Tom's Mad Blog
August 20th, 2008 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I very seldom get sick but yesterday I was knocked for a loop by some kind of bizarre flu. I finished up some pencils that were a bit overdue in the morning while fighting nausea and the cold sweats, then spent the day in bed alternating between shivering and sweating. Not fun. I am bouncing back a little now. Here is a 15 minute sketch of Olympic superstar Micheal Phelps. It’s almost cheating drawing this guy, he’s so easy to exaggerate. I had heard of the “Vitruvian Man” comparison that has been reported from several sources. At 6 feet 4 inches his arms stretch, from… READ MORE
August 19th, 2008 | Posted in General
It’s been a while since I posted about the audiobooks I often enjoy, or at least listen to, while working at certain stages of a project in the studio. I’ve mentioned before that I only listen to audiobooks when I am inking or painting, and only then to books I have already read or am very familiar with. This is because at the rough/layout/pencil stages of a project there is too much concentration and thinking needed to pay any attention at all to an audiobook story. Even when I am at the inking and coloring stages, I cannot listen to a book that I have… READ MORE
August 18th, 2008 | Posted in General
It’s not really a deadline keeping me from posting today, but just all the catch up I need to do after my very short trip to New England to visit my Six Flags park. It amounts to the same, however… READ MORE
August 17th, 2008 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How often does a client give you a vague idea of what they’re after (saying “We like you, we trust you – just go with it!”) – and how often are the jobs incredibly specific from the start? Which is your preferred method of working, if you have one? A: It depends on the type of project and the client’s style of art directing. Most of the time it’s somewhere in between those two extremes. In general when a client calls with a project they have some idea as to what they are looking for. Those ideas usually involve an explanation of the message… READ MORE
August 16th, 2008 | Posted in News
Back in 2005 I was a guest speaker, along with cartoonists Gary and Glenn McCoy (The Flying McCoys, etc.), Jim Borgman (Zits, editorial cartoons) and Tom Wilson Jr. (Ziggy), animation critic Charles Solomon and Disney Imagineer Vice-President Tony Bancroft in a small town called Marceline, MO at an event called the Walt Disney Hometown Toonfest. Since Missouri is part of the large geographical area covered by our chapter of the National Cartoonist Society, the North Central Chapter, many of our chapter members have taken an interest in Toonfest and have helped organize and plan parts of the event. I haven’t been able to make it… READ MORE
August 15th, 2008 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Several projects ongoing- including the latest for MAD. Here is a look at a quick job I did a week or two ago for Scholastic about the end of Socrates: Initial Pencil Rough Final- Click for a closer look Spot illustration Another 1/2 page image- click for a closer look READ MORE
August 14th, 2008 | Posted in MAD Magazine
In comic book shops now and on news stands Tuesday: MAD # 493 (September 2008) Cover (Mark Fredrickson) The Fundalini Pages (Peter Bagge, Zachary Baldus, Tom Cheney, Dick DeBartolo, Jonathan Edwards, Darren Johnson, Jeff Kruse, Jacob Lambert, Joe Quinones, Rick Tulka) Ths 46-Year Old Political Virgin Poster (Uncredited) Inadiaper Jones and the Kingdom of the Creative Dry Spell (Arnie Kogen, Hermann Mejia) A MAD Look At Summer Fun (Sergio Aragon?¬©s) “Amy” by Amy Winehouse (Gary Hallgren) Planet TAD!!!!! (Tim Carvell) Spy vs Spy (Peter Kuper) NOW That’s What I Call Monotony 29 (Darren Johnson) Monroe And The New Phone (Anthony Barbieri, Tom Fowler, Carl Peterson)… READ MORE
August 13th, 2008 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I should have called the first try I posted of David Caruso “Sketch o’the WEAK”. I looked up some better reference so I could redeem myself while I took a little break this afternoon. I like this one much better. It was obvious to me after looking at a few different pictures of Caruso that his posture is a big part of his overall look. He puts his hands high on his hips with his elbows back, shoulders slumped and head craned forward and cocked to one side. That earlier sketch was actually a small one from a while ago so I could not find… READ MORE
