Tom's Mad Blog
January 8th, 2009 | Posted in News
It’s hard to believe but this marks the 1,000th post here on The MAD Blog. I’m celebrating by going to Disney World! Well, actually I’m in Orlando at Disney World with The Lovely Anna and Elizabeth because today is Elizabeth’s 19th birthday (!!!), and Disney World is one of the few places on Earth she can go and really like being there. Of course this means Anna and I will be riding “Peter Pan”, “It’s a Small World” and “Winnie the Pooh” at least a dozen times each today, but every time is like the first time when it makes Elizabeth smile. Thanks to the… READ MORE
January 7th, 2009 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s sketch is a warm-up study of actress Gwyneth Paltrow. I’ve had to draw her a few times in MAD, specifically for the parody of “The Royal Tennenbaums” some years ago as well as last year in “Iron Man”. For some odd reason I find her somewhat hard to capture. She has smoky eyes with the lower lids either naturally or artifically dark. She also has a slighly wall-eyed look… by that I mean her eyes seem to look off in slightly different directions. Her nose looks different in almost every angle. She can look very glamorous and very ordinary in any given picture. READ MORE
January 6th, 2009 | Posted in Freelancing
I get a fair number of e-mails from artists looking to “break in” to MAD asking for information and advice on how to do it. Most of the following info is in The MAD Blog FAQ, but in the interest of keeping it “out there” here are the recently updated basics you should know if you are a cartoonist interested in working for MAD: If you want to break into MAD, the easiest way is with a grappling hook, 50 feet of rope, a glass cutter and suction cups. You can bribe your way in on Wednesdays with home baked cookies offered to Dick DeBartolo.… READ MORE
January 5th, 2009 | Posted in General
Two jobs with deadlines today and a bunch of stuff to do before a short trip to Orlando requires an appearance by the Dreaded Deadline Demon. Bummer. READ MORE
January 4th, 2009 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Do you ever have a client give you a vague job proposal, then ask for endless changes once they see something on paper? A: Yes, of course. That may happen if you do not take steps to make sure it does not, specially if you recognize that you have a client that might be a problem in that regard. Sometimes that is impossible to spot, but usually you can sense it coming right away. Part of an illustrator’s job is to solve a visual problem, so you can expect in any job to do pencil sketches and sometimes to explore ideas. However a client… READ MORE
January 3rd, 2009 | Posted in It's All Geek to Me!
I have blogged some in the past about our oldest daughter Elizabeth, who is autistic. Elizabeth will be 19 on Tuesday (gulp!), and like many autistic people she has certain routines, patterns and obsessive/compulsive demands that dictate her days. One of Elizabeth’s big things is watching videos. Her subject matter of choice will gradually fluctuate but there are several constants: the “Barney” children’s videos, the “Roseanne” TV show and currently the “Kidsongs”, “BabySongs” and “WeeSing” series of kid’s videos. She will watch these shows repeatedly all day long, often rewinding and watching a certain scene over and over. Back in the days of VHS rule,… READ MORE
January 2nd, 2009 | Posted in General
…of a local North Carolina politician for The Independent. This will appear in their “Good Old Boys Gone Bad” column in print and online on Sunday. I guess the 2009 freelance campaign is officially underway. READ MORE
January 1st, 2009 | Posted in General
Here’s wishing health and happiness to all for 2009. I did this little doodle as an experiment with a new technique I am working on. It involves using colored lines as opposed to traditional black inked lines for a digitally colored piece. It’s hardly a new concept, but I have only attempted it a few times and in different ways with mixed results. The above was done by inking the drawing in the traditonal way and then scanning as always, but then replacing the black ink color with other colors. It produces a slightly more painted and softer look. READ MORE
