Tom's Mad Blog
November 1st, 2011 | Posted in News
It’s November, and it looks like I am the featured “Drawing Board of the Month” at The Cartoonist Studio website… they must be running out of real cartoonists to feature. The Cartoonist Studio is a fun website designed to connect cartoonists with their fans online, showing interested readers a glimpse at the artists, their work spaces, their processes, and more. They also sell stuff, have auctions of original work, and last year conducted a “So You Wanna Be a Cartoonist” contest where the winner received a development deal from Creators Syndicate. Looks like they will be doing the same again this year, with Universal Uclick… READ MORE
October 31st, 2011 | Posted in General
I thought about making this a Sunday Mailbag question, but thought it deserved it’s own post since it deals with some pertinent issues on the changing dynamics of today’s publishing world. I have received not a few queries from readers of The MAD Blog, friends and colleagues asking me why I went the self-publishing route instead of shopping the book about to established publishers. A few went so far as to hint I was being hypocritical insofar as they say I have showed some level of disdain for self-publishing in the past. Let me address that last point first. I am not sure where I… READ MORE
October 30th, 2011 | Posted in Mailbag
Q. You may have covered this already but when drawing clothes, do you look for real examples in perhaps magazines to see how a material would crease in certain positions. Or do you just imagine in your head how it would look? So basically my question is, Tom, how do you draw clothing so well!? A: I’m not sure I would agree that I draw clothes all that well, but thanks for the kind words. I do think I have improved quite a bit in the last few years on how I draw clothes, particularly simplifying the folds and such so they don’t look overwrought… READ MORE
October 29th, 2011 | Posted in News
A couple of days ago I posted some limited info on the ongoing project I am doing with comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. I mentioned an upcoming but as-yet-unannounced TV special that might have more details on my contributions to Jeff’s project. Well, that TV special is no longer unannounced: BIO Channel presents “Jeff Dunham: Birth of a Dummy,” a 90-minute special that delivers exclusive, unprecedented access to the life of the entertainer who single-handedly made ventriloquism hip again. The special premieres Tuesday, November 22 at 8PM EST and 9PM PST. From his modest upbringing in Dallas, Texas, Jeff Dunham has transformed into an international sensation. He… READ MORE
October 28th, 2011 | Posted in News
This year’s annual International Society of Caricature Artist’s convention and competition will be Nov. 13-18th at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort in Clearwater, Florida. If you are a caricaturist and have never attended on of these, then you are missing a truly amazing experience. About 200 professional caricaturists, ranging from party artists to illustrators to sculptors to animators, descend on the unsuspecting host resort for 5 days. They spend their time drawing thousands of caricatures in every imaginable style, attending workshops, listening to guest speakers, getting creatively super-charged and in general having a total blast. Then they all vote for the “best of” various categories… READ MORE
October 27th, 2011 | Posted in News
Anyone who got a copy my book The Mad Art of Caricature found a little insert asking that, if they liked it, to spread the work by mentioning it on Facebook, on their blog or on an appropriate message board forum. Some people really went above and beyond, and posted glowing reviews of the book on their blogs. Here’s a sampling (click on the name to go to the full review): Krishna Sadasivam (cartoonist- PC Weenies) “…I have read a LOT of drawing / cartooning / illustration books over the years, and I must say that Tom’s book is right up there with the best… READ MORE
October 26th, 2011 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Once again, a day late and a dollar short. I’ve been working on a MAD job that took far longer to pencil out than I thought it would and didn’t have the time to post a sketch yesterday. Anyway, here’s a drawing of celebrity nutcase Charlie Sheen. I did one of him once before, but I saw a profile/three-quarter view picture of him that was perfect for that pointy nose, jutting chin and neanderthal brow, and couldn’t resist. READ MORE
October 25th, 2011 | Posted in General
Jeff Dunham’s Achmed the Dead Terrorist character I’ve been alluding often here on The MAD Blog for the last year about artwork I am doing for ?¬?ber-popular comedian/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, but have never been more specific. That’s because, as usually goes along when doing anything for folks in show business, there are confidentiality agreements galore involved. Some of that work is going to start appearing here and there, and Jeff has told me I can fill people in a little (operational word) on what’s all involved. The image above is one of a series of illustrations I’ve done/am working on of his various characters, this… READ MORE
