Mailbag
March 8th, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: You once told a story that when you showed some of your early works to the MAD brass (Sam Viviano, I believe), you were told that it was a bit too much like Mort Drucker’s work, so you reworked your art to distinguish it from Drucker’s. I know that artists all agree that when you’re being paid, you give the clients what they want. However, is it really fair for an artist to be told to “undo” their talent? If someone paints as well as Michelangelo or Norman Rockwell or Bob Ross and their style skews that way (but not intentionally), is it fair… READ MORE
March 1st, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What’s your personal plan for retirement? Do you plan on drawing till you can no longer pick up a pencil or maybe just slow it down in stages and semi retire? Not that retirement is anytime soon. I always enjoy your posts so of course I hope you never retire. A: As far as working goes I’ll keep on freelancing/doing art as long as I am physically capable of it and as long as there are clients out there wanting to hire me. I’m not digging ditches, so while I have control of my mind and my hand I would not want to stop… READ MORE
February 23rd, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
The mailbag is empty again. That’s been happening a lot in the last year. After answering over 600 questions on Sundays since this blog got started in 2009, I think it might be time to semi-retire this feature. I am not going to actively solicit for new questions anymore. If/when I do get a new question or two I will do a new Mailbag post, but when the mailbag is empty I will start reposting old mailbag questions that are ones people tend to keep asking about. If you never saw that post, it’s new to you, right? Thanks to all who have asked questions… READ MORE
February 16th, 2020 | 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 your time… READ MORE
February 9th, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: Do you ever draw live caricatures anymore? A: Very occasionally. In fact, I just did a gig a couple of weeks ago at the Mall of America with three other local caricaturists. My doing gigs is extremely rare. It’s more likely I will sometimes fill in at one of my two theme park operations. I spent about 20 years doing live caricatures full time at theme parks every summer, as well as at fairs, holidays at shopping centers, and some gigs. In 2004 I hurt my wrist working out with a heavybag (note to artists: activities that involve throwing your drawing hand at heavy… READ MORE
February 2nd, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I see you self-published your caricature book. I’m curious why you went that route, as opposed to shopping it around to a publisher? I would think with your credits as a caricaturist and illustrator with MAD and all, you’d have had an easy time finding an actual publisher for a how-to book like this. Why self publish? A: I released The Mad Art of Caricature back in 2011, and I did think about approaching publishers about the book. In the end I decided to self-publish (sort of… I actually created my own publishing company Deadline Demon Publishing) for four reasons: The niche target audience… READ MORE
January 26th, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’ve heard you mention, briefly, about being able to draw people in various positions, while maintaining a likeness, and have been wondering about your work drawing celebrities (or anyone) for the parodies that you do. Are you doing them from references that are in the pose that you want? Or are you using your knowledge of facial construction to “cheat” the pose? A bit of both? I have found it daunting to find references in a certain position, and have had limited success trying to “cheat” the pose. A: It’s a little of both, especially with regard to doing a movie or TV parody… READ MORE
January 19th, 2020 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I wanted to follow up on something you mentioned a short while ago about “getting yourself out there” as a caricaturist – with the aim of getting commissions/studio work. You had said to use social media “especially Instagram.” Would you mind elaborating on that point? How would one go about that? Beyond posting a lot and liking others work, I mean. I set up a business page, but, unless I’m doing something wrong, I don’t see how that’s much different than a personal one. Is it all about the hashtags? Getting likes? A: I think having a strong social media presence is a must… READ MORE
