Tom's Mad Blog
January 6th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Say you have got a hard deadline for Monday on a big project, like a movie parody for MAD. You are behind so you are working around the clock, spending every spare minute inking and coloring like a fiend to try and get it done on time. Would you still take the time to answer a question for the Sunday Mailbag, even though it would take precious time away from the drawing table? A: No Thanks to A.E. Neuman for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and… READ MORE
January 4th, 2019 | Posted in News
I just scheduled a new 2019 workshop: Washington DC Aug 2-4th! Okay, it’s actually in an area of Arlington called Crystal City, but close enough to Washington to count. I’ve been trying to book a workshop in that area for a while now and it was tough to find a venue that was both affordable and had everything needed. Mission accomplished! This one is going to be yuge, so register for a spot today. Incidentally, if you go to register only seconds after this announcement posts, and you are surprised to see a lot of spaces already taken, that’s because people who are on my… READ MORE
January 3rd, 2019 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
No, not Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito, the Minnesota Twins pro baseball team. Back in the mid 2000’s I did an illustration of the entire Minnesota Twins baseball team roster each year, which was given away as a poster at the ballpark on the last home game of the season aka “Kid’s Appreciation Day”. This gig didn’t pay much, but in addition to a little money I got two full season tickets to the Twins as well as all the stadium giveaway swag. I did posters from 2003-2006 ( I think), and they were all original watercolor/mixed media paintings which the Twins got the originals… READ MORE
January 2nd, 2019 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This is an older SotW of the lovely Monica Bellucci, as seen in my book “Sketch o’the Week, Vol. 1”. Original now available in the Studio Store. READ MORE
January 1st, 2019 | Posted in General
My annual posting of this positive New Year’s illustration. Here’s to a great 2019! READ MORE
December 31st, 2018 | Posted in Monday MADness
Today’s Monday MADness is a look at the pencil roughs, final pencils ( of the splash at least… a rare occurrence as I seldom scan my final pencils in before inking) and the colored final art from the Dick DeBartolo penned parody of “Extreme Home Makeover” from issue #460, December 2005. Yikes, I used to over-paint my work. Everyone looks so shiny! Clicky any to Embiggen… READ MORE
December 30th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get, so every year or two I repost this mailbag answer, with updates as needed: Q: How much should I charge for an illustration? A: I get individual e-mails occasionally asking for advice on what to charge on this project or that kind of job, and the problem is that the question in basically unanswerable. It is always “that depends”. One mistake a lot of people make in the beginning is charging based on how much time it takes to do an illustration. You need to understand that you are not actually selling the client… READ MORE
December 29th, 2018 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Well, a surprise to me anyway… and I drew the damn thing! The Chicago Tribune website ran a story this week from the Post-Tribune of North Indiana, about about MAD‘s doing a spoof of “A Christmas Story” in issue #5, ostensibly for the film’s 35th anniversary (although that was just a coincidence I think, MAD just wanted to do a classic Christmas film for the holiday issue). Jean Shepherd, on whose writings the film was based, was originally from nearby Hammond, Indiana. I learned something interesting from the article. The above panel was from a scene in the film inside the department store, where Ralphie’s… READ MORE
