Richmond Illustration Inc.

Tom's Mad Blog

Sketch o’the Week

April 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week

Couldn’t resist this quick study of the great Al Jaffee for this week’s “Sketch o’the Week”. READ MORE

Well, it was interesting while it lasted. We laughed, we cried…. etc…. Back in June of 2006 I started The MAD Blog thinking it would be a good outlet for my writing and a chance to share some of my experiences and insights into the world of cartooning, caricature and freelance illustration. I also hoped it would be a great exercise in creative thinking… trying to come up with worthwhile topics for posts, articles and the like. I knew it would be a challenge, and that it would take some of my time and energy every day. So far I have not failed to make… READ MORE

Foldly Oldies and Then Some!

March 31st, 2008 | Posted in General

This is incredibly cool! The New York Times also has an interactive, flash-based archive of 23 of Al Jaffee‘s Fold-Ins from MAD from the 60’s to the present. The flash features provides a great digital “fold in” action, so you don’t have to try and fold your monitor… which is hard. Check it out here! READ MORE

To Foldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before…

March 31st, 2008 | Posted in General

The Pixie-ish Al Jaffee Al Jaffee is a wonder. If you are lucky enough to meet the man, you’ll see that at 87 he is as sharp as a razor, still has a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and is ever the consummate gentleman. I met Al only once, at MAD holiday party a few years ago when he was still a little wet behind the ears at only 84. I had the fairly newly published book MAD ART under my arm and intended to accost any and all MAD artists at the party and beg them to sign my book on their particular entries.… READ MORE

Sunday Mailbag

March 30th, 2008 | Posted in Mailbag

Q: I was wondering what is a wash (in inking), and how do you do it? I know that it makes the ink turn grey, or maybe something like that. A: Washes are areas of gray created by watered down ink that you “wash” into an inked drawing to add values of gray and turn it into a more “inked painting”. Washes can be used either as flat areas of specific values or as a more painted grayscale set of values like a monochrome watercolor painting. Washes are more easily accomplished via the computer these days, and I often will use the computer to add… READ MORE

Here Comes The Orphan Works Bill Again

March 29th, 2008 | Posted in News

I’ve written a number of times about this scourge of evil that lobbyists are trying to push through the legislature. Basically it’s a law that allows publishers or whomever to use creative works without paying the creator if the creator cannot be located by the vaguely defined “reasonably diligent search”. That’s bad enough, when any copyright violator can claim the made a “reasonably diligent search” if busted by the original creator, but previous incarnations also limited the amount a creator could receive in a court case so that it would cost the user of the creative works little or no more to try and use… READ MORE

On the Drawing Board

March 28th, 2008 | Posted in On the Drawing Board

Still unbelievably swamped with work and deadlines…. I’ve got several jobs “in the can” as they say (meaning done) and several more with deadlines either creeping up, looming or trying to kick my ass right now. I just finished this one the other day for the workplace poster company and can share it right away as the client doesn’t mind me doing so: Click for a closer look… It may look like I cheated and used a photo background, but I actually cheated and used the fully painted background I did for a piece I did for MAD a few years ago called “Rejected Characters… READ MORE

Coffee and Caricatures- Paris Style

March 27th, 2008 | Posted in General

This summer I posted about the new book coming out illustrated by my friend and fellow member of MAD’s “Usual Gang of Idiots” Rick Tulka entitled “Paris Caf?¬©: The S?¬©lect Crowd“, and how CBS did a new piece on Rick and the book. Well, the book has been out for some time and The Lovely Anna and I have been enjoying our copy. Rick has told me many times about this caf?¬©, Le S?¬©lect, where he has spent the last decade sipping coffee and drawing the patrons, wait staff and passersby in his inimitable style. Author No??â¬¨¬¥l Riley Fitch and Rick decided to write a… READ MORE