Mark Crilley
Mark Crilley is an author, illustrator and drawing teacher whose work spans Akiko, Mastering Manga, graphic novels and step-by-step YouTube lessons.
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Latest
Mark’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Dark Horse
Overview
- Roots
- Raised in Detroit, Michigan.
- Education
- Kalamazoo College graduate; studied with author and illustrator David Small.
- Before comics
- Taught English in Taiwan and Japan for nearly five years.
- Breakout
- Akiko launched his publishing career in 1995.
Mini bio
How it started.
Raised in Detroit, Mark studied at Kalamazoo College before teaching English in Taiwan and Japan. He created Akiko while living in Japan, turning an overseas chapter of his life into the beginning of a career in comics.
Finding readers.
Akiko reached print in 1995. His 1998 appearance on Entertainment Weekly’s It List helped bring him to Random House, where Akiko became a young reader novel series as well as a comic.
Teaching through stories.
Mark first used YouTube to spread the word about Miki Falls. Viewers began treating the videos as drawing lessons, and he kept making tutorials. Books such as Mastering Manga and The Drawing Lesson carry that teaching into print, with the latter presenting art fundamentals through a story about a boy and his mentor.
What he is making now.
His recent work includes The Mighty Onion and Guinea Pig Girl!, an online drawing course and original-art commissions through Etsy.
Creditschronological, newest first
- 2025The Mighty Onion and Guinea Pig Girl!Author and illustrator
- 2016The Drawing LessonAuthor and illustrator
- 2012Mastering Manga with Mark CrilleyAuthor and illustrator
- 2010Brody’s Ghost, Volume 1Creator
- 1995AkikoComic series creator
Awards
Quotes
It’s the months and years of steady drawing practice that really makes the difference.Mark Crilley, Detroit Festival of Books
In his July 2025 interview, he encouraged young artists to focus on practice when choosing supplies.
Trivia
- His familiar graphite pencil is a Dixon Ticonderoga; he also uses a Pigma Micron 08 and Strathmore smooth Bristol.
- Outside writing and drawing, he enjoys learning Chinese and Japanese.
- At school and library visits, his Thirty Second Drawing challenges audiences to count along while he finishes an illustration.
- He has said that Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz helped inspire Akiko.
Find Mark
Follow Mark for drawing lessons, new books and glimpses of his artwork.
Are you Mark Crilley?
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