Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Miller.
Hi Charles, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a recent addition to L.A. In fact, it’s just shy of half a year since moving from Chicago, Illinois, where I spent the first part of my life. I grew up in the South Side neighborhood of Beverly (which is where my parents still live, and I myself enjoy visiting). We lived a brief walk from my preschool, a beautiful stone castle where most of my memories of drawing begin. In fact, drawing is probably the first thing I remember at all (or at least it’s the first thing I was ever associated with). I was completely engrossed in the first handful of things I saw as a little kid (Buzz Lightyear, Batman, Yellow Submarine, Tom & Jerry, etc.). Those couple of years ended up being very formative to my artistic tastes today, with much of my style as a storyboard artist reflecting some of those influences quite heavily. I went through all of school being recognized for my passion for drawing, (certainly not my grades). I ended up attending The Chicago High School for the Arts where I was surrounded by nearly every kind of visual, written, and performative art form. I continued my studies in 2018, making my first move away from home to the Bay Area as an animation major at California College of the Arts.
Midway through CCA is when I settled on my path to become a Storyboard Artist. I knew whatever I did had to involve drawing, and I’d been telling stories since I was a little kid through my art. I did two student films on my own, “The Vegan Vulture” (a story about a dysfunctional family of vultures debating their dinner and a dramatized parody of culture clashes), and “The Dapper Dynamo” (a tribute of sorts to the golden age of American comic books through the perspective of their target child audience.) This film ended up inspiring much further development than the film itself, and I’m actively in the midst of a large-scale project based on the concept. This also led to my next adventure, an internship with Pixar Animation Studios within the Story Department. After graduation, I had the unique privilege to learn under some of the absolute best storytellers working in animation today. My group of 7 other interns learned the fundamentals of what made effective, entertaining, and most importantly… emotionally resonant work to connect with a wide audience. This sometimes-brutal learning curve challenged me in ways I could never have imagined, and I’m incredibly grateful to have been a part of that apprenticeship, something which is very uncommon in the industry today. After taking what I could absorb within that summer, I took a step back by taking a year to be with my family in Chicago. I focused on reseting myself and evaluating my goals. After a needed break, I started a mentorship with renowned author, Mike Mattesi (Force Drawing Series), and spent half a year relearning and exposing my weaknesses as a draftsmen and storyteller. With Mike’s guidance and my drive to break into the LA scene, I boarded and directed an animatic film, “Batman: Foe Fur,” as a love letter to 1930’s pulp fiction and Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series. Since this latest project, I’ve moved to Burbank with my friend and fellow artist, Ian Sanchez (Titmouse), and I’m in the midst of several big projects that I’m aiming to publish within this next year.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I moved out to Burbank in the midst of the industry strikes, and so the recovery for animation has been a slow drag to stay the least. I’ve been focusing on everything in my sphere of control in the meantime. I’ve been focusing on two personal film projects that’ve kept my enthusiasm high in the sea of studio layoffs, A.I, and short-sighted corporate decisions that consume all of entertainment right now. It’s very challenging to remain optimistic, but despite all these setbacks, you need to push forward with what drives you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I do storyboards for animation and made the move to Burbank to enter into TV and Film. Other than the personal projects I’m currently working on, I’m quite proud of my last big animatic, “Batman; Foe Fur.” With the help of Mike Mattesi, I storyboarded the short over the span of a few months in whatever free time I had outside of working. I then collaborated with my childhood friend Ethan Gathman, (Post-Production Coordinator at Ping Pong Productions), to bring the story to life with music, effects, and editing. I learned a great deal from that experience, and despite some distance from it now, I’d say it’s the current work I’m most proud of. We were lucky enough to garner some industry attention through social media, and that ended up being the main factor in me taking the plunge and moving to LA.
Contact Info:
- Website: charlesmiller.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.bird_studios/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-miller-storyboard/
