Parker Milgram

Chunky Chameleon

Gouache and Sumi Ink over Graphite

8″ x 5.5″(unframed) 11.5″ x 9.5″ (framed)

2023

I created this piece as visual development work for my recent picture book featuring two chameleon characters. Whenever I start a new book, I test styles to see what best fits my concept. Through experiments with different mediums, I found that the loose sumi ink line over rough gouache gave life to my chameleon characters and reflected their playful back and forth dialogue. Chunky Chameleon was a stepping stone to the final illustrations in my picture book.

@parkermilgram

Parker Milgram

Whale Grief Study – Gray Scale

acrylic, ink, and colored pencil over graphite

5.5″ x 7″

2022

Study for “Whale Grief,” an illustration in my most recent picture book titled “I Live for the Sun.”

@parkermilgram

Parker Milgram

“Feet Blue” – Chameleon in Training, Spread 3

digital illustration printed on semigloss cardstock

18 1/4″ x 22″

2024

“Feet Blue” is the third spread of my in-progress picture book titled Chameleon in Training. I started developing the story back in 2022 and am hoping to publish this year. The concept of a teacher chameleon attempting to convey the “rules of camouflage” to an out-of-the-box thinker really resonates with me. As a neurodivergent person, I have a natural tendency to go against the grain and usually find it’s best to do things my own way. For this book, I decided on a loose, but very intentional, digital style using almost exclusively the “Happy HB” brush in Adobe Photoshop.

@parkermilgram

Parker Milgram

Macrame (with acute accent on top of ‘e’)

colored pencil, marker, Uni-Ball pen, and Wite-Out on paper

6 x 8″ (without frame)

2022

@parkermilgram

Parker Milgram

Chameleon Eating A Banana

Inspired by: Charles “Teenie” Harris, Cotton Candy Booth

Photoshop and royalty free sound effects sourced from Pixabay

00:00:12

2024

Chameleon Eating A Banana stars Edna, an original character I developed for a picture book. While working on this animation, I explored Edna’s emotional arc as she finds and consumes one of her favorite treats–a banana. She goes through many stages: The craving for a banana, the excitement of finding a banana, the anticipation of eating a banana, the gulping down of a banana and, finally, the satisfaction of having consumed said banana. It’s interesting for me to see how Edna’s body shape and scale pattern changes depending on her current mood and thoughts.

@parkermilgram