Mailbag
June 24th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Do you have an assistant or is there any part of a drawing that you farm out?¬¨‚Ć If so, What part and Why? A: I just had a conversation about this very topic with my long-time friend, comic book artist super-star Doug Mahnke, who came down to the house with his wife Michelle for my daughter’s graduation party. I was telling him how utterly and completely swamped I was with all these freelance assignments, and he asked me if I’d ever considered hiring an assistant to whom I could assign some of the more tedious “busy work” like backgrounds or clean up or such… READ MORE
June 17th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
I get a number of frequently asked questions in the Mailbag (you know, like “what kind of pen do you use?”. :Where do you get your ideas?”¬¨‚Ć and “Can you draw my caricature?”), and every once and a while I post an updated answer based on a previous post.¬¨‚Ć This is one of those “once in a while”s. From the Mailbag Archives. Q: I want to learn to draw caricatures. What should I do? A: Seek professional psychiatric help. If you are still intent on drawing caricatures, the best way to become a good caricaturist is to have been dropped on your head a lot… READ MORE
June 15th, 2012 | Posted in Freelancing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2hhgbEau5k[/youtube] MAD’s Al Jaffee spends two minutes giving you some of the best advice about being a professional freelance artist you will ever hear. Via the Daily Cartoonist via Mike Lynch. READ MORE
June 10th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Who were the artists who influenced your work when you were still an art student? A: That is not a very easy question to answer for any artist because most “discover” and are influenced by many different artists at different stages of their lives and careers. Since you specify my time as an “art student”, which I take to mean when I was studying art in college (1985-89), here is a short list of artists whose work I was introduced to and who became influences on me during those years: Norman Rockwell– He is so commonly cited as an influence for any humorous illustrator… READ MORE
June 3rd, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on artists’ representatives, whether or not you think one should find an agent, and the pros, cons and pitfalls associated with an arrangement like that. A: This week’s mailbag question comes from the excellent Canadian illustrator Patrick LaMontage! In the interest of full disclosure, some of the answer below is from an similar mailbag question from several years ag0. For those who might not be familiar, an artist’s representative (or “rep”) is like a cross between an actor’s talent agent and a business manager.¬¨‚Ć In the traditional sense, their job is to go out and seek work… READ MORE
May 27th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I have seen your caricature of Michael Jackson (this one here) on display at a number of caricature stands, mostly at theme parks (i.e.Hersheypark here in PA). I know that you work with and train people at a number of theme parks, so does the fact they have your drawing posted mean you work/have worked with that park? Do you feel it’s a bit of a cheat or false advertising to have examples of someone else’s work on display? A: There are different answers regarding this issue depending on the situation, including seeing actual copies of my artwork and another artist redrawing my artwork:… READ MORE
May 20th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Do you normally ask permission from the people you know (friends, officemates, relatives) before you draw/caricature them? Were there such a case when they didn’t take it so well, or found it offensive? A: Have I ever offended anyone? Sure, and that’s funny considering my style of caricature is not very derogatory or offensive. When doing live caricature you occasionally get people who don’t like the results. Sometimes it’s because the drawing is legitimately “off” (you can’t win them all), but often it’s their problem. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson from “A Few Good Men”…some people just can’t handle the truth. So far no one… READ MORE
May 13th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: As a caricaturist how do you avoid the reliance and clich?¬© of using props (as in properties) to bolster the recognition of a person? For example, if you are depicting a not so well known sports personality there maybe a tendency to add sports gear or team logos to the image helping to get the message across. Or say a “celebrity” who is surrounded by their associated paraphernalia, just so you know who that caricature is meant to be; which helps bridge the association of recognition but then destroys it with poor observational drawing. Sorry if this question has answered in your new… READ MORE
