Tom's Mad Blog
August 1st, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Q: I have been using the principles in your book for theme park style caricatures. So far I feel I’ve improved on drawing caricatures head on but I really struggle to draw them at 3/4 angle. How important is it for a theme park style caricature artists to be able to draw front AND 3/4 angle caricatures? A: A theme park (or any live style) caricaturist need not ever draw the face at any angle they don’t wish to. You can do full face caricatures forever. Profile caricaturists can do the same. However being able to draw 3/4 faces gives you another option and keeps… READ MORE
July 30th, 2021 | Posted in General
I did this acrylic painting back in the early 2000’s for a book called “Memories of a Munchkin” which was an illustrated autobiography of a gentleman named Mienhardt Raabe, assisted and put together by publisher Daniel Kinske. Mr. Raabe was one of the last surviving cast members of the Wizard of Oz, specifically of the Munchkins. He played the munchkin coroner. “Memories of a Munchkin” was published in 2005, and contained a lot of terrific OZ art done for the book, including pieces by Al Hirschfeld, Jack Davis, Mort Drucker… it’s a long list. Daniel has a new book out in a similar vein, but this one… READ MORE
July 29th, 2021 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
This is a 1/2 page illustration I did for School Library Journal back in 2009 for a story about how magazines were becoming more popular with teenagers at the time. The idea was the kids were ignoring their electronics in favor of physical reading material. Of course I snuck MAD in as one of the magazine. Something tells me the boon in popularity of magazines was short lived. Here is the pencil sketch for that illustration: READ MORE
July 28th, 2021 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
No time for a real sketch today, so here’s something from a few years ago. I did this sketch and color final of Alec Baldwin for Comedy Central for a roast they were doing of him in 2019. It was supposed to be used for a giant head/mask they were thinking of creating for part of the show, but I have no idea if or how it was ever used. Here’s the color version: I remember they had me tone down the chipmunk cheeks and some other parts, so the final does not have as strong a likeness IMO. Welcome to Hollywood. READ MORE
July 27th, 2021 | Posted in Stuff from my Studio
It’s another exciting episode of “Stuff from my Studio”! Today we look at a couple of mementos I was presented with for being a speaker at the “Walt Disney Toonfest” in Marceline, Mo, which I did in 2005 and again in 2009. The story of Walt Disney and the small town of Marceline, MO (pop about 2500, roughly 2 hours outside of Kansas City) is a fascinating one. The Disney family moved to Marceline from Chicago in 1906 when Walt was five, and spent 5 1/2 years there on a small farm before moving to Kansas City. Those were very important, formative years for the… READ MORE
July 26th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
We continue our relentless crawl through my work at MAD Magazine with yet another Spider-Man movie parody… this time it’s “Spider-Man 2” again written by Dick DeBartolo and first appearing in MAD #446, October 2004. This particular parody is rare in that for some reason I scanned in ALL the final pencils and saved those files. Since I have no “roughs” from this job, I have to assume I skipped that step and went right to the final pencils to show MAD for approval. I don’t remember why, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I’ll post the full pencils after the regular… READ MORE
July 25th, 2021 | Posted in General
Q: Hi Tom, hope all is well with you. I love reading your Sunday Mailbags. Thank you for sharing with us. I have a question. To tell you a little about myself, I am 46 years old. I have depression (genetic). I have tried all coping tools such as medications or therapy. Unfortunately, they don’t work. I have always been interested in weightlifting but don’t know how to start. I am steering clear of the fitness centers. Was thinking about investing in the dumbbells and work out in my empty den. I know it’s a serious lifelong commitment. Would you be open to sharing any… READ MORE
July 22nd, 2021 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
This is a two page spread I did for the book Inside MAD back in 2013. It was just for the book and never appeared in the magazine. Inside MAD is a large book full of rarely seen reprints of MAD features as chosen by the Usual Gang of Idiots, as well as essays by a number of famous entertainers about how MAD influenced their careers. The introduction of the book is written by the comedy film writer, director and producer Judd Apatow. In his intro, he vehemently points out that MAD never has done a spoof of any of his movies or TV shows. Turn the page, and you see this. Written… READ MORE
