Tom's Mad Blog
January 6th, 2007 | Posted in General
As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, I listen to audiobooks in the studio when I am inking or coloring illustration work. It helps keep me focused for long periods when I might otherwise get distracted. I might spend 50 plus hours inking and coloring on a 6 or 7 page MAD job… enough time to listen to the entire unabridged Lord of the Rings trilogy! As I also have mentioned before, I can only listen to books I have already read, so I don’t have to spend that much of my attention on it and am able to zone in and out if needed. I… READ MORE
January 5th, 2007 | Posted in General
It weird how things you think and talk about sometimes have a tendency to pop up suddenly again in the oddest places. In the last week or so I wrote about my workout philosophies and routines, and also about how Saturday mornings used to be when I was a kid with competing network lineups of cartoons and other shows aimed at kids. I mentioned Sid and Marty Krofft shows like HR Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost as staples of my generation’s kid experience. Yesterday the lovely Anna showed me a feature story in our local paper entitled “Lords of the Gym”, talking about the… READ MORE
January 4th, 2007 | Posted in General
I got this link courtesy of the National Caricaturist Network message board forum, which is frequented by a lot of theme park caricaturists! Theme Park Review is a website that… well… reviews theme parks. Created by Robb & Elissa Alvey, it has hundreds of pictures and commentary about theme parks all over the world. According to their bio: “Robb & Elissa Alvey have been roller coaster and theme park “enthusiasts” for over 20 years. Combined, they have traveled the world for theme parks and have ridden more than 1,500 different roller coasters.” I knew theme parks existed in other countries, and they are not just… READ MORE
January 3rd, 2007 | Posted in General
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January 2nd, 2007 | Posted in General
My friend and talented illustrator James Hungaski called over the holidays from his trip to see family in the Northeast to relate a little story about a visit to Times Square. He said he was walking along and spotted a street caricaturist trying to sell prints of one of my caricatures. Jim got in his face and made him take it down. I appreciate the effort, but he didn’t have to do that. The way I look at it, anyone misrepresenting another’s art for their own like that is not doing themselves any favors. If they have any illusions about moving up from selling street… READ MORE
January 1st, 2007 | Posted in General
Hey sourpuss! Don’t start the New Year off down in the dumps! New Years Eve/Day is a great time for optimism. There is something magical about turning the page and starting a shiny new year, where anything seems possible. Here’s hoping you find health, happiness and prosperity in 2007! READ MORE
December 31st, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Some people seem to be easy targets for caricature (Ross Perot, George Bush, Elvis, Stallone). Is that case? And if it is, have you ever had trouble with an “easy” subject? If so, why? A: I tell the new caricature artists I work with that it is only an illusion that some faces are easier to draw than others. Faces all have the same elements… eyes, nose, mouth, etc. Those features are always unique from one person to another. They are sitting right there in front of the artist and should be easy to see and to draw. Why then, as you say, do… READ MORE
December 30th, 2006 | Posted in Wall of Shame
Yet another installment of the Wall of Shame, where I hang prints of some of my pieces that have been signed by the subjects. I don’t really have many because I don’t go chasing after signatures, or try and mail them. I only get them if chances allow and that doesn’t happen all that much. Incidentally if you want to see the previous posts about the Wall of Shame I have created a category for them, just click the link on the blogroll on the right. These Wall of Shame pieces are’t like the others… they were never in MAD and have nothing to do… READ MORE
