Tom's Mad Blog
December 5th, 2012 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Up until Christmas I will probably be posting nothing but caricatures from the Limited Artist’s Editions of my book as my “Sketch o’the Week”, since I am very busy doing those every chance I get. The good news is I will also post some of the photo references I used to work from, so you can see the decisions I made, etc. The one above is of St. Louis area cartoonist Chris Grant. He does some fun work, including character design, comic strips, greeting cards and illustration, as well as caricatures! You can check out his work on his website and blog. Thanks for getting… READ MORE
December 4th, 2012 | Posted in Freelancing
Clicky to embiggen… Frequent readers may remember that this summer I posted a couple of sneak peaks of some comic book character sketches that were part of a larger piece I could not disclose info about at the time. Well, the book in question is shipping next month, and it’s being advertised as such from multiple sources, so I guess it’s safe to post the artwork. See above. The art is for the cover of Ryan Sohmer‘s Absolute Ultimate Gutters Omnibus Volume 3, which is described thusly by the fore mentioned sales teasers: The Absolute Ultimate Gutters Omnibus Volume 3 is the newest collection of… READ MORE
December 3rd, 2012 | Posted in General
There is still time, but it’s running out. Anyone wanting to get their copy shipped internationally (except Canada) in time for Christmas, you might already be out of luck. While the U.S. Post Office claims the delivery time of an International Priority package is 6-10 business days, customs in the destination countries have been known to randomly hold a package for weeks before deciding to let it continue to its intended recipient. So, at best it would have to be ordered this week and shipped by Dec. 10th or so, and then there’s no guarantee when it comes to the whims of the recipient county’s… READ MORE
December 2nd, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What was your very first professional freelance job? A: My first truly professional freelance job, meaning for an actual company and not a personal commission or a live caricature, I did while still a student in art college, and it nicely opened my eyes to the realities of art direction and working with difficult clients. During my third year of college at the then named “School of Associated Arts” in St. Paul, MN., I was approached by the head of the design department about doing a job for him. It was fairly well known throughout the small school (my graduating class: 40 students) that… READ MORE
November 30th, 2012 | Posted in General
Art by Ed Steckley I’m headed to Boise, ID today to speak at the the inaugural, black tie Wyakin Warrior Guardian Ball, a fundraiser for the Wyakin Warrior Foundation. In Native American mythology, a¬¨‚Ć “Wyakin” is a spiritual guide that advises and protects a person throughout life. The Wyakin Warrior Foundation follows in its namesake’s footsteps, providing a college education, mentoring, job-placement networking and other forms of support both financial and personal to wounded veterans of our armed forces. It was founded by Jeff Bacon, a retired Navy captain, cartoonist and creator of the comic Broadside, and the gentlemen responsible (or perhaps to blame) for… READ MORE
November 29th, 2012 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
The last month of the year is usually a quiet one for the freelance biz. Magazines and publications have often blown their budget for illustration for the year by the end of November. Their “end of the year” issues that come out on the stands in December are often bigger and more costly to produce, and were done back in October or in early November. Thus, around the holidays it is usually a bit slow. Here’s what I have on the board right now- Penthouse Spot Illustration– The last of a series of caricatures of Dave Navarro for a column he is doing in the… READ MORE
November 28th, 2012 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s SotW is an example of how the caricatures I draw for the Limited Artist’s Edition of my book turn out. The one above is from LAE #5, and the subject is German caricaturist Tuncay Erol. Here are two of the pics Tuncay sent me (greatly reduced in resolution) that I worked from: There are still plenty of the 120 Limited Artist’s Editions available, and there’s still time to order one and get it in time for a Christmas gift. Check out the order page for more details! You can check out Tuncay’s blog here! He’s a talented guy! READ MORE
November 27th, 2012 | Posted in General
I received this email the other day from reader Randy Arnold: I know you keep up on things like this, but just in case you didn’t know Adobe is changing their upgrade policy. This is where I found out. I believe you have mentioned you are using CS3 now and it is probably like your favorite pen and you may not care to upgrade.¬¨‚Ć Wouldn’t mind hearing…seeing…reading your opinion on upgrading software on your blog. This from Adobe on their new upgrade policy: “Special upgrade offer for CS3 and CS4 customers. Take advantage of our special introductory upgrade pricing on Creative Suite 6 for customers… READ MORE
