Tom's Mad Blog
August 28th, 2012 | Posted in General
About five years ago I built a home-made light table into my drafting board in the studio using a fluorescent shop light, some pine boards, a piece of plexiglass and, of course, duct tape…I did a DIY post about it at the time. Here’s a pic: This light table served me well, but it did have a fair share of problems: Using florescent tube lighting is hard on your eyes. There is an almost imperceptible flickering that occurs that fatigues your eyes and your brain after too long staring into it. I would get a headache or get very tired after a certain amount of… READ MORE
August 27th, 2012 | Posted in News
It’s been a long time since I was on one of these trips (the last one was to Kandahar, Afghanistan), but I am currently off with a group of National Cartoonist Society cartoonists to an undisclosed location in southwest Asia to draw for the troops deployed “down range” in the middle east. I’d tell you specifics but they are above your pay grade. This group includes Jeff Bacon (Broadside), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), Jeff Keane (The Family Circus), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues), Sam Viviano (MAD Magazine) and myself. No stops in Landstuhl, Germany this time to draw at the Regional Medical Center or the Ramstein… READ MORE
August 26th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I was wondering what kind of schedule you have for yourself when you are up against a really tight deadline such as the one you had when you drew the Bo¬¨‚Ć Obama book. How do you schedule tasks such as penciling, inking and coloring along with sleeping and other routines when it’s really tight time-wise? ` All deadlines end up becoming “really tight time-wise.” See this post from a few weeks ago regarding regular time management and general deadlines. Occasionally, either through poor time management, unforeseen circumstances, underestimating how long something will take to complete or taking on an emergency job under impossible conditions,… READ MORE
August 24th, 2012 | Posted in General
Yikes. The Drawing Board went from 0 to 60 in in the last few week: Minnesota Twins Team Poster– I did this for several years in the early 2000’s, and they tapped me to do it again this year. Big job, with 40 players and another 7 coaches. Going to do it digitally this time. It is a stadium giveaway on “Kid’s Appreciation Day” at the end of the season. CD cover for a Canadian comedian– Fun image as part of a wraparound jewel-case cover. Sports Illustrated for Kids spread– Illustration for a fall issue. MAD movie parody– Long deadline on this, but I’ve already… READ MORE
August 23rd, 2012 | Posted in News
I get a number of inquiries every week from people looking to get me to do a personal caricature of them (or their mom, or husband, or dog, or whatever). Some are from genuine fans who think that would be cool, some are from collectors, some offer to pay me, some don’t. Regardless, I regretfully have to turn them all down because I just can’t find the time to do private commissions . . . I can barely find the time to get all my commercial work done. However, if you are one of these people, now’s your chance! I often sing the praises of… READ MORE
August 22nd, 2012 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This quick caricature of Javier Bardem was done using a Kuretake brush pen and a ball point , with a little digital white-out. The reference was a tiny picture of Bardem in his role in the upcoming new 007 movie “Skyfall”. The man has a bizarre profile. READ MORE
August 21st, 2012 | Posted in MAD Magazine
You can always “Depends” on MAD to take the high road on its official blog The Idiotical. Checkout the rest of their spoof posters of “The Expendables 2” here, and visit regularly for daily MADness. READ MORE
August 20th, 2012 | Posted in Freelancing
This month’s issue of the Utne Reader features a cover illustration by me I did back in late June. They wanted an image reminiscent of the famous “Slim Pickens riding the bomb” scene from Dr. Strangelove, only with Mitt Romney and Barack Obama on a killer drone. I did it in my more painted digital style. Here’s the art sans graphics and a couple of close ups: Clicky to Embiggen… This is the Sept-Oct 2012 issue, and should be on news stands right now. READ MORE
