Mailbag
May 20th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I heard a great tip from Lynn Johnston that she uses toys for references. I always thought that was such a great tip. You can use toys from different angles and can give your more depth than looking at a photo and…some toys can be cheap. I recently bought a farm animal toy pack from Walmart for $3 and a matchbox truck for $1! My question is…do you use toys for references? If so, any examples you can give us when you did? A: Toys and props are great for references, especially these days where they are often VERY accurate to the real thing…… READ MORE
May 6th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: It is acceptable for a caricature artist to work an event knowing a competing artist is working at the same festival or art fair, etc.? A: Yes. If those running the fair or festival are willing to rent space to vendors selling the same products then there is nothing wrong, both commercially and ethically, with having multiple caricaturists at the same event. Many large fairs or festivals have several different caricaturists set up in different locations. I even know of at least one major theme park that has two different caricature companies with booths in the SAME PARK. That is unusual… most of the… READ MORE
April 22nd, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Looking at the recent Mad magazine’s “This Is Us” parody, I noticed something that has something to do what I am asking about. I saw a panel that you drew that had various cartoon characters in the background, Fred Flintstone, Homer Simpson…etc…drawn in their style. I can understand that because it is a parody that would be acceptable, but what if you were asked to draw/paint in another artist’s style like Norman Rockwell…or Mort Drucker…etc… Have you ever been asked to draw another artist’s style? Is there any legal trouble doing that? I have a project that I am gonna work on for a… READ MORE
April 15th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When someone is hired to do a caricature of a famous person for a client (say Mad magazine), do they need permission of the copyright holder of the photo they are using for reference? I imagine a lot of your caricatures came from a photo or screenshot originally. A: The specifics of a certain case will always play into it, but in general no… a caricaturist does not need the permission of the copyright holder of a reference photo they work from to do a caricature from it. One of the rules that the courts use in determining what is copyright infringement and what… READ MORE
April 1st, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: With you participating in so many comic book conventions, I just had to know—do you come across many people cosplaying as Alfred E. Neuman? A: I actually don’t do all that many comic cons. I only do four every year: San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con, because those are the big ones, and two in Chicago in C2E2 and Wizard World Chicago (formerly Chicago Comic Con) because they are good sized shows but also within a driveable distance of my home. I’m currently in charge of the National Cartoonists Society’s big comic-con booth presence so when they started doing Wondercon with that… READ MORE
March 25th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
This happens a couple of times a year… I have no viable questions to answer in the mailbag. Well, I have been asked and answered over 500 of them since starting this blog. It’s entirely possible that people have run out of questions. There are only so many questions people might have about freelancing, illustration, MAD, etc. So maybe this feature has run its course. I guess that’s up to you. So, if you have questions concerning cartooning, illustration, freelancing, MAD Magazine or other similar subjects I’ll be happy to answer them as best I can. E-mail me your questions and I’ll try and answer… READ MORE
March 18th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How do you handle drawing caricatures of people with disabilities? Say your subject has Down’s Syndrome, or M.S., or they are in a wheelchair, something like that? A: I find that people with disabilities take far more offense if you DON’T draw them as they look that if you do. Trying to “normalize” them is insulting. It is basically saying “You are broken but don’t worry, I will fix you in the drawing”. That is extremely insulting. People with disabilities are not broken, they are different just like anyone is different from the next person, it’s just that their differences create challenges other people… READ MORE
March 11th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: When doing live caricatures: What do you say to a customer who just cannot sit still and moves the head here and there? A: SHUT THE HELL UP AND SIT STILL!!!! Thanks to Dominick Zeillinger 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 I’ll try and answer it here! READ MORE
