Mailbag
November 17th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When are you going to video your workshop and/or offer an online version of your workshop? A: Probably not for a long time, if ever. I know that’s not an answer most people in the internet age want to hear, but I prefer to keep these workshops in person and of limited size. It makes them a very personal and focused sort of experience, and while it makes the expense of doing one (cost of the workshop and travel expenses if necessary) prohibitive for some, it also provides those who do it a much greater value and experience than some video series. I’ve got… READ MORE
November 10th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Here’s my annual “what kind of ________ do you use?” post, updated to 2019. Any links are just one possible source for purchase, do some web searching and you are bound to find the same things elsewhere and possibly cheaper. In the Studio For doing my publication work I use a lot of different tools and materials. While most of what I do these days is digital I do occasionally, when the job calls for it, pull out the old paints and such. Here are the tools I like to use in the studio: Pencils– Honestly I usually use whatever I end up grabbing from… READ MORE
November 3rd, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Is Viz your new MAD? Are you looking for other magazines where you can publish movie spoofs just in case Mad magazine is really ending? A: This is good timing for this question, because I just delivered a couple of pieces for MAD #11’s “The MAD 20 Dumbest People, Events, and Things of 2019″, and they might be the last thing I do for MAD for a while… maybe ever. I’ve been drawing for MAD for just over 19 years, so it’s been a big part of my life for a long time… but it’s never been my only, or even the biggest, source… READ MORE
October 27th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How can I identify my own drawing style? If I practice copying your drawings or another cartoonist, how will I know what my style is? A: An artist’s “style” is a surprisingly difficult thing to define. It’s easy to see and identify, but not so easy to pigeonhole into where it comes from and how it’s developed, because it just happens and you can’t stop it. In most cases an artist’s style is a natural extension of their drawing, and is a completely unconscious and uncalculated thing. The late, great Jack Davis is a perfect example of this. Everything Jack drew, from a chair to a boat… READ MORE
October 20th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How do you find working with the Copic markers for coloring? They seem to be the popular and recent/newest of the traditional art materials. I remember alcohol markers being around for a long time now but mostly for advertising comps and architecture/landscape renderings. A: I like the Copics a lot, but I only use them for quick style work like I do at comic cons. They are versatile and convenient, but while you can do a lot of blending of colors to get a wider palette, you are essential stuck with the colors and values of the markers themselves. Not all colors blend together… READ MORE
October 13th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: If you have finished a job (spoof for MAD, illustration…) did you spend more time on the creative part (composition, sketching) or on the rendering part (inks and coloring)? A: That has a different answer for each job. Some jobs require a lot of preliminary work, especially with a new client. There might be several rounds of conceptual sketches, followed by a tight pencil and revisions until you finally get to the last stage. Other jobs the initial concept is either already worked out as dictated by the client or it just rolls off the end of the pencil and it’s quickly on to… READ MORE
October 6th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I heard MAD is ending publication? A: The number one comment from this weekend at New York Comic Con. Here’s what is actually happening with MAD: Until recently, there were three ways for you to get the latest printed issue of MAD Magazine: on newsstands, in comic book stores, and in your maiulbox via subscription. Issue #9, which came out back in July, was the last issue of MAD Magazine to be carried on newsstands. Newsstand distribution of the magazine has ended. Next week MAD #10 will be released. You can get that issue only via subscription or in comic book shops. Issue #10… READ MORE
September 15th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You have an extensive online library of caricature work going back years. Do you get approached about the further commercial use of that work for things like t-shirts, food and drink labels etc? If so, how do you work it, and in particular, work out your fee? A: That does sometimes happen, although since most of my work is done for very specific uses that serves a particular narrative, a given illustration seldom ends up working for a different purpose. Every once and awhile, though… What is being asked about here is when an artist sells the rights to use an illustration that was… READ MORE
