Behind the scenes: the art of ‘A Monster Calls’ with Miki Montlló

Recently I was fortunate enough to sit down with Spanish illustrator Miki Montlló. Originally hailing from Terrassa, a small town outside of Barcelona, Miki was a guest judge and speaker at the RAW art wrestling illustration semi-finals in Prague last weekend, talking about his successful comic book series Warship Jolly Roger, his work with big shot animation studios like Cartoon Saloon and Laika, as well as his concept art for the new J.A. Bayona film, A Monster Calls, now showing in Czech cinemas.

Original Arrival concept art

Have you seen Arrival yet? If not, then I’m issuing a SPOILER ALERT. Don’t read on unless you don’t mind knowing what the aliens in the film look like. Arrival has captured the minds and hearts of almost everyone around the world in the last month or so. An extraordinary tale of language, unity and time. It’s a puzzle that is bewildering but never pretentious, and it’s probably one of the best science fiction films of the decade.