Nilah is a writer and artist in Los Angeles. From her beginnings in the woods of Maryland she developed an eternal love for three things: nature, books, and animation. Naturally, all of her school notebooks were full of doodles of animals and cartoon characters.
Nilah received a B.A. in communication arts from Hood College and B.F.A. in computer animation from Ringling College of Art and Design. She has illustrated for comics, children's books, film and commercial television.
When she is not drawing or writing, Nilah is reading fantasy novels, watching movies, rollerskating, and fighting her cat for control of her desk chair.
May 25, 2017 - M.F.K. is up for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more! Be sure to tell your local indie bookstores and libraries that you want M.F.K.!
December 15, 2016 - I will be illustrating CREAKY ACRES, a middle-grade graphic novel coming in 2019! Read the Publisher's Weekly announcement here.
October 24, 2016 - HOW TO FIND A FOX will be in bookstores November 15! You can pre-order at your favorite bookseller or request it from your library.
October 17, 2016 - I'm thrilled to be a part of the ALL OUT short story anthology, edited by Saundra Mitchell! Read the Publisher's Weekly announcement here.
October 3, 2015 - My picture book has a new title! Keep an eye out for HOW TO FIND A FOX, releasing November 2016!
March 26, 2015 - From Publisher's Marketplace: McDuffie Diversity Award-winning author/illustrator Nilah Magruder’s FOX HUNT, in which a little girl sets out to snap a photo of the elusive red fox, to Anna Roberto at Feiwel and Friends, in a pre-empt, by Michelle Witte at Mansion Street Literary Management.
This film was my senior thesis, completed at the Ringling College of Art and Design in April, 2010. A baker's early morning work is interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Best of Ringling Entrant, 2010. Run time: 1:57.
Modeling, animation, shader creation, special effects, and lighting performed in Autodesk Maya, with the Pixar RenderMan plugin used for rendering. Texture maps were painted in Adobe Photoshop. Some sugar effects created with After Effects. Final compositing and editing performed in Nuke and Adobe Premiere.
Texturing Reel
Texturing reel. Modeling, animation, shader creation, and lighting performed in Autodesk Maya, with the Pixar RenderMan plugin used for rendering. Texture maps were painted in Adobe Photoshop. Final compositing and editing performed in Nuke and Adobe Premiere.
Animation Reel
My 2010 demo reel. Animation, modeling, texturing.
SHOT BREAKDOWN
All work performed by me unless otherwise noted.
Dialogue
Pencil test compiled with MonkeyJam.
Lip Sync
Designed character, props, and the set.
Textures painted in Adobe Photoshop CS3; shaders created in Autodesk Maya.
All modeling, animation and lighting done in Autodesk Maya. Rendered with RenderMan plugin in Maya.
Senior Thesis - Fairy Cake
Designed all characters, props, and the set.
Textures painted in Adobe Photoshop CS4; shaders created in Autodesk Maya.
All modeling, animation and lighting done in Autodesk Maya. Rendered with RenderMan plugin in Maya.
Shots composited in Nuke.
Flour Sack Jump
Pencil test compiled with MonkeyJam.
Push Pull - Natural
Designed character, props, and the set.
Textures painted in Adobe Photoshop CS3; shaders created in Autodesk Maya.
All modeling, animation and lighting done in Autodesk Maya. Rendered with RenderMan plugin in Maya.
Push Pull - Exaggerated
Designed character, props, and the set.
Textures painted in Adobe Photoshop CS3; shaders created in Autodesk Maya.
All modeling, animation and lighting done in Autodesk Maya. Rendered with RenderMan plugin in Maya.
Illustrations
MFK
These are a few sample pages from my webcomic, M.F.K. It’s a teen fantasy adventure about growing up, friendship, and learning what to do with the abilities you’re given. It updates on Mondays at mfkcomic.com.
Frog Skin
I contributed a short story to the comic anthology Cautionary Fables and Fairytales: Asia Edition, edited by Kel McDonald and Kate Ashwin. Below are select pages from the story Frog Skin. You can purchase the complete anthology, and previous volumes, here.
We Don't Go There at Night
For Halloween 2013, I participated in a comic anthology called We Don’t Go There at Night. The story I contributed is below. You can view the full anthology online.
Avengers
Well it shouldn’t be a spoiler anymore, but y’know just in case.
Like many fans, Agent Coulson was my favorite character from the Avengers series. Clark Gregg is amazing. I imagine this is what happens after the movie and it makes me feel a little better. A little.
Part two is Stark asking Rogers why he didn’t just ask Nick Fury for the original set. I LIKE THIS BETTER OKAY.
I also have no clue where S.H.I.E.L.D. agents get buried?? I lived next to the Los Angeles National Cemetery a coupla years ago, so I went with a similar look to that.
Gem Hunters
A treasure hunter and her flying companion brave a dark cavern and the danger it hides in the quest for rare gems.
Two girls set out to make a bit of money and come to blows over artistic differences. Anne and Bertie designed by Gabriela Zapata and used with permission.
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Insight Comics
A fantastic adventure following the story of Abbie, a deaf girl with a mysterious power, who is traveling across a vast desert to scatter her mother’s ashes.
In a world of sleeping gods, a broken government, and a fragile peace held in the hands of the corrupt, one youth must find the strength to stand up against evil and save humanity.
This story is not about that youth.
It’s about Abbie, who just wants to get to the mountain range called the Potter’s Spine, scatter her mother’s ashes, and then live out her life in sweet, blissful solitude. Unfortunately, everyone she meets wants to whine at her about their woes, tag along on her quest, arrest her for no reason, or blow her to bits.
Journeys are hard on the social recluses of the world.
Equipped with a camera and determination, a little girl sets out to track down an elusive red fox. But foxes are sneaky, and it proves more difficult than she thought.
Nilah Magruder's debut picture book charmingly tells the story of what it means to not give up and how sometimes what you're looking for is closer than you think.
In September, TIPPY-TOE is flying SOLO (until Squirrel Girl is done studying)! But when a villain threatens Central Park, she's gotta call in the big guns. Enormous guns, relatively speaking (because Tippy and ROCKET RACCOON are small)! It's the team-up — written by Nilah Magruder — you would have demanded if you knew your worth! You're wonderful, and you deserve beautiful things!
