General
July 19th, 2020 | Posted in General
Q: Are there elements of illustrations that you don’t find fun or enjoyable, that you routinely have to motivate yourself to labor through? For example, I find substantially less pleasure in drawing backgrounds and would much rather focus on drawing the subjects. If there is something you find less fun, what do you do to combat that? Do you draw the boring stuff first to get it out of the way? Curious about your process! A: I can find interest in any aspect of a job, but you do need to get in a different mindsets for different parts of a project: Conceptual Stage- This… READ MORE
July 14th, 2020 | Posted in General
The National Cartoonists Society, of which I am a longtime member and a past president, just released a fun kid’s activity book as part of their “Cartooning for Kids” program. Originally this was going to be a printed book that the NCS would have available for schools, kids organization and for our children’s hospital visits, but the coronavirus scuttled all that. Instead, the NCS has made it available as a PDF that anyone can download and print out (although they will eventually have a printed version). They are suggesting a donation of any amount you choose for the book, all the proceeds of which will… READ MORE
July 10th, 2020 | Posted in General
I’ve been slowly but steadily working my way through the huge stack of commissions from my “Corona-Con Virtual Artists Alley Table” I did back in April and May. Little did I know when I did that promotion that I was about to get socked with multiple freelance jobs with tight deadlines. Some of these folks have been waiting TWO MONTHS for their art. Everyone has been very patient with me, and for that I am grateful. Here are a few more. Some are straight “Alfred as…” drawings, some are caricatures of people with celebrities, some are just famous people. All the ones you see here… READ MORE
June 30th, 2020 | Posted in General
Planet Earth lost another legend of comedy yesterday with the passing of Carl Reiner at age 98. What a mark on the world of humor he made. I did the above pencil for a project for the Palm Restaurant back in 2014. I’m not sure if the art ever made it onto the wall of any of the Palms, but I thought it was a funny gag… that Judd Apatow was a comedic descendent of the Mel Brooks/Carl Reiner school of film humor. RIP Mr. Reiner. Keep ’em laughing up there. READ MORE
June 13th, 2020 | Posted in General
I couldn’t resist drawing Frances McDormand in her role of “Margey” from the original Fargo movie. We Minnesotans have a special affinity for that movie, donchaknow. Dat der moovie was a heckuva deal. I mean, oh jeez, it was just like real life! READ MORE
June 8th, 2020 | Posted in General
I’ve finally rescheduled my caricature illustration workshop for August 14-16, 2020 in nearby Eagan, MN. Due to cancellations by students I now have four spots available in this previously sold out workshop. This is a NEW kind of workshop… Caricature Illustration! My other workshops focus on teaching the art of caricature and only sample some of my illustration techniques. This workshop will be focused on the process of creating a caricature-based illustration from concept/roughs all the way to color final art. Tom provides instruction on each phase, including: Concept, “narrative”, composition and rough sketches Final pencils and prep for inking Traditional inking with dip pen and… READ MORE
June 4th, 2020 | Posted in General
I was remiss in not posting this yesterday, which marked the 28th anniversary of the passing of MAD founder and publisher William M. Gaines. I never met Bill. I got my first print assignment from MAD exactly 20 years ago this month. That was eight years after Bill’s passing. MAD has evolved a lot since Bill died, but back in those days the magazine was still very much the “Gaines” MAD, being run by Nick Meglin and John Ficarra, with editors Joe Raiola and Charlie Kadau… even Lenny “The Beard” Brenner was still about doing art production. Then newly minted art director Sam Viviano had… READ MORE
May 29th, 2020 | Posted in Freelancing
The newest issue of Viz (a UK humor publication) has a couple of pieces I did the art for. The one above is a take-off on an old (and apperently beloved by Brits of a certain age) British sitcom called “Steptoe and Son”, which was adapted here in the U.S. as “Sanford and Son”. Same premise, it’s an older father and son running a junk shop/collector business. I watched multiple episodes to get the feel of the show and the characters… it was damn funny, but pretty dated as you can imagine. The show ran from ’62-’65 and had a revival in the 70’s. The… READ MORE
