Tom's Mad Blog
November 11th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Is there a celebrity that no matter how many times you attempt to capture their likeness it just eludes you? I see posts from artists a lot (ones that do incredible work) that seem to have at least one subject that they just can’t seem to capture. Conversely is their a person that you find hard to do an original caricature of because their features have been beaten to death; ex: Jay Leno always is drawn with a big chin etc. A: Some faces are easier to draw than others but there is no face that cannot be caricatured with a good likeness. That… READ MORE
November 10th, 2007 | Posted in General
Here’s another collection of the weird, somewhat interesting and downright horrific from around cyberspace: The Blubberfull World of Disney Dept. According to this article, Disneyland in California will be closing down their “It’s a Small World” ride for some refurbishment. Not because the characters are looking tattered or the endless looping song needs updating… nope, it’s because the boats are bottoming out and getting stuck. Disney won’t come out and say it, but the reason?… riders are too fat. Yes, it has come to this. Disneyland has to do reconstruction on a 41 year old ride because Americans have become so fat they are literally… READ MORE
November 9th, 2007 | Posted in General
I’ve mentioned the National Caricaturist Network‘s annual convention here a few times… it really is a one of a kind event. In 2006 a documentary crew did some filming at the con in Orlando and is in the process of putting together a video program of it. Here is the “trailer” for the film: Sketch Monkeys Trailer I have a few problems with the direction of the documentary, not the least of which is the title. “Sketch Monkeys??”. ..sounds like we are a circus act. They also seem to be focusing a bit much on the negative side of things… and the crude and tasteless… READ MORE
November 8th, 2007 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
All these jobs from last month are seeing print, so here’s another I can now share. This one was an odd job as it started out way back in June, then got shelved, changed subject matter and finally went to final. The client was Contingencies Magazine, a publication for the insurance and financial industry. The original concept back in the early summer was to do a cover showing primary candidates from both parties fighting over health care issues. The client wanted a few concept sketches, so I did the obligatory “race” concept and one where the candidates were doctors surrounding a patient and trying to… READ MORE
November 7th, 2007 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s sketch is of bizarre film maker David Lynch. His “Blue Velvet” is still one of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen. The other day I caught a portion of his 1984 version of “Dune“. I’d forgotten how visually stunning that movie was… and how terrible the rest was. It does have it’s moments, but overall it was not a good adaption. READ MORE
November 6th, 2007 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Right now I have several jobs on the board including another MAD job, an ad project, another poster illustration and two other ongoing projects. Last month was incredibly busy and so this month I will be able to begin sharing some of the jobs I did as they start to see print. This one is printed and shipping, and is a good example of how a job can evolve during it’s process. The job was for Scholastic, and originally was a 1/2 page spot illustration to accompany a story about the presidential primary race. It was a different kind of job for me as it… READ MORE
November 5th, 2007 | Posted in News
I’m back from our annual National Cartoonist Society North Central Chapter meeting, this year held in beautiful downtown Kansas City. It was the usual fun time, and the group of speakers were particulary interesting as they were not chapter members this time around. I arrived later on Friday night after a 7 hour drive, but was met at the hotel bar by fellow caricaturists Len Hernandez and his wife, Mike Worley and Stacy, who’s last name I apologize but did not catch. It is always fun to hang out and chat with those who have spent their time int he live caricature trenches. We were… READ MORE
November 4th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: Are you ever distracted working out of your home, and have you ever considered getting a studio outside your house? A: Having a studio in my home is both good and bad. It’s good in that I do not have to drive anywhere, the studio is always close and ready to go, and I do not have to miss family things like the baby’s first step or my kids getting home from school, etc. It’s bad in that I am never really away from the office… work is always calling to me from the other side of the door, distractions abound from the telephone… READ MORE
