Tom's Mad Blog
April 14th, 2009 | Posted in General
In Holmes’ sitting room London has no shortage of sights to see, and we have barely scratched the surface after only two full days. We’ve been to several famous sections of the city including Covent Gardens, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Sloane Square, Regent’s Park, etc. Today we’ll be getting to some of the really big things like the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, London Bridge and others. The Lovely Anna and I always assemble a list of things we want to see on any trip we take. it consists of “Tom and Anna things”, “Anna things” and “Tom things”. It’s history that interests me most… READ MORE
April 13th, 2009 | Posted in News
I was once again privileged to be a part of the selection of the annual Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship recipient this year. The National Cartoonist Society Foundation just announced the 2009 winner: _______________________________________________ 2009 Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship Winner The National Cartoonists Society Foundation (NCSF) is happy to announce the winner of the 2009 Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship. Chris Houghton (pictured), 20, is a junior at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan where he studies illustration. Houghton was chosen from among 120 applicants for the award, which includes a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award weekend in… READ MORE
April 12th, 2009 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Considering your recent surgery: If your ‘normal’ level of output of artwork (for want of a better expression) is affected for some reason such as illness, injury etc, do you find it hard to regain the motivation you had before? I try to draw every day but find that if I go for a period where I have no significant commissions or projects, or when I recently suffered from flu, and I found it really quite difficult to motivate myself again. When I did grasp the pencils again I didn’t think the quality of my work was as good. Do you have any tips… READ MORE
April 11th, 2009 | Posted in General
The Lovely Anna and I are on our way to London for a week of sightseeing and relaxation. We are travelling with her parents, staying in thier timeshare in the heart of the city. I’ve never been other than trapped in Heathrow wating for a connecting flight, and have always wanted to visit England. I’ll have some posts from the other side of the pond next week. READ MORE
April 10th, 2009 | Posted in General
This is a picture of one of my first theme park caricatures in progress, taken at Great America in Gurnee, IL in the summer of 1985. People sometimes ask what got me started doing what I do. As far back as I can remember I wanted to be an artist. Comic books and Batman got me started loving art and storytelling, but I never set out nor really wanted to be a comic book artist. The truth is I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with art… I just wanted to be a “commercial artist” and make a living drawing and illustrating. Caricature was… READ MORE
April 9th, 2009 | Posted in General
Busy, busy, busy trying to get some stuff wrapped up before a big trip next week… the Demon is updated a little after current events. It’s the wrong arm, but you get the idea. READ MORE
April 8th, 2009 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
The International Society of Caricaturist Artists does a daily sketch challenge on thier private forum where they pick a celebrity who’s birthday is that day, and a bunch of artists do a caricature of him or her. Lots of fun and some great sketches. I wish I had time to participate more, but alas that’s impossible. Yesterday as I was searching for a subject for the “Sketch o’the Week” I checked into the ISCA forum and found April 7th’s birthday target was the great film director Francis Ford Coppola, so I thought for once I’d participate via my weekly sketch. So here is my stab… READ MORE
April 7th, 2009 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Here’s a job I did a month or two back that is now on the stands so I can show some of the process and the end result. I used my new “colored line” technique, which is really growing on me, and also seems to be a hit with clients. The job: Cover illustration with a “survivor” theme showing how library budgets are getting squeezed and cut, but the libraries are “surviving”. They wanted a mixture of calm definace and some anxiety on behalf of the librarians, with sharks (aka budget cutters) eating away at their resources. Here are three initail rough sketches. They really… READ MORE
