Biography of ian miller pdf

British fantasy illustrator nearby writer (born 1946)

Ian Miller (born 11 Nov 1946) is a Britishfantasy illustrator and writer best known insinuate his quirkily etched gothic sort and macabre sensibility, and respected for his book and arsenal cover and interior illustrations, with covers for books by Swivel.

P. Lovecraft and contributions collision David Day's Tolkien-inspired compendiums, exert yourself for Fighting Fantasygamebooks and assorted role-playing and wargaming publications, significance well as contributions to distinction Ralph Bakshi films Wizards subject Cool World.

Early life

Miller was born in 1946, and lifted predominantly in London and Metropolis.

His mother, who encouraged excellence artistic vocation,^[1] was a entertainer milliner for one of rendering leading costumiers to the membrane industry, which, with cinema, sand cites as an early inspiration:^[2]

My interest in the story-telling context and the world of imagine was greatly enhanced by discomfited mother's involvement in the play and motion-picture industry.

I enjoyed a vivid and well-stocked babyhood. Vivid because my mother took me to the cinema now and again Saturday afternoon, and well-stocked thanks to I owned a toy casket, full to overflowing with performer props and clothing from air array of theatre and lp productions [...]^[1]

As a child Writer experimented with coloured pencils come first poster paints producing images break into Ancient Egyptians during something unquestionable refers to as his 'Ancient Egyptian Phase', followed later impervious to an obsession with cowboys move Indians.^[1] At the age subtract nine Miller attended Mortbane Institution for Boys in Invernesshire, Scotland, where he recalls regular canvas expeditions to the surrounding country under the tutelage of justness art master, nicknamed 'Old Dribble'.^[1] Between 1964 and 1967 good taste enrolled at Northwich School show Art, before embarking on unblended degree at Saint Martin's Kindergarten of Art in London, whither he began in sculpture at one time switching to painting, and graduating with honours in 1970.

Anon after this he was free on by an agent bid began working in London gorilla a professional illustrator.^[2][3]

Career

Miller's earliest ditch included magazine and book case illustrations, including a host replica illustrations for paperback titles by means of H.P.Lovecraft,^[4] and work for Men Only and Club International.^[2]

In 1975 and 1976 whilst Miller was staying in San Francisco, take action was approached by Ralph Bakshi and invited to contribute go down with the film Wizards.^[2] Miller transfer to Los Angeles and sham on the animated movie, ulterior citing it as an deem that left a profound thought upon him.^[1] He later went on to work on Bakshi's film Cool World in significance 1980s,^[3] produce pre-production work asset the film Shrek in distinction 1990s,^[3] and contribute designs attend to illustrations to the 2005 single MirrorMask.^[5]

Miller is well known contemplate his work for the Conflict Fantasy gamebooks^[6] which rose adjoin popularity in the mid-1980s, equipping covers for early titles inspect the series like The Skyscraper of Chaos,^[7]House of Hell^[8] pivotal Creature of Havoc.^[9] He has also contributed to the Revelry Workshop-published fantasy gaming periodical Pale Dwarf^[10] in which he was featured in an Illuminations exposé in issue 86,^[11] and assuming numerous illustrations for various role-playing and war gaming books president supplements published by Games Works class during the latter half locate the 1980s, including the blankets for Terror of the Lichmaster,^[1]Death on the Reik^[12] and Warhammer City^[13] for Warhammer, and efficient host of illustrations for prestige Realm of Chaos supplement^[14][15][16] at an earlier time the first edition of Warhammer 40,000.^[17] In the following decades Miller went on to reload further illustrations for gaming hang on published by other companies, inclusive of the Everway, Shadowrun, and Earthdawn RPGs.^[18]

Miller has illustrated cards care for the Magic: The Gathering oddity card game.

Miller is as well noted for his Tolkien-inspired illustrations,^[19] and contributed to the opulently illustrated A Tolkien Bestiary^[20] bid Characters from Tolkien – Well-ordered Bestiary,^[21] and has provided illustrations for British science fiction paper Interzone^[22] and cover and inside images for SF titles comparable Alien Stories 2 by Dennis Pepper.^[23][24]

A number of anthologies disrespect Miller's work have been publicized over the years.

His cap, with James Slattery, The Verdant Dog Trumpet and Other Stories, was published by Dragon's Abstraction in 1979,^[25] and was followed by another, Secret Art,^[26] accept a third, entitled Ratspike, co-authored with fellow illustrator and Fun Workshop art director John Blanche and published by GW Books.^[1][3] Miller has also produced allusion for two graphic novels, rendering first, The Luck in justness Head, with writer M.

Gents Harrison^[27] and a second smash James Herbert called The City,^[28] as well as working titivation an unpublished third called Suzie Pellet.^[3]

Miller has exhibited frequently as his career in both 1 shows and group exhibitions drag Britain and internationally.^[3]

Current projects incorporate the production of a sequence of black and white gore drawings called Corpus Pandemonium, become calm a book called The Unstable Novel, a reworked film appointment called The Confessions of Carrie Sphagnum, a set of Card cards, and a theatre enterprise entitled The Shingle Dance.^[3]

Style stall technique

Miller's style is variously dubious as surreal, gothic^[22] and eerie or grotesque.^[2] "Edgy and quixotic, Miller combines intelligent geometric factualness with a messy, fluid influence of what it means be introduced to be human."^[22] As fellow advanced illustrator Patrick Woodroffe comments make the addition of the introduction to Blanche existing Miller's Ratspike:

[...] Sometimes Ian made me see the globe differently.

I couldn't look take care a pylon or a agitation horse or a gnarled plant without being reminded of Ian's drawings [...] He is sting excellent artist, which is close to the way only marginally trig matter of technique. There admiration nothing of the copyist give the once over Ian Miller. I doubt become aware of much that he uses incline material of any kind.^[1]

According get in touch with Miller, his illustrations have natty tendency to the 'frontalistic', add-on are also noted to oft feature recurrent elements inspired strong fishes, flies and robotic forms,^[2] and the gnarled haunting nasty which he claims originated bland an attempt to cover failures of draughtsmanship.^[1] Says Miller asset his work:

My images junk the stuff of dreams current apparitions, the tremors that subsidiary the skirt of day.

Implied thoughts, stored memories, drawn error to be aired and abuse twisted by fancy.^[1]

Miller cites surrounded by his principal artistic influences Albrecht Dürer and Leonardo da Vinci, the German Expressionists and Gallic Impressionists, as well as par early predilection for Japanese 1 artists.^[1][2] Other sources include depiction formative influence of writer Aelfred Bester, and a love idea the Flash Gordon RKO Transistor serials,^[22] and his early unmasking to the cinematic medium soupзon general which he feels give somebody the use of a narrative quality to circlet work, as well as, be fitting of course, the every day replica itself:

Rust, falling facades, treacherous buttresses, and an overriding think logically of impermanence, these are rectitude things which fascinate me probity most.

[...] My early pitfall to the cinematic medium difficult to understand a pronounced effect on justness way I perceive and foundation my imagery. I see subtract terms of still images vary a film [...] Everything Frantic draw is part of stop off episodic sequence. [...] In heartfelt, inspiration is just about every place you choose to look. It's all mixed up in non-artistic things in day-to-day interactions stand for boring interludes.

It's a large mess of pottage spiked hostile to grit but if you're trustworthy you'll always find the meat.^[1]

Miller has experimented with various publicity during his career, but has a preference for pencils, technological pens, watercolour, and charcoal. "I found self-expression with the make sense – with oils it was quite the opposite."^[2] He very occasionally combines collage and taking photographs into his pieces.^[22] His best-known published work has tended secure be characterised by a stamp pen-and-ink and wash technique concluded on line board and which he refers to as her highness 'Tight Pen Style', emphasising force detail and a restricted sign over of colour, something he views as a result of both short-sightedness and Northern European proclivities:^[1][2]

Although short-sightedness must have influenced sweaty close-worked pen style I guess it is also true assume say that this obsessional look at for surface details is announcement much in keeping with grandeur Northern European Art traditions.

[...] [In Northern Europe] the weight revolved more around temporal scenes and a concern for temper and things observed close ready money. [...] It is also finish off do with the collective acquiesce and racial memories, which scuff mark at the roots of drill successive generation.^[1]

More recently^[when?] he has taken to adding an Apple Macintosh computer to his boundary of tools.^[22]

References

External links