Artist Feature ... Mark Millicent

Hello Balloonists and a Happy New Year!

Our first artist feature of 2022 is about someone who works in the United States of America but is originally from the United Kingdom. Mark Millicent works mainly in the advertising and film world of Los Angeles in California with a client base which includes Disney, Warner Brothers, RSA and ABC. He lives by a lake in the Santa Monica Mountains with his wife and family, a cat and a peacock, and he likes to fish, walk and listen to good music from the 1970's.

On the Dirigible Balloon, Mark’s illustrations accompanied poems written by his friend Dale Neal (Christmas Steve and My Unicorn has Broken Down) and you can find more of Mark’s work on his website ... https://www.markmillicent.com

So, without further ado, the Dirigible Balloon is proud to present



How did you get into illustrating?
I got into ‘art’ as most kids do because I love

This picture is copyright (©) Mark Millicent 2022

drawing. Drawing was the only thing that I really showed much of a talent for at school. I loved drawing birds and would copy them from my many bird books. I would read comics, I would copy the pictures that I admired: mainly Spiderman and Batman … and I would make my own versions of them. At 16 I completed a foundation course in Art then went on to Stoke Art College where I obtained a degree in illustration. In reality I spent most of the time painting from the figure. After college I went down to London and after much knocking on doors with my meagre portfolio. I found a job as a junior commercial artist in a West End studio in London that produced storyboards for commercials. It being the 1980’s Pop videos and promos as well. The ubiquitous commercials that pepper our TV screens in our 20th century lives are filled with advertising and all this advertising needs storyboards. All movies have to be drawn as a visual plan and so storyboarding is something that can keep you busy! After 10 years in London I moved to America and storyboarding is for the most part where I have made my living for the last 30 or 40 years. Yes I’m getting old!

Do you have a favourite artist?
Of course we all have favourite illustrators and artists people we admire, and inspired us to start on this career. The person that is most responsible for getting me into the business if I had to name one , I think is Bernie Wrightson. You should take a look at Bernie's illustrations for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Bernie had illustrated a graphic novel in the 80s of Frankenstein. The superb black and white ink drawings are wonderfully atmospheric. His masterful use of negative and positive space in the darkness and powerful shapes and the composition that he uses in his drawings has been an inspiration to many a budding illustrator. Take a look you will enjoy also his famous Swamp-Thing Illustrations too. Everybody loves the quirky loose characters of Quentin Blake. Ralph Steadman’s scratchy characters. John Tenniel illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. Dr Zuess - and Helen Oxenbury there are so many people to admire in the field of illustration.
Jeffrey Jones work is also worth looking at. A wonderful illustrator with romantic period imagery. Michael Kaluta another 70s 80s artist. You can tell what era I inhabit. The old Gerry Anderson puppet shows of Captain Scarlett and Thunderbirds had a publication called TV 21. These comic strip drawings by Mike Nobel are superbly detailed and give a great sense of story to the episodes within them. Pull out as many books from the library on anatomy and drawing, read them and practice—a lot!.

What are your illustrating ambitions?
Like most artists I would like to be happy with what I do and as long as I am creating and I have a project in front of me I’m cool. Drawing seems to keep me contented and the wolf from the door. My ambitions would be to paint more I think- keep busy creating and illustrate a few more books. Maybe write a few more of my own and generally wear a smile while doing so!

What advice would you give young artists?
Regards advice towards young illustrators or anybody wanting to get into the business: well you have to be good at it, as it's a very competitive field. The only way you can be good at something is by doing lots of it, so keep your pencil and sketchpad close by. In fact always keep a sketchpad the more you draw the better you get and anatomy is the basis of most of the scaffolding for this discipline. Just doodle and ideas will come . Use your imagination. I know that doesn't equate if you want to do landscapes etc but most of the subject matter involves the human form. Or animals imbued with human characteristics etc.

This picture is copyright (©) Mark Millicent 2022

So get yourself a little plastic skeleton, trace artists work you like. Use comics, trace the drawings from the books, the picture books that you admire, the illustrations. It’s only by repetition that you are able to get better. Keep doing it and you will develop your own style. You do need the scaffolding of knowledge available to the artist and illustrator in the many easily obtainable publications of artists anatomy or anatomy for artists. You-tube videos are a great resource for the young illustrator learning his craft. Tell your own stories and use your own drawings to illustrate them. It doesn't matter if you please anyone other than yourself. But as long as you keep at it, you'll get better . When you are able try and get a college placement send your work off to editorials learn to use Procreate on the iPad - learn to use Photoshop and keep drawing traditionally with a pen and a pencil. When you're in a café whether you're at the airport whether you're with your mom and dad and out for the day take your sketchbook with you. Draw in front of the TV -but draw all the time -it’s both rewarding, satisfying and it will pay off -believe me- Draw, draw, draw!