Since he was old enough to hold a crayon, Brian Edward Miller had dreamed of a career drawing worlds of fantasy in comic books. Discouraged by a high school teacher who warned against this low-paying vocation, Smith instead studied graphic design and spent ten working years pining for projects that incorporated illustration into their design. Hoping to cross over into scenic concept art, Miller next took a design job at a gaming studio, but it turned out to be another dead end.
In 2011, Miller finally took charge of his destiny, launching Orlin Culture Shop, his own studio in his young family’s home in Erie, Colorado. Within two years, Miller was able to focus fully on illustration work for a wide range of editorial and advertising clients, pursuing “beauty and story” in the imagined landscapes of his youth, with his own children by his side.
Forever in pursuit of creative satisfaction, Miller’s next goal is to write and illustrate his own picture books. “Reading to my kids helped me see ways I could contribute to culture by creating visuals and stories of my own.”
Photographer Amanda Leigh Smith creates adventurous art on road trips through rural America.