are a fan of comic books at all, shame on you. It is a series of single page comics that parody, criticize, and sometimes utterly savage, the comic book industry, its culture and subject matter. It’s sometimes funny, sometimes vicious, but always on target. Written by Ryan Sohmer, the art is done by guest artists making… READ MORE
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
