Mark Crilley
@markcrilley.bsky.social
360 followers 57 following 270 posts
Author and Illustrator of books published by Random House, HarperCollins, Little Brown, and Dark Horse Comics
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Every month I give away a piece of original art to one of my top supporters on Patreon. This time it's this piece, which was created based on various random suggestions from my YouTube viewers.
patreon.com/markcrilley
Many thanks to Jakub J. in Poland, who ordered this piece of original art from my Etsy shop today: a close up pencil illustration of Michelangelo's masterpiece sculpture, The Pieta.

etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
Here's a comparison between the rough pencil version of a page from BRODY'S GHOST with the inked and computer-toned version. Usually I would put a bit more detail into the rough, but in this case I postponed almost all of that work until I sat down to finalize things.
The season seems appropriate for this chibi illustration I did of Heath Ledger's Joker. I normally say that all chibi illustrations are cute, but I'm not sure that's the case with this one! 😅
They are both so talented!
Here are the four I've illustrated so far in my chibi series celebrating creative women I admire: @kara_baldus, @sumayah.bakes, @alicewinterhold.bsky.social, and @artbymoga.bsky.social.

Who do you think I should illustrate next?
These two pictures from LOST IN TAIWAN show the same location at two different times of day: noon vs. very late afternoon. You can see how I altered the colors to convey the two lighting situations.
Every couple of months I create a collaborative illustration for my top Patreon supporters. Here's a section of the latest one: a grocery store in which all of the products were chosen by my patrons. How many of the items can you recognize?

patreon.com/markcrilley
Many thanks to David H., who recently purchased these three pieces of originl art from my Etsy shop. The Talia illustration is an early version of the character; her clothing changed quite a bit by the time I settled on the final design.
etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
A while back I thought I might try to put myself out there as someone who does concept art and character designs. This is one of the sample illustrations I created to demonstrate what my work could look like.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the trip to Europe I made back when I was in college. In this photo you see all the belongings I brought with me, of which the Sony Walkman was perhaps the most important. 😁
In my book THE COMIC BOOK LESSON, I needed to invent a manga that had been self-published by Madeline, one of the three mentor characters in the story. Thus was born "Electric Angel Nurse Mizuki," a series that maybe has one or two more concepts jammed into it than it really needs. 😂
This is me back in 1993, standing outside the "Morioka Shokudo" restaurant with the chef. I was about the leave Japan to head back home, so I went around getting photos of various people that were an important part of my daily life.

Not sure about my clothing choices here, I must say! 😅
Registrations for my online drawing class will reopen soon for a limited time. Join the waitlist to get a 33% discount off the cost:
www.markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist
In the course I show you how to do careful studies like this one of a drawing by the impressionist master Edgar Degas.
I had fun creating this "teacup bowl of ramen" a few years back, fashioning all the key ingredients out of paper. The chopsticks were made from toothpicks.
My online drawing class will soon be open for a limited time only, so now's the time to get on the waiting list, which will allow you to get the course at a substantial discount:
www.markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist
I always look back fondly on the time singer songwriters @meikomusic and @mariedigby invited me to design the poster for their Hapa Tour. The idea was to illustrate anime-style versions of both of them. As a fan of both of them, it was a huge honor for me.
markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist When I was in college, I was encouraged to do studies like this one of a drawing by Frederick Varley. Years later I decided to turn it into an online drawing class: "Learning from the Masters." Get on the waiting list to receive a huge discount!
My online drawing class will soon be open for registration, so now's the time to get on the waiting list and get a huge discount off the price of the class. "Learning from the Masters: How to Acquire the Drawing Skills of your Favorite Artists."
www.markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist
Thanks Hanna! I'm a little nervous about being a first-time moderator, but I oughta know the basics by now, I've been on enough panels over the years ^_^
I am delighted to be moderating a panel with these four fabulous authors later this month at the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book: Jannie Ho, Michael Grover, Kennedy Tarrell, and Arree Chung. September 27th at 3pm in Harbor Springs, Michigan; Can't wait!
I did this careful study of a page from Fullmetal Alchemist while preparing for my BRODY'S GHOST series, with the goal of improving my inking abilities.
If you want to improve your ability to add contrast to drawings, challenge yourself to draw a crinkled piece of aluminum foil. For best results, use a black colored pencil for the darkest areas, and white gouache for the highlights.
it was something that came to me only after I sat down and started working out the journey of the two characters.
The original art is currently available at my Etsy shop:

etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
etsy.com