Tom's Mad Blog
August 13th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Do you do any of the writing for your parodies in MAD? A: No and yes. How’s that for an ambiguous answer? There are many forms of writing, but in the traditional sense, meaning do I contribute to the actual script and/or dialogue of a parody I am doing the art for the answer is no. I get a script from MAD with all the dialogue and each panel already written and set. The writer of the parody submits the script to MAD, and he/she is the one who gets the credit (or blame) for the jokes, gags and satire of the piece. The… READ MORE
August 10th, 2006 | Posted in General
Looks like I am going to be pretty busy today, and likley can’t post anything. I am planning on doing a tutorial on inking with one of the projects I’ve got going in the next week, so look for that soon. READ MORE
August 10th, 2006 | Posted in General
A few days ago I altered the options for comments on the blog in an attempt to curb some of the spam that was ending up in the moderation queue, but it appears that the blog software just started nuking all comments whether you were trying to convince me you could make me rich with stock tips, had several million you wanted me to help you transfer from your dead uncle the Nigeria general’s estate, wanted to sell me a pill to make my penis larger or were making legitimate comments. I moderate all comments anyway, but I was trying to eliminate constant deleting of… READ MORE
August 9th, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Things are piling up on the drawing board once again. Part of the problem with freelancing is that you never know when the next phone call will be your last for a while. As a result, you tend to take on more work than is good for you, for fear of a possible dry spell just around the corner. I’ve been very lucky in that I seem to get steady work, and it’s a very rare time when I have nothing on the drawing board at all. Here’s what’s on the board right now: Marlin Company workplace poster- another image illustrating a teamwork message… this… READ MORE
August 9th, 2006 | Posted in News
A few weeks ago I wrote this post about the annual Walt Disney Toonfest in Marceline, MO and this year’s event. Since Marceline geographically falls within the my chapter of the National Cartoonist Society, the North Central Chapter, we are closely involved in Toonfest in general and their annual art show in particular. I received the following press release from former chapter officer Paul Fell, concerning this year’s art show. The show is very well done and any professional cartoonists who might be reading this should consider submitting work. Return shipping is paid by the Toonfest organizers so all you are out is the “to”… READ MORE
August 8th, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
It occurred to me I never posted much of a “sneak peek” at the upcoming Hell’s Kitchen MAD parody. I just used the image of Gordon Ramsey from the splash as part of my color mini-tutorial. Here’s a few more images from the parody, due out in September in MAD #470. Sorry, no words. That’s MAD’s job, and you’ll have to buy the furshlugginer magazine to get those! A section of the spash page… ??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć??ᬨ‚Ć READ MORE
August 7th, 2006 | Posted in General
Well, another day of live caricatures at Valleyfair. This time I fared a little better in the good drawing department. I did a few decent ones and was starting to the back into the swing of it. No more live work for me in the foreseeable future, as it’s back to a slowing mounting pile of freelance jobs on the drawing board. Here are a few of the ones that turned out reasonably well today, with comments: ??ᬨ‚Ć This is Tim Howe, one of my artists in Minnesota this summer. He came in to get a drawing by me since I never work anymore. I… READ MORE
August 6th, 2006 | Posted in General
Cartoons have always gotten a bit of a bad rap in the art world because of the perception that they are throw-away art… more about the gag and writing than about the artwork itself. Some cartoons are much more about the writing than the art, but what’s wrong with that? Good cartooning is delivering a message to the viewer, that may be in the form of a gag or some editorial comment or political statement… that can be accomplished with a beautifully complex drawing or with a simple scribble. It seems to me if the message is delivered and understood… mission accomplished. Cartoons might not… READ MORE
