Mailbag
December 24th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What sort of sequencing do you use when you do caricatures live? Do you draw in the head shape first, or start with an individual feature? A: I was taught to start with the interior features first and work my way out and I still feel that is the best way to do it when working live. If you work from the head shape in, you are immediately locked into your entire caricature and all the relationships it will describe once the head shape is done. This often leads to generic looking caricatures… drawing the same face/head shape over and over again, and having… READ MORE
December 17th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How do you choose which feature(s) to exaggerate in a caricature? A: That’s an easy one to answer: the face I’m drawing tells me. The explanation is not so easy. Caricature is all about your perception of the face in question. Perception is very different from measurable physical elements. If it was possible to have exactly the same nose on two different faces, that nose on one person may be perceived as big and on another person might seem small or at least not big. It’s all about the combination of features, how they relate to one another, and how an artist perceives them… READ MORE
December 10th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I was wondering how do you design your background characters? I’ve noticed that you occasionally use real people as secondary characters in your illustrations. Is there a reason? A: I’ve learned a lot from MAD art director Sam Viviano in the 6 years I’ve been regularly working with MAD, but if I had to pick one thing he told me that helped me the most, it would be the advice that provides the answer to that question. Sam told me that great cartoonists create a coherent, believable world with their art. It’s the world seen through their eyes, and in it all objects, people… READ MORE
December 3rd, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What do you look for when you hired caricaturists for your theme park operations? Were there ever people with no skills and you had a method for bringing them up to speed, or did you only hire people who could already caricature, and you helped prepare them for live work? A: I look for people with a natural eye for caricature, a feel for drawing the face/figure and strong drawing skills… in that order. No, they do not have to be accomplished caricaturists. Many of the artists that work with us have never done caricatures before. However they have to have an innate sense… READ MORE
November 26th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When did you start drawing for MAD, and what was your first article? A: That’s somewhat of a complicated question because the first thing I ever drew for MAD was actually the sixth piece I had printed, my first ‘published’ job was not for the magazine but for their website, and the first actual assignment I got printed was given to me three months after that first piece was done. Unofficially my first assignment was a job called “MAD’s Cable TV Viewing Odds” in June of 2000. I say “unofficially” because it was more of a tryout than a real job. I believe they… READ MORE
November 19th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I know you are not in NYC where the MAD offices are, but have you met many of the other MAD artists, writers and editors, and if so, who? A: I occasionally go to New York City just so I can bum a free lunch off the MAD staffers, particularly art director Sam Viviano. I know flying all the way from Minneapolis is a long commute for just a free lunch, but Sam often gets extravagant and allows me to “Super-Size”. The first MAD person I ever met was Nick Meglin. He was reviewing portfolios at the San Diego Comic-Con in 1993. I was… READ MORE
November 12th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What is the usual amount of panels that you draw without getting sloppy? And more randomly, What is your favorite movie? A: A two for one! I don’t fully understand the first question, but it seems to me you are asking how long I can work before I get tired and the work suffers. The answer is anywhere between 30 seconds and 30 hours. When I am drawing I can get sloppy or lose concentration at any time. That is when I have to get up and go do something else for a little while. Usually I go upstairs and get something to eat/drink… READ MORE
November 5th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When you transfer drawings from your sketches to the “official board” MAD sends you… do you just redraw the whole thing or what do you do? A: I physically redraw it, but considering I don’t draw the roughs very detailed it’s more of a tightening and completing than it is total redrawing. Here’s the process: I do the sketches at print size, directly on the MAD layouts like so: Then I scan them into PhotoShop. I enlarge them to 200% of the original size, which makes them the exact size of the boards MAD sends me. I print them on my Epson Color Stylus… READ MORE
