Tom's Mad Blog
June 28th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
We are back on track with another exciting episode of our chronological crawl through my work for MAD Magazine! This week features MAD’s spoof of the TV show “The O.C.” written by Dennis Snee and appearing in MAD #442, June 2004. I have some of the original pencil roughs for this one as well as the finals. This show was set in Orange County, California and was about teenagers from that area. I knew a couple of teenagers from OC, Joe and Luke McGarry, who were the teenage sons of cartoonist Steve McGarry, then president of the National Cartoonists Society. So, I drew Joe and… READ MORE
June 27th, 2021 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How was your first day on the job doing live caricatures in the theme park? Was nerves an issue at first? Was it weird or uncomfortable having crowds behind you looking at you draw and how long did it take before it became the norm? Is there any advice you can you give for someone wanting to get into live work that may be anxious about the whole process? A: Honestly I never had any problem drawing in front of people. I know many artists for whom that is a big issue, but for me it was always easy. When I was a kid I… READ MORE
June 26th, 2021 | Posted in General
This is out in the wild now so I can share it here. Earlier this month I did an illustration job for CNN for the newest of their entertainment documentary series entitled “History of the Sitcom”. This consisted of a LOT of caricatures of classic sitcom actors/characters, and it was a tricky thing to compose because I needed to do it in a way that allowed for both a vertical (above) and horizontal format: The folks at CNN gave me a list of the characters they wanted included. I don’t know what criteria they applied for which show is represented, but these are the ones… READ MORE
June 25th, 2021 | Posted in General
Now available in the Studio Store: crap featuring my cover from MAD #20! You can now get a signed copy of the issue or a fine art giclee print. Big deal. READ MORE
June 23rd, 2021 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I’m doing a series of “Sketch o’the Week” caricatures of classic TV sitcom stars, and this week’s subject is Michael J. Fox circa early 80’s as “Alex P. Keaton” from “Family Ties”. As always, the original is available in my Studio Store. READ MORE
June 22nd, 2021 | Posted in General
This past weekend I was in New York to FINALLY do the last of my pandemic postponed workshops. This workshop was originally scheduled to take place in early May 2020, but was postponed due to the then newly raging pandemic. We rescheduled it for October of 2020 but it had to again be postponed due to continuing restrictions. We finally got the class in, with a few new people taking the place of some who had dropped out. I am being asked by a few if I will be doing in-person workshops again. I don’t have an answer for that. I know I will not… READ MORE
June 21st, 2021 | Posted in General
I’ve been MIA for a while here on the blog, and for those frequent visitors and readers I apologize for that. A major job plus a big family wedding plus a family medical crisis plus a make up workshop took me away from the studio and any blogging for a while. The job is complete, the wedding over, the medical crisis is moving in a positive direction and the workshop was just this past weekend. I’ll be back in the studio later today and it will be (almost) business as usual. I’ve got to get back to work on CLAPTRAP and other stuff, but I’ll… READ MORE
June 13th, 2021 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Did Quentin Tarantino request a sketch of himself after you illustrated 2 covers for his film “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”? Who are some well known celebrities who have commissioned you? A: No, Quentin didn’t ask me to draw him after I did those prop covers… I just did it for fun for my “Sketch o’the Week”. I haven’t had all that many celebrities commission me to do art for them. It’s much more frequent to have celebrities, particularly writers, producers, and directors, contact me about the art I did of their show or movie in MAD. However I have had a few… READ MORE
