Mark Crilley
@markcrilley.bsky.social
Author and Illustrator of books published by Random House, HarperCollins, Little Brown, and Dark Horse Comics
My wife and my daughter in Japan, 2013. Thanks to my father-in-law, we had the chance to stay in this lovely hotel in Shikoku with a truly spectacular view.
January 4, 2026 at 10:34 PM
My wife and my daughter in Japan, 2013. Thanks to my father-in-law, we had the chance to stay in this lovely hotel in Shikoku with a truly spectacular view.
Every couple months I create an exclusive digital book for my top supporters on Patreon. Today it was a sampler of my sketches back in college, including this one: a study of a painting (inset) by Andrew Wyeth. It's interesting to see what changed as I translated it from full color to pen and ink.
January 2, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Every couple months I create an exclusive digital book for my top supporters on Patreon. Today it was a sampler of my sketches back in college, including this one: a study of a painting (inset) by Andrew Wyeth. It's interesting to see what changed as I translated it from full color to pen and ink.
"The Castle of Alia Rellapor." A double-page illustration from my AKIKO comic book series. For many years this was the most detailed illustration I'd ever done, but I believe there's one in BRODY'S GHOST that goes even farther. 😅
January 2, 2026 at 12:38 AM
"The Castle of Alia Rellapor." A double-page illustration from my AKIKO comic book series. For many years this was the most detailed illustration I'd ever done, but I believe there's one in BRODY'S GHOST that goes even farther. 😅
This was by far the most popular of my online comics. It was shared a great many times, and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, maybe more. It clearly struck a nerve with people! 😅
December 31, 2025 at 2:02 AM
This was by far the most popular of my online comics. It was shared a great many times, and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, maybe more. It clearly struck a nerve with people! 😅
Miki and I as young parents, with her father, and with our son Matthew, who was around 6 months old at the time. This was during a visit to Japan, when we all stayed together at lovely old traditional ryokan hotel.
December 30, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Miki and I as young parents, with her father, and with our son Matthew, who was around 6 months old at the time. This was during a visit to Japan, when we all stayed together at lovely old traditional ryokan hotel.
Every month I give away a signed piece of original art to one of my top supporters on Patreon. This month I'm giving away this page from THE COMIC BOOK LESSON: the moment when Trudy agrees to teach Emily something about how to make comics.
patreon.com/MarkCrilley
patreon.com/MarkCrilley
December 27, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Every month I give away a signed piece of original art to one of my top supporters on Patreon. This month I'm giving away this page from THE COMIC BOOK LESSON: the moment when Trudy agrees to teach Emily something about how to make comics.
patreon.com/MarkCrilley
patreon.com/MarkCrilley
Look at this gorgeous Totoro pin, gifted to me by the incomparably kind Kim-Hoa Ung (@autumnleaflet.bsky.social). Go check out her BlueSky feed and give her a follow; her amigurumi creations are so adorable!
Thanks so much, Kim-Hoa, what a wonderful friend you are!! 😊🙏😊🙏
Thanks so much, Kim-Hoa, what a wonderful friend you are!! 😊🙏😊🙏
December 26, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Look at this gorgeous Totoro pin, gifted to me by the incomparably kind Kim-Hoa Ung (@autumnleaflet.bsky.social). Go check out her BlueSky feed and give her a follow; her amigurumi creations are so adorable!
Thanks so much, Kim-Hoa, what a wonderful friend you are!! 😊🙏😊🙏
Thanks so much, Kim-Hoa, what a wonderful friend you are!! 😊🙏😊🙏
Wishing you all the very best! I'm so grateful to all of you who have supported my work this past year, or have simply interacted with me here on BlueSky. It means an awful lot to me. 😊🙏
December 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Wishing you all the very best! I'm so grateful to all of you who have supported my work this past year, or have simply interacted with me here on BlueSky. It means an awful lot to me. 😊🙏
Happy memories of reading Raymond Briggs' delightful picture book "Father Christmas" to my kids this time of year. Among my favorite children's books of all. time. I did this drawing as a YouTube tribute to the book and to Briggs back in 2015.
December 24, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Happy memories of reading Raymond Briggs' delightful picture book "Father Christmas" to my kids this time of year. Among my favorite children's books of all. time. I did this drawing as a YouTube tribute to the book and to Briggs back in 2015.
One of my favorite photos of me and my wife, back in 1997-- the year that we first met. Just over 5 months after this photo was taken, we got married.
December 22, 2025 at 11:44 PM
One of my favorite photos of me and my wife, back in 1997-- the year that we first met. Just over 5 months after this photo was taken, we got married.
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class
I'm doing another free drawing webinar this coming Tuesday, Dec 23, at 1pm Eastern. Hope to see some of you there! Sign up here:
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class
I'm doing another free drawing webinar this coming Tuesday, Dec 23, at 1pm Eastern. Hope to see some of you there! Sign up here:
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class
December 20, 2025 at 10:21 PM
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class
I'm doing another free drawing webinar this coming Tuesday, Dec 23, at 1pm Eastern. Hope to see some of you there! Sign up here:
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class
I'm doing another free drawing webinar this coming Tuesday, Dec 23, at 1pm Eastern. Hope to see some of you there! Sign up here:
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class
One of my personal favorites among the online cartoons I created a couple years back: a decidedly "meta" joke that calls attention to the nuts and bolts of gag cartoons. I had fun trying to emulate the style of something that might conceivably be seen in the pages of The New Yorker.
December 18, 2025 at 10:41 PM
One of my personal favorites among the online cartoons I created a couple years back: a decidedly "meta" joke that calls attention to the nuts and bolts of gag cartoons. I had fun trying to emulate the style of something that might conceivably be seen in the pages of The New Yorker.
Cover art from MIKI FALLS: WINTER. The little creature at Miki's feet is Anra, a "hold spirit," capable of transferring human love from one couple to another.
December 18, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Cover art from MIKI FALLS: WINTER. The little creature at Miki's feet is Anra, a "hold spirit," capable of transferring human love from one couple to another.
Had a great time presenting this morning at Parker Middle School in Howell, Michigan, for the fourth consecutive year. Here's the illustration that I completed on stage in front of the students and gifted to to the school at the end of the event.
December 15, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Had a great time presenting this morning at Parker Middle School in Howell, Michigan, for the fourth consecutive year. Here's the illustration that I completed on stage in front of the students and gifted to to the school at the end of the event.
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley Here's another of the new pieces I've listed for sale at my Etsy shop, along with 22 other originals available.
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley
December 15, 2025 at 12:16 AM
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley Here's another of the new pieces I've listed for sale at my Etsy shop, along with 22 other originals available.
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley I added six new pieces of original art to my Etsy shop this morning, and-- thanks to steadfast collectors Lauren and Vance-- three of them have already sold. The one you see here remains available for now, along with 22 other pieces.
December 12, 2025 at 10:44 PM
etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley I added six new pieces of original art to my Etsy shop this morning, and-- thanks to steadfast collectors Lauren and Vance-- three of them have already sold. The one you see here remains available for now, along with 22 other pieces.
A page from an AKIKO mini-comic I created for Random House Children's Books. I'm planning to make this original available for sale, along with five other pieces, at my Etsy shop tomorrow.
www.etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
www.etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
December 12, 2025 at 12:30 AM
A page from an AKIKO mini-comic I created for Random House Children's Books. I'm planning to make this original available for sale, along with five other pieces, at my Etsy shop tomorrow.
www.etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
www.etsy.com/shop/markcrilley
Had a lot of fun at my live drawing webinar yesterday afternoon. Starting with a simple contour line of a pear, I showed how to add shading all in real time over the course of the webinar. If you missed it, never fear: I'll be doing more such webinars in the future!
December 11, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Had a lot of fun at my live drawing webinar yesterday afternoon. Starting with a simple contour line of a pear, I showed how to add shading all in real time over the course of the webinar. If you missed it, never fear: I'll be doing more such webinars in the future!
My wife and I back when she was pregnant with our first child, Matthew: June 21st, 1999 (as evidenced by the time stamp). Matthew was born just a little over three months later. Not sure if I should be embarrassed about this, but I've still got that shirt hanging in my closet! 😅
December 9, 2025 at 12:21 AM
My wife and I back when she was pregnant with our first child, Matthew: June 21st, 1999 (as evidenced by the time stamp). Matthew was born just a little over three months later. Not sure if I should be embarrassed about this, but I've still got that shirt hanging in my closet! 😅
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class Excited to do another free drawing webinar this coming Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 9th at 1pm. Hope to see some of you there-- click the link to sign up!
December 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
www.markcrilleycourses.com/free-class Excited to do another free drawing webinar this coming Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 9th at 1pm. Hope to see some of you there-- click the link to sign up!
The giant Buddha scene in LOST IN TAIWAN was inspired by this real location in Changhua, Taiwan, where I taught English back in the early 90s.
December 6, 2025 at 10:40 PM
The giant Buddha scene in LOST IN TAIWAN was inspired by this real location in Changhua, Taiwan, where I taught English back in the early 90s.
www.amazon.com/Realism-Chal... Artwork from THE REALISM CHALLENGE. All the illustrations in the book were created using watercolor, colored pencils, and white gouache. When this book got published in Japanese, that was definitely one of the high points of my career.
December 5, 2025 at 10:29 PM
www.amazon.com/Realism-Chal... Artwork from THE REALISM CHALLENGE. All the illustrations in the book were created using watercolor, colored pencils, and white gouache. When this book got published in Japanese, that was definitely one of the high points of my career.
Artwork from my video showing how to apply gray scale screen tones the "old school" way, i.e. by applying them as transparent adhesive sheets, and cutting away the excess material with a hobby knife. If that sounds time-consuming, well, it definitely was!
December 4, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Artwork from my video showing how to apply gray scale screen tones the "old school" way, i.e. by applying them as transparent adhesive sheets, and cutting away the excess material with a hobby knife. If that sounds time-consuming, well, it definitely was!
Here's an old photo of my son Matthew with his grandmother during his first trip to Japan. He was almost exactly 6 months old.
December 4, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Here's an old photo of my son Matthew with his grandmother during his first trip to Japan. He was almost exactly 6 months old.
Today I delivered one of my exclusive "collaborative illustrations" to my top Patreon supporters. I asked them to tell me which 45rpm singles Talia should be listening to in this picture. Are you familiar with all of these songs/bands?
www.patreon.com/markcrilley
www.patreon.com/markcrilley
December 3, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Today I delivered one of my exclusive "collaborative illustrations" to my top Patreon supporters. I asked them to tell me which 45rpm singles Talia should be listening to in this picture. Are you familiar with all of these songs/bands?
www.patreon.com/markcrilley
www.patreon.com/markcrilley