Mailbag
September 8th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You’ve mentioned the thrill of drawing live caricatures without a safety net by not sketching anything first and just diving in. With that in mind, if you find you’ve goofed up… then what? Just thinking about that situation gives me anxiety. Have you ever scratched a live drawing and started over? I assume it’s a similar rush one gets doing stand up comedy, where it’s just you and your wits to see how you can get yourself out of a jam. A: Drawing live is a spontaneous and organic process that has to be allowed to run its course, warts (pun intended) and all. No two… READ MORE
September 1st, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Have you seen the “Shaqtoons” thing? What’s your opinion about art contests like this? A: The “Shaqtoons thing” Richard is referring to is this: Multimillionaire Shaquille O’Neal “needs our help”! He wants animators to produce animated shorts for free and submit them for his new “Shaq Life” show. If they pick your video, they will pay you a whopping $500!!!* But it’s not just about the Benjamins. As Shaq says at the end of the video (with a wink) “That’s right animators, I’m going to make you famous.” The small print says they own the rights to any videos you submit whether they pick… READ MORE
August 25th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: At those times when you are really scrambling to beat a deadline and you have absolutely no time to write a long, detailed answer to a Sunday Mailbag question, do you ever just make up a question that is obviously fake, meant as a joke, and is one big, long, run on sentence but only requires a short, maybe even one word answer so you can stop wasting time on the internet and get back to beating that deadline? A: Yes. Thanks to A. E. Neuman for the question. If you have a question you want answered about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail… READ MORE
August 18th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I have a question that involves pen and ink. I’m having trouble keeping the flow going on my nibs. doesn’t take too long before it “jams up” and becomes unworkable. This happens with most and different sizes. I’m thinking the paper I’m using might have something to do with it (using cheap paper to practice on), or the brand of ink, or, I don’t know. I’m also wondering if anybody else runs into this situation. A: To answer the last part of that question: yes, EVERYONE has that problem. It happens a lot, but not with every other line. There can be a lot of… READ MORE
August 11th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You’ve talked about drawing live and why you don’t start with face shape and instead begin with the details. You mentioned the thrill of working without a safety net by not sketching anything first and just diving in. With that in mind, if you find you’ve goofed up… then what? Just thinking about that situation gives me anxiety. Have you ever scratched a live drawing and started over? I assume it’s a similar rush one gets doing stand up comedy, where it’s just you and your wits to see how you can get yourself out of a jam. A: Live caricature is not for the faint… READ MORE
August 4th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You’ve said that when you do live caricatures, you draw features in a specific order, starting with the eyes. I’m curious whether you have a similar approach when you “flesh out” the caricatures in your illustrations, or do you first work with the head shapes and body outlines since the character placement is as important as the caricature itself? Or does your process vary from project to project, depending on how many caricatures the project requires and how restricted your layout is? I ask because I’m trying to develop a workflow of my own, but I know that sometimes you get better results when… READ MORE
July 28th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You’ve mentioned that there are strict rules in regards to the depiction of Alfred on the cover of MAD, insomuch he can’t be depicted side on, or with certain expressions. How come the Australian version of MAD has been able to get away with various artists drawing his face from different angles, and with various expressions on his face? Are non-US MAD magazines allowed more leeway in regards to MAD‘s mascot? A: Apparently they are, given some of the examples you sent me, including this one: By the way, if anyone is interested in seeing a lot of examples of the covers of foreign… READ MORE
July 21st, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: If I send you a picture of my kids/grandpa/dog/boss/neighbors/etc can you do the same thing you do at comic-cons and mail it to me? A: I get asked this all the time when I have a booth at a comic con, either when the person inquiring does not have a picture of the person they want drawn or I am already booked up for the show and they want it done anyway. Unfortunately the type of commission I do at comic cons I ONLY do at comic cons. They are a cross between quick draw live caricatures and brush pen/marker drawings, and I don’t… READ MORE
