Mailbag
October 4th, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You are a big Batman fan. So what do you think which Batman comics / stories / graphic novels every Batman fan should have read? A: I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t read many Batman comic books in the last 20 years. Back in the 90’s the Batman stories became really dumb IMO, with lame main villains like “The Ventriloquist” and story lines like when Bruce started taking steroids to get stronger and dealt with ‘roid rage. Then came the Bane story line with replacement Batmen and weird time travel stuff. My interest waned badly and other than the occasional issue or story… READ MORE
September 27th, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Is there someone who evaluates your caricatures? Currently with your experience, do you have bad reviews and do you have to redo caricatures? A: Yes, they are called art directors/clients/customers, and I do and do. Art directors/clients/customers only care about your reputation, experience, accomplishments, track record, longevity, awards, or any other phantom hook upon which your hat hangs insofar as those things may have helped get you the job with them. Otherwise they only care about the piece of artwork you are doing for them. You may have have drawn ten thousand really awesome caricatures, but if your ten thousandth and first is a… READ MORE
September 13th, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: This question may sound funny, but I think it is quite relevant: Imagine you are doing live caricatures and there is a desirable long line of customers waiting. Suddenly you really have to powder your nose. What are you doing/saying? Have you ever been in such a situation? And do you remember how long your longest non stop live drawing session has been? A: I started doing live caricatures 30 years ago at a theme park called Six Flags Great America near Chicago. That summer in 1985 had long lasting effects on me in multiple ways. First, I fell in love with the art… READ MORE
September 6th, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
These are several related questions about organizing my digital illustration work, so I’ve broken them up into different single ones: Q: What does your computer filing system look like? You must have millions of works of art in various formats all over your hard drive(s). Do you organize by dated folder? By publication? Do you have a coded filing system of any kind? I don’t have millions of pieces of artwork, but I do have well over a thousand, possibles thousands. I have a separate hard drive on which I store all my artwork, including roughs, layered working files and flattened final art. It’s a… READ MORE
August 23rd, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Recently you changed your working process and now you are doing your pencil sketches for MAD parodies just digitally. Is this now your favorite method for all sketches? And I think your inks are still real inks. Do you print out your digital sketches and ink over them? Can you give some details and pros and cons of your new working process? A: I’d say I know do about 75% of my “roughs” on the computer these days. The Wacom Cintiq has evolved into as close to the feel of drawing on paper as I think digital technology can get, so it’s very comfortable… READ MORE
August 16th, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Do you ever argue with art directors on a piece you are working on when they want changes you think will ruin the piece? Do you ever refuse to make the changes? A: The short answer to that first part is no. I would say I do not ever really “argue” with an art director. That said, I will “go to bat” for some aspect of the artwork I am doing for them if I think the changes they want work against the effectiveness of the piece. What I mean by “go to bat” is if I think something they want changed really does… READ MORE
August 9th, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Has it ever occurred to you that you might draw a caricature of someone’s face which already looks like a “natural” caricature? How to you manage an already exaggerated face? I am mostly referring to live caricature. A: There is really no such thing as someone who already looks like a caricature of themselves. The very definition of caricature is to exaggerated someone’s features and “look”. That means you start at what they really look like and go from there. If a person is already funny looking you just have a different starting point. Some people have more obvious features for you to exaggerate,… READ MORE
August 2nd, 2015 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’d like to know how you manage to resist the temptation to add ‘just a bit more’ to an artwork you’ve just done. I have to admit I’ve given in to that a few times and a drawing can get ruined as a consequence. A: That’s a problem for many artists, especially younger ones. I think it’s because there is always a certain amount of insecurity when you create a piece of art and the temptation to keep tinkering with it is hard to ignore. When to stop is something that every artist has to figure out for themselves. Yes, you absolutely can ruin… READ MORE
