Tom's Mad Blog
August 6th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When are you going to post the MAD artwork you just finished in the MAD Art section? A: I always wait until the date that the issue of MAD the art appears in has hit the newsstand to post full images on my website. The MAD editors have never specifically said I couldn’t post the artwork early, but I don’t think they’d like it. Technically I don’t own the copyright to the artwork anyway, and am only allowed to post it insofar as there is an unwrtitten rule that we (the Usual Gang of Idiots) can use artwork we’ve done for MAD in self-promotion.… READ MORE
August 5th, 2006 | Posted in General
For the last two days since my return from NYC I’ve been working doing live caricatures at Valleyfair. It’s been a little slower than is usual this time of year… I blame the gas prices. At any rate, I didn’t really get a chance to get back in the groove of doing live work. That is something you have to warm up to and get back the “eye’ for doing quick draw, spontaneous caricatures. I have been spoiled by the luxury of working from clear photo images that don’t move, pick their noses or refuse to give you the same expression twice and the ability… READ MORE
August 4th, 2006 | Posted in General
Several blog readers have asked me why I don’t have an RSS syndication feed for my blog, to which my response was: “What the hell is an RSS syndication feed?” I’m new to this whole blog thing, you know. Thanks in particular to Roy Blumenthal for the handy link to more information he e-mailed me. It turns out an RSS feed is a web page, automatically generated by your better blog software, that is used by an RSS reader to create a sort of “blog watch” alert that will tell you when a blog has been updated, and give some info and an easy link… READ MORE
August 3rd, 2006 | Posted in General
Last Tuesday night Anna, myself and three of my kids attended the event we had come to New York for, “An evening with Harry, Carrie and Garp” at Radio City Music Hall. As I mentioned before, this was a charity event featuring readings by J.K. Rowling (Harry), Stephen King (Carrie) and John Irving (Garp), tickets for which was a Mother’s Day gift for Anna. King is among my favorite authors, Irving is Anna’s absolute favorite and we are all fans of Rowling, especially the kids. The show was quite good, and littered with surprise celebrity presentations and introductions. It began with an introduction by Whoopi… READ MORE
August 2nd, 2006 | Posted in General
I should have posted the Dreaded Deadline Demon yesterday, as I spent a good portion of the day sitting in my NYC hotel room finishing the color for the “Halloween Party” poster image on my laptop. It takes a good deal longer for me to use the regular Wacom tablet as I am now so used to (and spoiled by) the Cintiq. Since I posted the penciled version some days back, here’s the final in color: It’s nothing spectacular, just another job “in the can”. I don’t know if I felt bad about missing the Empire State Building tour and walking about New York with… READ MORE
July 31st, 2006 | Posted in General
Don’t be alarmed by the header. I’ll get to the robbery part in a minute… Visiting New York is always a fun time. When you are from quiet and pleasant Minnesota, the hectic craziness of New York is always like drinking a triple expresso… a total rush for a while, followed by a crash and a headache. I can handle about four days in NYC before I am on overload. Those four days are a blast, though! Today we swung by the MAD offices to hang out and bum a free lunch. The editors and art staff at MAD are always really good at pretending… READ MORE
July 30th, 2006 | Posted in Freelancing
Q: How do I get started doing freelance illustration? A: Making a living solely on freelance work is a tough and scary thing to do. There is no steady paycheck, and sometimes waiting for that phone to ring with a job seems like it takes forever. Other times you are so swamped you can’t keep up. It’s not a life for the faint of heart. First, I’d suggest for beginners to find a secondary source of income so your freelance work is not what you rely on to pay the rent. I used my live caricature work and businesses for this purpose, and it allowed… READ MORE
July 30th, 2006 | Posted in General
I should have mentioned with that last post, I am in New York City right now with Anna and the kids for the “Harry, Carrie and Garp” event, which takes place on the evenings of Aug. 1st and 2nd. The charities that will be benefiting from the performances are Doctors Without Borders, an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, or exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries, and the other is The Haven Foundation, a charity that supports writers and artists who can no longer support themselves because of… READ MORE
