Tom's Mad Blog
January 18th, 2008 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
It never fails… whenever I am about to try and take a little time off the phone starts ringing. I always feel guilty when I start complaining about having a lot of work… I am very lucky to stay busy. Still it would be nice to go on vacation without either having to pull some all nighters to get jobs done or having to bring something along to finish up when on the trip. Here’s the final for that workplace poster I showed the sketch of the other day: Click for a closer look… … I just got a rush job for an L.A. based… READ MORE
January 17th, 2008 | Posted in It's All Geek to Me!
They say there are two kinds of computer users…. those who have lost data in a hard drive crash, and those who are going to lose data in a hard drive crash. I learned that lesson the hard way, as most eventually do. In October of 2006 I was in the middle of two big projects when my Dell Precision Workstation suddenly flashed the Dreaded Blue Screen of Death at me. The entire story is here, but the end result was that in desperation I ran out to buy the only computer available on a local store shelf that had the graphic horsepower to allow… READ MORE
January 16th, 2008 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Quick warm up sketch from yesterday of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Lena Headey. Anytime you use hard angles on a face you add masculinity to it, but she has a hard jawline and a tough look they are cultivating in this role. After seeing Monday’s second part of the premiere, I think this show is headed in the right direction. Summer Glau makes a great next gen Terminatrix, and Headey came off as a lot tougher and street smart in this episode than in the pilot. Even Thomas Dekker‘s John Conner became more interesting with his rebellious visit to his last “father figure”.… READ MORE
January 15th, 2008 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Kind of quiet on the drawing board right now, after a crazy December. Once that MAD job was in the can a week or so ago I have just a few smaller jobs with no crazy deadlines in sight. Here are some things I’ve got going that I can share: Advertising Character- The client wanted a simple, small spot of an adult male with a “Home Alone” kind of expression. Very quick job. Pencil sketch and final after some revisions to tone it down a little and change the hair, etc… Sherlock Holmes Illustration- This is going to be used by the same folks… READ MORE
January 14th, 2008 | Posted in General
Okay this is a little creepy… Writer’s strike or not, it looks like NBC’s The Bionic Woman is in total system failure. I wrote about the show after it’s premiere, basically saying there might be promise but I would have to wait and see. Who knew the mediocre first episode would be the best one, and it would be all downhill from there? I wanted to like the show, but between horrible miscasting and even worse writing it needs to get it’s bionic plug pulled. Rumors have been flying about it’s cancellation while it is on hiatus during the writer’s strike, but unless they can… READ MORE
January 13th, 2008 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I know there is no substitute for actual art instruction. Books have often help me though. I was wondering if there are any books that you recommend on cartooning in general? What books do you recommend for caricaturing? Most of books are geared toward kids or just seem to scratch the surface but don’t give the tools needed to make the connection between what makes a cartoon a caricature. A: There is no definitive book on how to draw caricatures. There are a number of them out there, but each has it’s own focus (i.e. live caricature, general caricature, cutsey cartoon caricature) so you… READ MORE
January 12th, 2008 | Posted in General
This Saturday’s “Surf’s Up Dept.” is very MAD video-centric, with a few other stories tossed in. Revenge of the Mommy Dept. Des Moines mom Jane Hambleton proclaimed herself the “Meanest Mom on the Planet” when she sold her son’s car through the want ads of the Des Moines Register after finding alcohol under the seat of the vehicle. The ad read: OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don’t love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet. Hambleton was then… READ MORE
January 11th, 2008 | Posted in General
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