Tom's Mad Blog
November 26th, 2012 | Posted in Freelancing
I did a rare local job recently for Minnesota Monthly magazine, illustrating a part of their annual “best of” issue. The caricatures are of Minnesotans of note for 2012 . . . not many most people would recognize outside of Bob Dylan and maybe the Timberwolve’s Kevin Love. The issue was a “Greatest Hits of 2012” motif, so music was the theme. Opening page for the article above. The circles are for inset text. What followed was this two page spread, with text boxes for descriptions of the people pictured: Clicky to embiggen… Actually I didn’t get a copy of the issue so I only… READ MORE
November 25th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When you go from the “final pencilling” to “the inking,” what is your process of getting rid of the pencil lines? Do you simply erase them? Or are they not a problem once the pictures are scanned into your computer? Just wondering, because I want to get the cleanest final drawing as possible. A: Erasing underling pencils from inked pieces is every cartoonists bane. There are a number of ways to help make it less painful. Which one would work the best for you depends on your drawing technique, the final effect you want to achieve with your cartoons, and the way you prefer… READ MORE
November 23rd, 2012 | Posted in General
After a few brutal deadline jobs earlier this month, I am steaming full ahead on completing all the Limited Artist’s Editions of my book that have been ordered. Many thanks to those who placed an order for one, I should be caught up and all shipped by the end of next week. For anyone not familiar with this one-time offer, I am doing a series of 120 Limited Artist’s Editions of my book, The Mad Art of Caricature! In it I draw a caricature of YOU (or whoever you send me pictures of) from your photos, and the book is signed and hand numbered on… READ MORE
November 22nd, 2012 | Posted in General
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November 21st, 2012 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Better late than never today . . . the last three Bat-movie’s Alfred Pennyworth, Michael Caine. READ MORE
November 20th, 2012 | Posted in Freelancing
Now that season 3 of the MAD show on Cartoon Network is over, I can probably share some of the work I did this season. I didn’t do much this year… only two episodes. One was entitled “Jurassic Park and Recreation”, and the other “The Poop-sodeon Adventure”: Most of the ones for “Jurassic Parks and Rec” were based on the ones I did in the parody for the magazine. Stephen Lang was the only extra character. I tried something different for the “Poopsideon” segment… I drew those directly on the Cintiq. No paper involved. It was a quick turnaround job so I gave it… READ MORE
November 19th, 2012 | Posted in General
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVNRW7fgf1A[/youtube] Cartoonist and animator Michael Jantze just posted the Jib-Jabish animated intro he cooked up with NCS Reuben Award’s emcee Tom Gammill to introduce the nominees of the Reuben Award this past May in Las Vegas. This played on the big screens before we were introduced. Great, fun job by Michael. He also did this looping video graphic which played on a few screens during the big MAD 60th Anniversary party that same weekend: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwAfTAqwC4M&feature=share&list=UUJIY8yGi6ppSWBimey4TakA[/youtube] You can visit his YouTube channel here. He and his partner in crime, Minnesota native animator Kelly McNutt, create some really great stuff… I especially like his animated comic strips. READ MORE
November 18th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Did you always want to be a caricaturist and illustrator? Did your parents support or discourage your career choice? A: I have wanted to be an artist, since before I can remember. The 1960’s Batman TV show was what started it. I was born in 1966, the year the show began, so by the time I was old enough to watch TV it was already off the air but in endless reruns. My parents say even when I was as young as two, I would come scurrying into the living room when they turned up the volume during the opening theme song. Then… READ MORE
