Tom's Mad Blog

The Dreaded Deadline Demon

August 4th, 2007 | Posted in General

Ugh…. READ MORE

How Much is Too Much?

August 3rd, 2007 | Posted in General

Last Sunday I answered a mailbag question about customers sometimes getting angry about their caricature when drawing live. I mentioned that, when I was just starting out as a caricaturist, there was a prevailing attitude among the artists I worked with that the customers didn’t understand ‘real caricature’ and that if a drawing got rejected it was dismissed as a result of the customer’s ignorance rather than any fault of the artist. The customers didn’t understand how the 2 foot nose that was drawn on their face was “true caricature”. Not to put too fine a point on it, we were arrogant and thought our… READ MORE

We Are All Okay

August 2nd, 2007 | Posted in News

My inbox and phone have been buzzing since last night’s Minneapolis bridge collapse disaster checking to see if we are all right. Yes, I was slaving away on my latest MAD job when the accident happened, and none of my family or friends were on it at the time (so far as I know right now). I have been over that bridge many times and can hardly believe it just fell into the river. So far seven dead and that would be getting off easy by the looks of it. It’s odd how your life can just be chugging along as usual and suddenly something… READ MORE

The Dreaded Deadline Demon

August 1st, 2007 | Posted in General

We might be seeing this horror a bit this week…. now back to work…. READ MORE

Pittsburgh “ToonSeum” Coming This Fall

July 31st, 2007 | Posted in News

A bit of news through the National Cartoonists Society: The ToonSeum Gallery at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh In October 2007, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh will open the ToonSeum Gallery, a space dedicated to rotating exhibits of cartoon art featuring the genres of comic book, comic strip, illustration, editorial and animation. The gallery will kick off with an exhibit titled “From Illustration to Animation: Picture Books Come Alive Through the Art of Animation” and feature production art from classics such as “Lord of the Rings,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Raggedy Ann” and “Horton Hears a Who.” Upcoming exhibits include “Drawn in Black and White: The Portrayal… READ MORE

New York City 2007

July 30th, 2007 | Posted in General

I just arrived back from New York after a short but energetic trip to the big city. The Lovely Anna, myself and kids Victoria, Gabrielle and Tommy made the trek in part to see Laura Osnes, winner of the “Grease: You’re the One That I Want” reality TV show, perform as Sandy in the Broadway production. Laura, as I wrote last week, grew up four houses down the street from us and was a drama instructor for years with our kids during summer drama camps at the local high school. Laura with Tommy, Gabrielle and Victoria Trips to NYC are always fun but very expensive… READ MORE

Sunday Mailbag

July 29th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag

Q: Does anyone ever get angry or offended by a live caricature you’ve done? And if so, how do you handle it? You seem like such a diplomatic and eloquent guy on your blog, but maybe that is the result of thoughtful editing. Tell us some stories! A: These days I have little problem with people getting angry over their caricatures when I draw live because after 22 years I am pretty good at reading a person’s tolerance for caricature and exaggerate only when I think they can handle it. I always err on the side of caution if I am unsure, and frankly my… READ MORE

Don’t Take It Personally

July 28th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing

Back when I was going to college at a small school in St. Paul, Minnesota called the School of Associated Arts (now the College of Visual Arts), there were three distinct groups of students… the illustrators, the fine artists and the designers. To say the three groups were mutually exclusive would be unfair, as most of us got along just fine, but it would be fair to say that among each group there was often an attitude about the validity of other groups. The fine artists were sometimes heard to call the illustrators “wrists” as we were considered by some creativeless machines that churned out… READ MORE

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