Millie Marotta is a freelance illustrator based in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. She is a bestselling author of several colouring books, including Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild (Batsford).
Nature and wildlife lie close to Millie’s heart and in supporting Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Trust’s Wild About Woodlands campaign, she hopes to raise awareness of the importance of woodland habitats. We caught up with Millie about all things woodland, colouring, and, of course, Pembrokeshire.
Millie Marotta (photo by Caspar Beck Photography)
Why is the Wild About Woodlands campaign important to you?
I’m lucky enough to live in the National Park and regularly spend time walking in the Park’s beautiful woodlands, so this campaign is very close to my heart. It would be wonderful to see the Trust reach their goal in raising the funds to plant and protect 1,000 trees, creating woodland corridors across the National Park, which will enable our wildlife to grow and thrive.
As our woodlands across the UK and the rest of the world face increasing environmental threats, it’s important that we try to do whatever we can to protect these habitats and safeguard a future for our woodland wildlife and supporting the Wild About Woodlands campaign is one way to do that.
What do woodlands mean to you?
I find there’s something quite therapeutic about being surrounded by trees – soaking up the sounds, sights and smells of the woods gives a sense of a very real connection with nature and I love that. I spend a lot of time sat indoors at a drawing desk so getting out with the dog for a blast in the woods is a great way to decompress and reset myself. I’m pretty content being a quiet bystander observing wildlife go about its business – woodlands, being home to so many different species, are a great place for doing just that.
Where is your favourite place in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park?
Pembrokeshire’s landscape is so diverse and there are so many amazing wild places here in the Park, it’s impossible to choose just one. Though on a list of favourites I’d definitely include Bosherston lily ponds, Monkstone beach, Marloes Sands, Ty Canol Woods and Skomer, to name just a few.
Rabbit from Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild (Batsford) (coloured by Rosie Asher)
Where do you find inspiration for your illustrations?
I’ve been fascinated by the natural world since as far back as I can remember. It’s something that has always piqued my curiosity, there’s always something new to discover or explore. It’s such a rich and vibrant subject, not just in terms of content but also visually and seems to offer endless creative possibilities. With nature at the core of my illustration work, I feel very lucky to have such a wealth of beautiful natural surroundings and magnificent wildlife right here on my doorstep.
What is your favourite woodland creature that can be found in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park?
I have got a bit of a soft spot for badgers.
Tree Bumblebee from Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild (Batsford) (coloured by Toby Iss)
What are your top tips for colouring in?
- If you are using pencils, keep the point nice and sharp, this will allow you more accuracy when colouring all those little details.
- Don’t press too hard with your pencils as this can damage the surface of the paper and cause indentations on the following pages. Instead, to achieve strong vibrant colours you should build up layers of colour gradually, this will also help you to achieve a wide range of shades from your set of pencils.
- If you prefer pens, which many people do, try to choose ones which have a fine nib, coloured fine liners are particularly good for colouring those finer details.
- I would say to generally avoid permanent markers or pens which have particularly heavy ink flow as these have more of a tendency to bleed.
- Try to avoid ‘scrubbing’ or scribbling too hard with your pens and pencils as this can spoil the smooth surface of the paper, instead use gentle sweeping strokes to build up your colour.
- Some of my illustrations have areas which are very detailed and not everyone will want to colour in every tiny shape individually, instead simply colour over the top of these details allowing the textures and patterns underneath to show though.
- Don’t rush, you don’t have to complete an entire image in one sitting. These illustrations take me a long time to draw and take even longer to colour. The idea is that you can dip and out the books whenever you like.
- While I have offered some tips here, I think it’s important to emphasise that there are no rules. The colours, materials and techniques that you use are entirely your choice and are what will turn the illustrations into your own unique works of art.
- If you’re stuck for ideas or need some colour inspiration, pop over to my colouring gallery on my website www.milliemarotta.co.uk to see thousands of finished pages from my books, completed by colourists from all over the world. Or just search #MillieMarotta on social media where you’ll find more.
See Millie at work drawing the badger from her new book Woodland Wild.
Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild by Millie Marotta (Batsford) is out now. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook @milliemarotta.
Wild About Woodlands
We did it - with your support we have raised over £19,000 to plant and care for much needed trees across the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. This will help to create new woodland corridors across the National Park for wildlife to grow and thrive.