Tom's Mad Blog
July 25th, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
As promised, here is a quick peek??ᬨ‚Ćof part of??ᬨ‚Ćthe pencil rough for the MAD “Hell’s Kitchen” parody. This is a “reality” show that starts with 12 contestants all trying to be the last chef standing??ᬨ‚Ćto win their own resturant in Las Vegas. This is a caricature of the main antagonist, head chef Gordon Ramsey. He is a very interesting guy, very magnetic and highly volitile. He makes the show pretty entertaining. He also has a face that a caricaturist would salivate over… a heavy brow, craggy features and a nose like a potato glued to his face. This one is much better than my first… READ MORE
July 24th, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
So far I have managed to enter something in this blog almost every day since it’s inception, although an argument can be made as to if I actually had anything to say all those days… but I digress. This little recurring feature, entitled “On the Drawing Board” will give visitors a look at some of the projects I’ve got in progress, complete with some images of the roughs or various other stages. Right now I have three jobs in the works: The Ralph Nader vs. GM images for the Museum of Tort Law– I just finished the color comps for this job. Not much to… READ MORE
July 23rd, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Q: How do I break into MAD? A: If you want to break into MAD, the easiest way is with a grappling hook, 50 feet of rope, a glass cutter and suction cups. You can bribe your way in on Wednesdays with home baked cookies offered to Dick DeBartolo. Seriously, getting into MAD is notoriously hard to do, but it isn’t quite the impenetrable fortress it was in the 70’s and 80’s. Back then MAD had their legendary freelancers in their prime, and there was frankly very little work they had in the magazine that one of their established and well known “Usual Gang of… READ MORE
July 22nd, 2006 | Posted in News
As long as we’re on the subject of cartoonist events…. Last year in September I was one of several guest speakers at a festival in a little, sleepy town in Missouri named Marceline. The event was called “Toonfest” and it’s presence in Marceline was because Walt Disney had called this charming little town his home for about 5 years, from age 4-9. Other guest speakers that year included Gary and Glenn McCoy, Jim Borgman (Zits), Tom Wilson Jr. (Ziggy), Charles Solomon (animation and cartoon critic) and Tony Bancroft (Disney VP of Imagineering). The people of Marceline welcomed us with open arms and the festival was… READ MORE
July 21st, 2006 | Posted in News
I mentioned before that I am a member of the National Cartoonists Society, a 60 year old organization of professional cartoonists. The NCS also has local chapters throughout the country, and I belong to the North Central Chapter. Since the mid-west is apparently no man’s land for cartoonists, our chapter easily covers the largest geographical area: Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. While most chapters are only one state (and in some cases one area like Long Island’s “Berndt Toast Gang”) and get togther monthly for a meal and some fun, it’s difficult to get us all together in the North Central.… READ MORE
July 20th, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Now we are in the home stretch! It’s time to get coloring. Those of you who are looking for a tutorial on my painting techniques will be a little disappointed I’m afraid. In order to do that I need to save steps along the way, and I did not do that with this or any past job in anticipation of a tutorial. My apologies, but I will save those steps the next chance I get, and will put together a real tutorial on how I paint my line art soon. In the meantime, here are the basic steps: When painting I used to use a… READ MORE
July 19th, 2006 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Now that the inks are all done, erased and cleaned up, it’s computer time! First the pages need to be scanned in sections, then placed together to make a complete page. This is roughly as much fun as getting poked in the eye by a sharp instrument, but it is what it is. I invested in a very large scanner to simplify my life and cut down on popping veins in my forehead. I use a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL, which is a flatbed with a 12″x17″ scanning area. I use their ScanWizard Pro software and scan directly into Photoshop.¬¨‚Ć Even so, a two page spread… READ MORE
July 19th, 2006 | Posted in General
Before I get into all the scanning and computer coloring for this MAD job, let’s get something out of the way. I use a PC. That’s right, a PC. I have a G4 Powerbook also and years ago had a Mac Power PC, so no one can accuse me of not having tried both platforms. Macs are fine computers but I can tell you from vast personal experience that they are no better than a PC, and only personal preferences and what you find easiest and most effective for the tasks you specifically have to do make any difference. I have a fire breathing Dell… READ MORE
