Archive for May 29th, 2012
May 29th, 2012 | Posted in General
I’ve finally got a few minutes to breathe now that the 2012 NCS Reuben Awards Weekend is over and my duties as president and host for the event are (mostly) over. We are headed back home today . . . in fact I am writing this at 32,000 feet on my way back to Minnesota. It was a great weekend and I am proud of how it turned out. The Lovely Anna literally worked herself sick, had no voice left at all on Monday and was an incredible hostess. Actually winning the Reuben for “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year”? Shocked, stunned, speechless, floored . .… READ MORE
April 29th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I work a 40 hour week, 50 weeks a year, and have been since 1978. I see actual retirement in the next ten years. As a artist and freelancer, what does retirement look like for you? No plan at all, freelance part time, or continue present pace until last breath is exhaled? A: Freelancer artists face the same challenges to retirement that any self-employed person does. You have no employer who is providing a pension plan for you, so sou simply have to plan ahead for it . . .¬¨‚Ć and the younger you are when you do it, the better. Social Security is… READ MORE
March 29th, 2012 | Posted in MAD Magazine
The National Cartoonists Society Reubens Awards are taking place in Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. The awards themselves are only part of the festivities… NCS members are going to be treated to some great speakers in Ray Billingsley (Curtis), Jim Davis (Garfield), Stan Goldberg (Archie, recipient of the NCS Gold Key Award), Butch Hartmann (The Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom, T.U.F.F. Puppy), Mark Simon (Animatics and Storyboards, Inc.) discussion publicity and promotion and a panel of cartoonists talking about making a living in cartooning in the 21st Century including Michael Jantze (The Norm), Dave Kellett (Sheldon, Drive) and John Lotshaw (Accidental Centaurs). Plus, the… READ MORE
February 29th, 2012 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s sketch subject is Dexter star Jennifer Carpenter. She has a very long face, a crooked mouth and small, angular eyes very far apart. READ MORE
January 29th, 2012 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I remember about a year ago you wrote a post about the decline in quality of Strathmore bristol boards, a brand you used with your work. Whatever happened with that? Did you find a suitable replacement? Have the Strathmore boards improved? A: Here is the post to which you refer: Strathless Bristol Bored. I contacted Strathmore about my concerns and found their customer service department very receptive to working with me. They were concerned and, while they didn’t come right out and say it, I got the feeling mine was not the first complaint they had received. They asked me to send them some… READ MORE
December 29th, 2011 | Posted in General
Caricaturist extraordinaire and fellow member of the Usual Gang of Idiots Drew Friedman was the guest speaker at the International Society of Caricature Artists convention held last month in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida. Drew has posted a wrap-up of his trip, including lots of pictures and a transcript of a Q & A he did as part of one of his two presentations that week. Well worth a look. READ MORE
November 29th, 2011 | Posted in General
Phase two of the marketing of my book, The Mad Art of Caricature! is on with the listing of the book on Amazon.com. As I discussed in this post, listing the book through on-line retailers like Amazon (and soon Barnes and Noble) brings the book beyond the relatively narrow audience of this blog and offers it to the world-at-large. The trade off is that Amazon takes a whopping 55% of the cover price, and I have to pay to ship the copies to them, so the amount of profit I realize on a sale through them is significantly less than when I sell it directly… READ MORE
November 29th, 2011 | Posted in Freelancing
As promised, here are some of the character art I did for last night’s episode of MAD on the Cartoon Network for the segment “Superhero Millionaire Matchmaker”: Christian Bale Rachel from “Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti from “Millionaire Matchmaker” Robert Downey Jr. Destin from “Millionaire Matchmaker” READ MORE
