Mailbag
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
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 23rd, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Have you ever used an online store like CafePress? I see there is now Merch by Amazon now too. Is there any reason not to use one of these services? Do you have a favorite? Or do you suggest any methods of selling artwork in various formats? A: The best way to do online sales depends on how much work and money you are prepared to put into it versus how much of the profit on sales you are willing to settle for. All my online sales are done “in-house”, meaning I produce/print all the stuff I sell and then do the fulfillment myself. I use… READ MORE
December 16th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’ve drawn and doodled for most of my life; 37 years. When it comes to caricatures, I struggle to draw features that have likeness to the reference feature. I understand your methods on how to exaggerate (T for eyes and nose, feature separation and proportions) but I guess I struggle to see a nose, for instance, and draw it with likeness. How do you reference a feature, and know exactly how to draw it with likeness and exaggeration? All of your caricatures have distinctive features that are used with that subject only. You don’t copy/paste and tweak a nose from your mental archive, its… READ MORE
December 9th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Besides your book, what books do you think should be on any artist/cartoonist bookshelf? It can be instructional or inspirational. A: Like many artists I’m a bit of an art book junkie, but like many artists far too many of the books I get end up decorating a shelf and and only skimmed or read once. There are a few that are pretty well thumbed on my bookshelves though. Here are some that I consider classics, and which are not left collecting dust on a shelf. I have included only instructional or reference books here, as “inspirational” books would be too numerous to list… READ MORE
December 2nd, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
It’s that time again. I don’t have any questions for the mailbag right now (other than a couple that are basically asking for a lengthy tutorial on drawing crowd scenes or something similar that are a little more involved than a Q&A). So if you have any questions about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here! READ MORE
November 25th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I draw more caricatures for free and fun than commissions or through my sign business but a friend recently shared a bad legal experience with me that left a little too much fear in my pencil. He said his company was sued by a photographer(they settled out of court so there was no legal determination) for purchasing and using a freelance artists Illustration of a grizzly bear that the artist referenced their photograph (without permission) to create his illustration. The photographer saw the Illustration on my friend’s company website (they sell high end illustrations) and filed a suit against the company that paid the… READ MORE
November 18th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You’ve previously described pretty thoroughly how to submit work to MAD – originally via snail mail, then through MAD‘s official submissions page. Now that MAD is under new management, is the submission process different as well? (The submissions page is still there, but it hasn’t been updated since the rebrand. It still has stuff about the Fundalini pages etc. in it, and as they don’t reply to rejected submissions there’s no way to tell if it’s even still working or not.) A: I visited the MAD offices while I was in LA last Monday, and put this question to MAD art director Suzy Hutchinson.… READ MORE
