Tom's Mad Blog
November 17th, 2006 | Posted in General
It’s not too often I recommend a website, but every once and a while you come across someone who’s work is just a plain old must see. Illustrator Chris Wahl is one of those artists. Here’s a caricature demo video of his, one of several you’ll find on his blog. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og7CsvhOjfc Inspirational stuff. This is an example of simply fantastic drawing. I’ve never met, talked to, emailed or otherwise interacted with Chris. Nonetheless I am a big fan. Check out his blog and watch his other video demos. I’m hoping to do something similar soon with my next tutorial on digital coloring. READ MORE
November 17th, 2006 | Posted in News
After last week’s elections and the resulting majority of a different party in the House and Senate, I know the biggest question burning in everyone’s mind… how will this affect the proposes Orphan Works legislation? Good question: ________ FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP It’s not yet clear how the post-election power shift in Congress will affect the Orphan Works bill. It’s possible that one, maybe both, of the intellectual property subcommittees will be chaired by lawmakers who have been responsive to the concerns of visual artists. Yet, as legal analyst David Carney writes in the Tech Law Journal, “the orphan works bill “has broad bipartisan support,”… READ MORE
November 16th, 2006 | Posted in General
As I’ve mentioned numerous times in this space, I don’t watch much TV just for myself. I was talking on the phone with MAD art director Sam Viviano the other day, and I reminded him of this. “Sam,” I said. “You know how when you call me to ask if I’ve ever watched such-and-such a show just before you tell me I’m going to be doing the art for it’s parody and I always say, ‘no… never seen it’?” “Yes….?” He replied, suspiciously. “Well, I won’t give you that answer if you ask me if I’ve ever watched Heroes,” I continued. “You and everybody else!”… READ MORE
November 15th, 2006 | Posted in General
I haven’t had much time to digest all the foie gras I ate this weekend, let alone the trip to Paris itself, but it seems prudent to write my little blog entry about our short time in the City of Lights while it’s still fresh in my mind. Our trip was necessarily short because I planned it all as a surprise for Anna, and a longer trip just wasn’t possible with all the things we have going with the kids and life in general and still keep it on the down low. The short duration was part of the reason I picked Paris, because we… READ MORE
November 14th, 2006 | Posted in General
I meant tomorrow…. READ MORE
November 14th, 2006 | Posted in General
I’ll be writing about the trip later today, after I get a few jobs caught up. I spent a little time being jet lagged early this morning and fixing up the “Marketing Yourself as a Freelancer” post from yesterday. I wrote it in a ripping hurry before leaving for the trip, and it was riddled with typos and missing information I had intended on including. So, if that subject is one you are interested in, if might behoove you to re-read it. Sorry about that. Uh, I mean Je suis int?¬©ress?¬© par ce sujet. READ MORE
November 13th, 2006 | Posted in Freelancing
Some time back I wrote a long winded answer to the commonly asked question: How do I get started as a freelancer? One of the points I touched on was self promotion, or how to get your work out in front of people who would want to use it. Freelancing itself is a scary way to make a living. There is no comfortable, bi-weekly paycheck to count on. You often do not know how much income to expect from month to month. That’s a hard way to pay the rent, let alone raise a family. The biggest problem with freelancing is figuring out how to… READ MORE
November 12th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What is the usual amount of panels that you draw without getting sloppy? And more randomly, What is your favorite movie? A: A two for one! I don’t fully understand the first question, but it seems to me you are asking how long I can work before I get tired and the work suffers. The answer is anywhere between 30 seconds and 30 hours. When I am drawing I can get sloppy or lose concentration at any time. That is when I have to get up and go do something else for a little while. Usually I go upstairs and get something to eat/drink… READ MORE
