Meet Eddie Mills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie Mills.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
My life story is extremely convoluted, but I will try my best to summarize it! After losing my mother to cancer when I was around nine years old, my father brought me from Hong Kong to California with my little brother. I had always been interested in making art and designing characters and often got in trouble for drawing on my homework assignments or drawing during lessons. My father would discourage me from art, saying it was a waste of time. He threw out my drawings and even entire sketchbooks.

I won’t get into it too much, but I endured a lot of abuse. When I turned 18, I finally escaped from my father and found myself with little choice but to join the military. While I was given a good start to a career and independence, it definitely wasn’t for me. After leaving, I was accepted to LCAD, an art school in Laguna Beach. I recently graduated with a degree in animation, and I’ve been freelancing and traveling to various comic and anime conventions in Southern California ever since!

I think I clung to making art as a way of escapism from my troubled childhood, as it allowed me to express myself and connect with other artists. And now, as an adult, it’s opened up such a wide world to me that I’m truly grateful for.

Please tell us about your art.
I design characters, illustrate and animate! My main themes when creating art, usually focus on nostalgia, neoteny, fantasy, and bittersweet emotions. I think a lot of people when first seeing my work, brush it off as meaningless cartoons, but to me, it’s more of a reminder or grieving of childhood and a desire to experience innocence again. I think the one word that best encapsulates my attitude towards my work is escapism.

Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
Art can get expensive. I’m not going to lie! However, what I like about art is how accessible it can be. To get started, all you need is a pencil and paper. My tip is not to overwhelm yourself quickly with everything you think you need—set goals for each expense that is within your means. Build up your Copic collection one marker per week if you have to. This way, I think you get more time to actually grow accustomed to your tools and see what’s actually working with your process.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
If you have visited some of the conventions in the LA or OC area, such as Anime Expo, Wondercon, Long Beach Comic Con, etc., you may have seen me already! If not, I am quite active on Instagram (@thewrabbithole) and Twitter (@graywrabbit).

I also have a website where I sell the items I bring to these conventions (http://wrabb.it/shop), and sharing your favorite works of mine on social media helps me a lot as well. I always smile a little when someone comments something about my newest character ideas or illustrations.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://wrabb.it
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @thewrabbithole
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/wrabbitart
• Twitter: @graywrabbit

Image Credit:
eddie mills

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