Guillotine

Well… Since Tuesday was an extremely slow news day I decided to write an article about someone who’s work I admire.

Mark Crilley is an artist/author who has a style very much in the tradition of Japanese manga and anime artists. I discovered his work by accident about 6 months ago when I landed onto one of his Youtube drawing tutorials, and have been impressed if not amazed by everything I’ve seen of his work.

I can honestly say that before finding his videos I always assumed anime and manga were porn (basing my assumptions like many on the numerous web ads for anime/manga with somewhat “questionable” content). I would have never even given it a chance without a little insight gained by learning about Mark Crilley and his work. He has also inspired me to pick up a pencil and get back into drawing, so I can honestly thank him for leading me to many things that have made my life a lot more interesting.

Mark is currently doing several contracted projects while he gets his next major undertaking off the ground. His most current work is the four book series Miki Falls which is a rather clever romance story with some amazing artwork. While the story is probably more to the taste of teenagers (nothing wrong with that as it’s probably the most fanatic market one could land in) it is still a good read no matter who you are (This 37 year old man enjoyed it). Even if the story is not necessarily to your taste the books are worth it for the art alone. The amount of detail Mark puts into every panel is rather incredible. In a world where most people would simply draw the important things he goes a bit further by placing tons of background detail. Some of the images almost seem like you could step right into them.

I can honestly say that if you are the least bit interested in drawing, anime, or manga you should take a look at Mark Crilley’s work. Just watch his Youtube videos and you’ll see what I mean. He’s also a really cool guy who truly appreciates his fans. Very few people would go to the lengths he does to show his fans how much he cares. A great person and amazing talent all in one package… Who could ask for more.

Mark’s earlier work can be seen in the Akiko comics and books as well as the Billy Klikk book series (which I have not read so I won’t comment on them at this time).

Mark’s Website: http://www.markcrilley.com/

Mark’s Youtube Page: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=markcrilley

Mark’s DeviantArt Page: http://markcrilley.deviantart.com/