Still working almost around the clock on this MAD job. After I finally get this done I’m going to write a post about deadlines and why they are constantly a problem for most freelancers. There are many reasons but most of them have more to do with the freelancer than the job. In the meantime… READ MORE
Uh oh! Looks like the mailbag is empty! When I get some fresh questions concerning cartooning, illustration, freelancing, MAD Magazine or other similar subjects I’ll be happy to answer them as best I can. E-mail me your questions and I’ll try and answer them here! READ MORE
I’ve spent the last several days working on a TV parody for MAD. I did the tutorial mostly late last week and over the weekend while I was traveling in Massachusetts for prep work on our theme park operation at Six Flags New England. Since I have gotten back it’s been all MAD as it’s a short deadline. TV parodies are easier in some ways than movies and harder in others. They are easier in that there is usually a lot of reference available for TV shows, with previous seasons (if any) sometimes on DVD, fan sites on the web with screen captures and, if… READ MORE
New Photoshop Arriving Shortly- Adobe officially announced the newest version of their Creative Suite (CS) applications on Tuesday, which includes a new version of Photoshop called CS3. Some of the software will be shipping in April with the rest in the third quarter of 2007. I’m not a big fan of getting the latest versions of software upon release. There are ALWAYS bugs and issues that need ironing out, and there is invariably a service release several months later. Plus it’s tough to justify the expense of upgrading when the product version I currently use is doing the job nicely. And with Adobe, it’s VERY… READ MORE
Rendering with Washes Now begins the real painting. We’ll start out with the fleshtones. It’s a simple matter to mask off the flesh areas, as they are all defined by the base color we applied. Before we proceed, I’ve uploaded my basic Photoshop color swatch palette for those interested to download. It’s not very well organized, as I add colors to it as I work on pieces that I might need to use a lot and then never erase them, so everything is all over the place, but here it is. Click for the palette file in ZIP form Mac users just click the palette… READ MORE
Applying the Base Color When coloring I start by applying a base color for each area of the illustration. The color is a mid value, which will allow me to work both darker and lighter to achieve a range of values. Since I am not working on a layer with lines to contain the colors, I cannot use the Fill tool, but have to apply the color ‘by hand’ using my tablet and pen. Actually I use a Cintiq tablet from Wacom, which is a combination pressure sensitive tablet and display, where you draw and paint right on the screen using the special stylus/pen. I… READ MORE
We begin with a piece of inked line art that we intend to color. I’m using this self caricature done for promotional purposes. It’s a simple, uncomplicated image and there is literally no background, so it will be ideal for this demonstration of the digital line art color technique I use for MAD and other clients. If you are wondering about the inking process, check out my inking tutorial from a few months ago about how to arrive at a clean, inked piece of line art. BTW, I am using Photoshop CS2 on a Mac Pro running OS X. This all works just fine in… READ MORE
Sign up for Tom's FREE newsletter:
