Today we’d like to introduce you to Elijah Miller.
Hi Elijah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m from Greensboro North Carolina. I was born and raised here. I’ve been making art since I was in pre school and I haven’t really stopped since. I’m an illustrator so drawing is the biggest part of my artistic foundation. I grew up watching sci-fi, cartoons, anime, nature shows, and reading graphic novels and I developed a strong love for creating and designing characters. I majored in visual art at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro and that’s where I started to learn about the world of art in many facets. Building community, where to go see art in the city, going to art shows, selling art, networking, different lanes of art and careers etc. since the. I’ve only been moving forward and learning to enjoy the journey.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s been ups and downs for sure. Most of my knowledge of the pitfalls of navigating this art journey were learned in undergrad. Whether it was directly or indirectly many of these types of issues can be encountered by an artist on their journey as you meet different people and move through different spaces.
1. I learned very quickly when I entered college that art wasn’t necessarily taken seriously as a viable career path. I’ve heard a lot of my peers in college express how their parents weren’t necessarily supportive of their decision to major in art. But it’s not just parents, it can be peers too. Other students in school that don’t understand art say your major or say it isn’t real because they don’t see a direct correlation to high paying job potential. Meanwhile most of them don’t actually know what they want to do with their lives and they’re just choosing majors based off of what sounds cool or what they’re told they should do. It’s funny like that. Even now I still deal with having to tolerate or curve people who lack respect for what we artists do.
2. “Fitting in.” Art is subjective and with that can also come a plethora of opinions and biases. This is normal but sometimes they can influence the environment you’re in for better or worse. In art school it can look like professors who show biases in the type of art they like and what they don’t. This can translate to how they see, critique, or praise your work. It can also be seeing teachers who choose obvious favorite students as well who may make art in those styles they like. It can get annoying to hear your professor constantly gush over the same people who do things that cater to their tastes. But that also creates pressure for other people to try and jock those styles and subject matters so they can get the same praise. The end result is a case of the blind leading the blind with people that have no direction or original voice following after people that are getting too much praise and being platformed by their professors without facing nuanced criticism. The key is to remember that being true to what you want to create will take you further than trying to cater to what everyone else likes. This didn’t disappear when I left school but I continued to make art authentically and through that find people, places, and spaces to connect and share what I do.
3. This one has to do with identity. Some times people will see you or your work and try to pigeonhole you into an identity based off what they think or see. As a black artists I’ve learned through my upbringing and experiences in an HBCU that people have expectations for what Art made by black people looks like. Normally it’s either styles from popular black artists like Ernie Barnes or subject matter like civil rights, politics, portraits of black celebrities and historical figures etc. if that’s people’s taste it’s cool but if you don’t fall into that box it can feel like a hard time fitting in or being understood through your expression. You can sometimes gauge when you’re in a space that prefers a certain aesthetic or subject. This can be a positive because it helps you understand the demographic you should spend more time with. I’ve been in places where my comics and characters move like hotcakes and I’ve been in places where I can’t move more than a couple prints but I see mad people walking around with pictures of Kendrick Lamar or another celebrity and at that point I know the vibes ha ha.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an illustrator and I focus my time on making cool images that tell stories or communicate ideas. My goal is to make everything I draw look cool or interesting in some way or another. Everything has to hit a certain way. I’m best know for character design above all else. I’ve always been drawn to characters and stories whether it’s movies, books, cartoons, or video games. And I always wanted to build worlds of my own like the stories I came up enjoying. Right now I’m best known for creating Nomad; a series of zipper faced characters that use creative energy to manifest ideas into reality and Minimum Wage; a slice of life comic about an Allosaurus named Javarr who balances working crappy jobs with building an art career.
Pen and ink is my go to medium for creating art. Black and white is my favorite execution and inking illustrations is very therapeutic to me. A good brush and a jar of India ink are love for me but I also get down with technical pens, dip pens, fountain pens, brush pens, and whatever else I can apply black ink to paper with. I keep white inks on me for highlights and cutbacks when needed. I also use watercolor as my primary color medium of choice. A lot of people hate on it because they don’t prefer the application but it’s my favorite paint to use besides gouache which is really just heavy body watercolor. Outside of that I’ll do mixed media color work with everything but the kitchen sink to achieve a look or style I want from the work.
What sets me apart from others is my focus on original work. In comics and illustration part of the META (most effective tactics available) for success in the field is doing fan art of other people’s IPs especially ones that are either legacy like Marvel and DC or trending like the hottest anime or tv shows this season. I’m not completely mad at it because of you want to work for those companies in the industry it helps your portfolio. However, I never did. I always focused on honing my craft to develop my own ideas. No trend hunting or trying to stylize others ideas. It makes it an uphill battle when you’re in an artist alley and most of the people around you have everyone’s favorite Pokémon, Wolverine or Batman variant, anime, movie, video game character, it can feel Hard to be seen. But despite that I’ve still been able to find success over time in these places and connect with people that want to see original stuff. It also encourages me to learn more about the people who connect with my work by conversation. That’s how I learned to identify my supporter demographics. I always take into consideration what I learn about people who stop to shop, chop
It up, and spend time at my tables.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
1. Persistence is key. Never stopping. Slowing down at times, regrouping at times, pivoting at times but never ever stopping. A lot of people have told me I have talent, Yet I never saw myself as a talented artist or person by any means. When I came into college I had far less formal art training than a lot of my peers and I could see a wider skill gap in how our work was executed even then. A lot of people were well practiced in specific mediums and foundational techniques having taken AP art classes in school or going to arts based schools. I always wanted to do things like that but those particular opportunities weren’t afforded to me when I was younger. Instead of being discouraged I got motivated to get better. I didn’t have any formal training at the time but I have a work ethic and drive to keep making and learning art and that’s how I’ve progressed to this day. There may be times where it feels like no one sees your vision, no one understands your art, or what you want to do. It may be uncomfortable but it’s okay. Just remember why you do this at the end of the day. Keep pushing for that reason if nothing else.
2. Always be hungry for knowledge and choose good peers, teachers and resources to learn from. Before I went to A&T for school I would educate myself with YouTube tutorials and demos from different artists to learn techniques and applications of different mediums. I never seriously painted until before school. I never had a strong sense of foundational drawing knowledge before school either. Regardless when I started to lock in and desire more from my art I became interested in learning as much as I could. like to listen to and read artist interviews, look at art books, read comic books, studying different artists, going to art shows, zine fest, conventions etc. All of it has given me insights to grow as an artist. At A&T, I chose to invest my time building relationships and learning from teachers and peers in the space who I could find some common ground with. This was the foundation for creative community for me. Having a good circle around you can do wonders. Being around different tastes, perspectives, mediums of choice, art styles, hobbies and experiences can help you grow a lot. Don’t limit your education to a school building, life is the best classroom to learn in!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elijahmillerart.com/
- Instagram: @Zippersandteeth
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@elijahmiller6187?si=uX0c9Xc5rjBQDh_k
