Mark Millar: NYT Best-selling comic book writer and president of Netflix Millarworld

“I think footballers can’t remember getting their first ball and playing with it in the garden. It’s just such a natural instinct for them that it was integral in the formation of their being as walking or talking. Likewise, drawing or making up stories are so hardwired into the DNA of creative people that there is no single inciting moment,” Mark Millar, New York Times (NYT) best-selling comic book writer and president of the Netflix subsidiary Millarworld, said.

After Millar discovered his passion for art, it acted as a support to get him through the rough times in his life. His perspective on art changed as he grew, but his love for the craft never fully deteriorated.

“Both my parents died when I was a teenager and I was losing interest in comics in the months before my mum died. But when she passed away I got back into it. I realize now that this was an escape from the real world, but when I was 14 I thought I just found a genuine renewed interest,” Millar said.

The creative process is typically the first argument made when the public tries to draw the line between human art and AI art. AI, as it stands, can process words, but it cannot think like a human.

“When you write or draw you go into a zone that doesn’t feel connected to what’s happening in your day-to-day life. It sounds pretentious, but you go into a relaxed, non-physical state that takes a minute to come back out of,” Millar said.

The process is inherently more creative than the product. Artists like Millar spent years honing their skills for a combined love for the aesthetic purpose of art and the enjoyment of pouring their skills and knowledge into each piece—the feeling of seeing his progress from work completed only months prior.

“Every time we pick up a pen we process our emotions, but it’s never as overt as just thinking about the story. You see patterns in your work over time and things you find interesting to write or draw,” Millar said.