Tom's Mad Blog
February 1st, 2008 | Posted in General
Yesterday in his terrific blog, fellow Minnesota illustrator Cedric Hohnstadt reposted an older article he had placed on his blog some time ago. The explanation for this “reprint” was that his blog’s traffic had increased dramatically recently, and most readers would not have seen this post… and presumably many others as well. That got me thinking… I often get e-mails or questions pertaining to topics I have already discussed or posted about, and it occurred to me that Cedric’s observation about increased traffic and newer visitors was probably the reason. One bad thing about posting something every day is that the MAD Blog Archives are… READ MORE
January 31st, 2008 | Posted in General
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January 30th, 2008 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Have to cheat on “Sketch o’The Week” this week because I am swamped playing catch-up in the studio. This is from an old sketchbook, circa 1999. They are quick studies of cartooning legend Jeff MacNelly, of Shoe and multiple pulitzer prize winning editorial cartooning fame. He was a speaker at my very first National Cartoonist Society Reuben weekend in San Antonio in 1999, and I did these studies during his presentation. I’ve always been in awe at MacNelly’s immense talent, and it was a thrill to get to hear him speak. I remember at the time he was talking about how he was beginning to… READ MORE
January 29th, 2008 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
I received this project right before I left on vacation and had to kick it out in extremely short order. The concept is a story about studio executives and anonymous comments made by directors and other movie makers about the good and bad things they do (mostly bad). The job was for an L.A. based movie industry magazine, and it was to be in black and white… partly their choice and partly due to the time constraints. One full page and three spots with caricatures of specific studio execs. Since it was in black and white, I thought it would be fun to do a… READ MORE
January 28th, 2008 | Posted in News
I hate coming back from Hawai’i. It’s not that I hate coming home… by the end of the week I miss my kids, I’m usually bored with sun and surf and ready to get back to business. It’s the trip home that sucks. Any rest I got on vacation is negated by 11 hours of flying and a 4 hour time change loss. I’m more tired right now than when I left for vacation. But I digress. I wanted to pimp once more for the National Caricaturist Network‘s Mini-Con in St. Louis in March. This Saturday is the deadline to get the guaranteed room rate,… READ MORE
January 27th, 2008 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How thoroughly do you “picture” the final illustration in your mind before you begin work on it? Are you able to formulate a mental image of the final scene before you start and strive to replicate it, or is most of the image worked out on paper and in sketches? A: Good question. There are several stages to any illustration job, and each incorporates a mental “image” of different degrees. When I get a new assignment I get an initial idea that forms pretty completely in my head of what the final could look like. I think most artists have that first flash, and… READ MORE
January 26th, 2008 | Posted in General
The view at lunch from “The Sea House” in Napili Another annual trip to Maui in the books. We’ll be having our yearly going-away lunch on the ocean at Kimo’s in Lahaina, staring wistfully out at the whales frolicking in the sea and contemplating our return to real life. Finding the time, money and needed help for just the two of us to get away alone one week a year is not easy. However I can say for certain that it is very important to your marriage and your sanity to find some selfish alone time with your spouse. The trappings, responsibilities and aggravation of… READ MORE
January 25th, 2008 | Posted in General
Fellow caricaturist Mike Giblin posted a query on the NCN Forum the other day asking about how one goes about working on licensed property art… like Disney or Looney Tunes or similar. I wrote a long response based on my limited personal experience and what I’ve heard of that side of cartooning from some experienced artists. I thought I’d share it here: About licensed property artwork: The only licensed property work I ever did was when I drew “Married with Children” and “The Coneheads” comics way back in the day, and that was different than your traditional licensing for merchandise. However I do know an… READ MORE
