Tom's Mad Blog
January 17th, 2010 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: My question is about the placement of the people you draw in a humorous illustration. I know you have to deal with art directors that probably help a little, but how do you decide where to place the people, props, etc? And is there a way to learn how to get to the “placement” decision faster and at the same time relaying the message you are trying to make to the viewer? Is there a book or coarse that will help, or just keep looking at the art of other artist like yourself? A: Composition is one of those things that is difficult to… READ MORE
January 16th, 2010 | Posted in General
I’m out of town for the week, and thought we’d play a little game… just exactly where am I? More pictures to come. READ MORE
January 15th, 2010 | Posted in News
The deadline is looming large for this year’s Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship from the National Cartoonists Society Foundation. From the NCSF Website: Jay Kennedy Scholarship The annual Jay Kennedy Scholarship, in memory of the late King Features editor, was funded by an initial $100,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation/King Features Syndicate and additional generous donations from Jerry Scott, Jim Borgman, Patrick McDonnell and many other prominent cartoonists. Submissions are adjudicated by a panel of top cartoonists and an award is given to the best college cartoonist. The recipient is feted at the annual NCS Reuben Awards Convention attended by many of the world’s leading cartoonists.… READ MORE
January 14th, 2010 | Posted in General
I’m pretty busy trying to get a bunch of stuff done prior to yet another (and the last one for the forseeable future) trip out of the country, but I thought I’d share a fun link today. MAD artist Tom Bunk just joined the blogosphere with a bright, shiny new blog that is well worth a look. Tom is a diversely talented illustrator, and the popping eyeballs and squirting entrails he often does for MAD are only a few of the things he draws and paints brilliantly. Of course he’s also well know for his work on Wacky Packages and the Garbage Pail Kids stickers… READ MORE
January 13th, 2010 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s sketch is of former baseball player Mark McGwire, who this week tearfully gave away the worst kept secret in sports… that he used steroids when playing professional baseball. What a shock! While I applaud McGwire somewhat for coming clean (so to speak) and admitting to his using illegal drugs while breaking some of baseball’s most hallowed records, it’s laughable that he also claims that the steroids had nothing to do with his accomplishments as a player. He said in an interview that he believes he’d still have hit 70 home runs in 1998, and ended up with 583 career homers. I’ve heard the… READ MORE
January 12th, 2010 | Posted in News
It’s that time of year again! The National Cartoonists Society will hold their annual Reuben Awards Weekend on May 28-30th, this year in Jersey City, New Jersey. The NCS just released the details of how to submit work for consideration in the various divisional award categories. Just a reminder… you do NOT have to me an NCS member to have your work be eligible. The only requirements is the work be in published sometime between December 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. Submit published tear sheets when possible and document when and where the work was published. From the NCS Website: It’s time to prepare… READ MORE
January 11th, 2010 | Posted in General
This is it, the final segment of the demo video of some of my live caricature samples from the early 90’s. For those just tuning it, this was a time-lapse, looping demo of me doing a bunch of samples that played through a window in several of my indoor caricature stand locations. It’s interesting to see the difference in my work when you compare this example with one I did last year: READ MORE
January 10th, 2010 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Hey, here’s a question, MAD mate! I’ve been considering buying an ipod touch as a cheaper way to get into the whole kindle dealie (my gal-pal has a kindle, loves it)–plus (and here’s the rub) for any other possible useful apps. Here’s the thing–I went on youtube to check out some ipod/iphone app reviews, and all the apps seemed to be a bunch of silly “fake lightsaber” gimmicks or very simplistic games. I realize this is because the people most likely to make a youtube video are teen boys and junior nerds, so there’s that. So, my question to you, master of all gizmos–nay,… READ MORE
