Richmond Illustration Inc.

Tom's Mad Blog

Merry Christmas!

December 25th, 2007 | Posted in General

Here’s hoping everyone has a fun and safe holiday, whatever you may celebrate, with family and friends. READ MORE

I’m a little busy right now trying to wrap up a few things by year’s end, and I guess there is some kind of holiday going on tomorrow? I’ll have to check my calendar… in the meantime here is a rough image of a job that fell through last week. I mentioned it in a previous “On the Drawing Board” post. It was going to be a movie poster for a film that will be in the Sundance Film Festival next month. It’s a documentary following two researchers abroad on their quest. I’ve blocked out the title just in case it was supposed to be… READ MORE

Sunday Mailbag

December 23rd, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag

Q: When you were first starting out, how did your parents react to your decision to become a cartoonist? Were they supportive of your chosen profession, try to talk you out of it, or somewhere in between? Also, how did the in-laws feel about having their daughter marry someone who aspired to become one of “the usual gang of idiots”? A: As a young kid my parents were very supportive of my desire to be an artist. In fact, they enrolled me in the “Art Instruction Schools” correspondence art program when I was 14. I did about three lessons with them before realizing the “individual”… READ MORE

Surf’s Up Dept.

December 22nd, 2007 | Posted in General

Good Grief Dept. Charles Schulz‘s widow and my friend Jeannie Schulz writes some public comments about the David Michaelis book. Jeannie is one smart lady, and her comments demonstrate that quite clearly. No one would blame her if she just took a few reactionary public shots at Michaelis over his portrayal of her late husband. Instead she shows that she is actually very familiar with the book’s content and calmly and intelligently explains why a number of Michaelis’s conclusions are poorly conceived or are outright erroneous. After reading these comments and talking with her, I believe Michaelis was bent on painting Schulz as the tortured… READ MORE

On the Drawing Board

December 21st, 2007 | Posted in On the Drawing Board

I’m just finishing up the artwork for the National Cartoonist Society’s 2008 Reuben Weekend, and I’m getting deep into that MAD TV parody which is due soon… a few other little jobs here and there as well, plus one very major project for a movie that will take up much of the next few months. More on that later… I just finsihed this magazine cover for Scholastic on Wednesday and I was surprised that they said I could share it here whenever I wanted to, so there it is. It’s along the same lines as the cover I did a few months ago: Initial pencil… READ MORE

Rachel Ray Made Our Day

December 20th, 2007 | Posted in General

I’ve mentioned her many times here but I seldom blog about my oldest daughter Elizabeth, even though as a rule our days revolve more around her than any other aspect of our lives. She is autistic, and not the kind you see on TV where the autistic person is of a high functioning kind like Asberger’s syndrome, and manages to be an “America’s Next Top Model” candidate or write novels or otherwise basically function in society. Elizabeth is the rocking back and forth, hand flapping, repeat everything six times Rain Man sort of Autistic kid. I shouldn’t say “kid” anymore… she’ll be 18 in January.… READ MORE

Sketch O’The Week

December 19th, 2007 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week

Massachusetts senator and easy caricature target Teddy Kennedy. Drawing this guy is like shooting fish in a barrel. I’ve been doing a lot of political studies in the sketchbook recently because election years are always big for caricature illustrators. Art directors love caricatures of politicians, and there is no shortage of news stories, features and editorial pieces on politicians in the 15 months or so leading up to a major election. READ MORE

“I Am Legend”- A Review

December 18th, 2007 | Posted in General

When a major feature film is adapted from an iconic and much beloved source it is impossible not to compare the film to the original story. “The Lord of the Rings“, “The DaVinci Code” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” are some recent examples of film adaptations of classic or very popular fiction whose fans are legion and result in close scrutiny of the movies. “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith is just such a film. Richard Matheson published “I Am Legend” in 1954, and the novel has become a standard of modern science fiction. It had already been adapted twice for film, once in 1964… READ MORE