iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

patreon.com/MarkCrilley Every month I give away a piece of original art to one of my top backers on Patreon; this is the piece I'm giving away this month. It's not too late to join if you'd like to be in the running! patreon.com/MarkCrilley

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

www.markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist Enrollment for my online drawing class opens in just a couple days, so now's the time to get on the waitlist and guarantee a greatly reduced price. Learning from great masters was a real game changer for me as an artist, and I know it will be for you too!

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

patreon.com/MarkCrilley Every couple of months I create a "collaborative" illustration for my top Patreon backers. This time I'm making a travel agent's window in which all of the vintage posters will be chosen by my patrons. Join now to take part: patreon.com/MarkCrilley

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

www.markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist My online drawing class will open for new enrollment in March, so now's the time to get on the waiting list. This will allow you to get a huge discount on the class, so don't miss this chance! www.markcrilleycourses.com/waitinglist

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

A study I did of the cover of Action Comics number 485 when I was a kid; the original was by the legendary Neal Adams. If I did this not long after the issue was published, then I was around 12 years old at the time.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

In my book THE TWO PENCIL METHOD, I showed how to get from the first drawing to the second in six steps. www.amazon.com/Two-Pencil-M...

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Let's all wish the happiest of birthdays to the supremely talented and delightful Kara Baldus! (@ kara_baldus on Instagram) She and her faithful pup Bradford are a shining beacon of joy in a world that very desperately needs it.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Available at my Etsy shop: the original art from my "How to Draw a Rabbit" video (2016), which has been viewed more than 1 million times (!). www.etsy.com/listing/4454...

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Double-spread illustration from my graphic novel LOST IN TAIWAN. I wanted the protagonist, Paul, to have a magical "fated" moment early one morning when he was by himself. It was inspired by such moments I've been lucky enough to have in my own life. www.amazon.com/Lost-Taiwan-...

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

patreon.com/MarkCrilley Every month I mail a piece of signed original art to one of my top backers on Patreon. Here's the piece I'm offering this time.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley I am gobsmacked to be able to say that out of the 8 new pieces I put on my Etsy on Sunday, 5 of them have already sold. 🥺🙏 This one, my study of a painting from Monet's Rouen Cathedral series, is still available.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley Today I added 8 new pieces to my Etsy, and-- thanks to a very wonderful person-- 2 of them have already sold! 😊🙏 But this one is still available, along with 5 others: etsy.com/shop/MarkCrilley

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Miki and I on a train in Japan, 2019. Though everyone else in our family has returned to Japan for visits since then, this was the most recent trip for me (Someone has to stay home and take care of the dog). 😁

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

My daughter Mio and I, circa 2013. I believe the object behind my head is a miniature soccer ball, which I turned into a makeshift pillow 😂

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Monty Python fan art I did when I was in high school. Apologies to Terry Gilliam, I evidently forgot about him! 😅

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

A drawing I made of my son Matthew when he was a little boy.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Nine different chibi emotions. In number 6, the Japanese phrase "おねが~い" (onegai) means "Please!" Or, more accurately, "Pleeease!" 😁

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

My daughter with her grandmother in Japan, 2013. I believe she was eating some sort of popsicle, and we brought a glass bowl out to reduce the mess as it started melting. 😅

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Still kind of amazed that there was a scene in the movie "18x2 Beyond Youthful Days" ("青春18×2 通往有你的旅程") that looked this much like an illustration from my graphic novel, "Lost in Taiwan." Just a coincidence, I'm sure, but I mean, come on! What are the odds?

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Here's another photo from when my parents came to visit me in Japan, 1992. On the right is a student of mine, named Tomomi, and on the left is her uncle, who I knew as Mr. Bando.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Check out this terrific drawing done years ago by the immensely talented ColorCarley (instagram.com/colorcarley), who based it on one of my illustrations in MASTERING MANGA. Here's an example of the phenomenal art Carley's creating now, painted directly onto the surface of a pair of shoes!

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

A photo from when my mother and father came to visit me in Japan, 1992. The older child was one of my students; her name was Kaori. It was a wonderful time, and I was so grateful that they made the effort to get to me in Morioka-- an extremely long journey by air and by rail.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Every month I give away a piece of original art to one of my top supporters on Patreon. Here's the piece I'll be giving away later this month. It's not too late for it to belong to you! patreon.com/MarkCrilley

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Just wanted to wish a speedy recovery to Kara Baldus's adorable dog, Bradford, who had to undergo surgery recently. As a dog owner, I know there are few things harder than seeing your pup suffer, so I sincerely hope Bradford will be fully recovered and trotting around happily very soon indeed!

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

In my book THE TWO PENCIL METHOD, I showed how to get from the first picture to the second, step by step. The image is of a hillside pathway in Bergen, Norway. This neighborhood, filled with historic houses and lovely paths, is truly one of my favorite places on earth. www.amazon.com/Two-Pencil-M...

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Miki and I at her parents' home in Japan, 2015. I'm holding a plate of gyoza that we had made together. 🥟

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

One page from a feature I did in my AKIKO comic book series, showing different ways of drawing Poog. There were either 24 altogether, or 36 altogether. Anyway, there were a bunch! 😅

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Artwork from THE REALISM CHALLENGE, my book providing step-by-step lessons on creating photorealistic art using watercolor, colored pencil, and white gouache. Did I deliberately break a plate in order to create this lesson? I might have, my friends. I might have. 😅 www.amazon.com/Realism-Chal...

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

My wife and I in Japan, 2013. We had the good fortune of many family trips to Japan when the kids were young; I look back upon those days with great fondness.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Art from my "frustrated chibi artist" paper craft video. I always had fun doing projects like this, in which a 2-D character appears to interact with three dimensional objects in the real world. You can view the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Yp...

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

patreon.com/MarkCrilley A few months back I created an exclusive ebook for my top Patreon supporters that showed how I used photo reference in the creation of my graphic novel, LOST IN TAIWAN. Here's the cat photo I used to make sure I got a natural pose in my illustration. patreon.com/MarkCrilley

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

"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. 😅

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

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! 😅

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

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

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

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!! 😊🙏😊🙏

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

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. 😊🙏

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

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

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

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

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

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.

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

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

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

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!

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Mark Crilley @markcrilley.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

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! 😅

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