Chewing Pencils

When I was a kid in school, I had a friend that read every edition of Mad magazine, and insisted that I did too. I got hooked pretty quickly, but was never allowed to get my own copy unless we were away on holidays and my parents wanted something to keep me quiet in the car…

I’m still a fan, though rarely get time to read it these days. It’s popularity seems to have flagged a little with the rise of the internet and other forms of entertainment, and I’ve found it a little difficult to obtain from my local newsagents, but the art work it carries is still superb. The cartoon parodies of popular movies and TV shows are sharp and biting and it still carries the mantle of being one of the ‘holy grails’ for a cartoonist.

Recently I was thrilled to stumble across Tom Richmond’s website and blog. Tom is one of the current ‘Gang of Idiots’ that draw for Mad and has the sort of talent that I would kill for. His site showcases his amazing caricatures and on his blog, Tom shares some of his knowlege and passion about the business.

Of particular note on the blog is his recent two part tutorial on inking (part 1, part 2). This is something I have always found a pain - the pencil drafts look great, but my inking technique usually just messed everything up! Take some time to read through his posts properly. It’s the next best thing to sitting in his studio looking over his shoulder!