Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Milligan.
Jordan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I used to think my story was too generic to really talk about, but as I got older, I started to realize there’s a lot more to it than I thought. A long-ish time ago (so when I was about five years old), I would want to do anything my older brothers did so long as it looked fun. So naturally, when I saw my two older brothers drawing, I wanted to do it too. Me and my second oldest brother saw drawing as more like a game than anything back then, so we’d draw whatever was most fun for us. It was mostly Dragon Ball Z because it was and always will be my favorite anime. One day, my second oldest brother started drawing his own characters. They were these cool elemental dragons facing off against all sorts of evil monsters! Of course, I needed to make my own!
For the next few years, I would fill up old notebooks with my drawings, but come to middle school, two important things happened: I started filling the notebooks with the characters I had created with my older brother (They were inspired by all the action cartoons and anime we watched growing up), and I decided I wanted to be an animator. High school is when I finally started putting all these drawings into the actual sketchbook my oldest brother got me for Christmas. This really felt like the next step for me as an artist. My skills started to grow, I began to experiment, and I discovered my passion for drawing action. My second oldest brother ended up going to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and true to my artistic journey, I ended up going too, and I’m glad I did. After almost four years at SCAD, close to graduating with a BFA in Animation with a Minor in Sequential Art, I can confidently say that I wouldn’t have made it this far if I hadn’t gone to art school.
The work is rigorous, but I always end up telling myself, “There’s nothing else I’d rather do for a living than draw”. I’ve talked a lot about how my brothers got me drawing, but it really was my entire family. Mom and Dad were always super supportive, driving me to art stores and paying for my expensive art school. My sister always expressed interest in my art, wanting to see my latest work and wanting me to draw stuff for her. Lastly, my grandparents who would send me and my brother coloring books and art kits so we could experiment with new stuff. So in the end, my story isn’t so generic after all because at every step of my artistic journey, I had my family to encourage me and push me farther than I could ever go on my own. Now I’m well on my way to making Comics and Animated Series, and it’s all thanks to them.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wouldn’t say any artist’s road is smooth; you’re going to hit a bump eventually. For me, I had to overcome quite a few: Breaking out of my comfort zone, anatomy, color theory, composition, burnout, etc. HOWEVER, if I had to pick my greatest artistic challenge that I am still working to conquer to this day, it would be character performance in animation. You really need to get into the headspace of the character you are animating if you want them to resonate with the audience, and that is exceptionally difficult to do, but I’ll get the hang of it eventually!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m primarily a 2D Character Animator. I strive to create believable performances in whatever characters I draw so that the audience can truly empathize with them. I’m also a Comic Book Artist; drawing stories from a series that I am writing called “Life Bringer”. I would say that I’m known for drawing action scenes. This includes characters fighting, “powering up”, or just drawing things that involve high-energy motion. I may be a comic artist as well as an animator, but I tend to always approach my drawings more like an animator, making my priority to depict life and motion within my characters’ poses (I’m also known for drawing a lot of weapons and glowy effects. They’re just so fun!) I’m definitely most proud of my “Life Bringer: Lost Chapters” Comic; a short anthology comic I recently created as a glimpse into the journey of my character, Jacob. I believe the thing that sets me apart from other artists is my colors. I’m constantly experimenting because I want to make color theory bend to my will, and to do that, I need to keep experimenting to see how color affects the mood, lighting, and coolness factor (very scientific term).
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I think the most important thing I’ve learned is: Persistence is key. Even if your task feels ultra daunting or you’re struggling with a certain principle of animation or whatever struggle you may be going through, you have to believe you can do it and keep throwing yourself at the page until the art sticks. You may not get it perfect the first time, that’s fine. Make mistakes, fail, and struggle. That’s how you learn, just don’t stop. Take a break if you need to; just keep at it because you’re better than you think!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://j4bluearts.wixsite.com/my-site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j4blue_arts/
