A woman with blond, curly hair and glasses is sitting at a desk, smiling and resting her chin on her hand. She is wearing a floral blazer and a necklace, with a colorful art-filled room behind her.

Children's book illustrator, Procreate teacher, sketchbook scribbler and recovering perfectionist.

Yay, you found me — I'm Mila

Born in Poland in the twilight of the Soviet Union, I've lived a nomadic life between Poland, England, and Spain, now calling both Warsaw and Barcelona home. I think in English, speak in Spanish, and dream in Polish.

I've been building worlds for as long as I can remember. Long before children's books, I was building tiny homes and tiny costumes for the dolls and teddy bears I grew up with. They were often my best friends. I gave them names, backstories, disagreements they needed to work through. Looking back, I think I was training for the job I have now.

Took me a while to get here.

Throughout my career, I worked as an art director, trained as a tattoo artist, then moved into UX and UI design, eventually becoming a founding designer at a startup. I'm glad I did — it's where I became a problem solver, and where I learned to build the kind of systems that support my creative career today.

But by 2023, I knew I'd spent enough years building other people's ideas and it was time to build my own. I decided to finally build worlds for a living, not just for an audience of two teddy bears.

Colorful sketches of various cartoon animals and characters in a sketchbook, including an elephant with a party hat, a lion lying down, a blood sample with faces, and characters with plant and animal features.

Illustration of a ticket or badge with a child wearing a party hat, peeking over a border, with colorful confetti background, labeled for an artist in progress club and desk buddy.

The themes I love most are solitude that doesn't feel lonely, small adventures, unlikely friendships, small acts of kindness and blissful daydreaming. All sprinkled with a touch of mischief and humour, and a heaped spoonful of whimsy.

Alongside the illustration work, I also teach digital artists how to make their Procreate work look and feel like it was painted traditionally. I've developed my own method to solve that exact problem for myself, and I share it through tutorials and brushes.

Where I am today

Since November 2025, I've been the illustrator behind Tiny Chef's merch and Fan Club content. On Patreon and Substack, I run Artist in Progress Club, a community of artists learning alongside me. I'm active on Instagram with over 32K people following my work.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing board games and video games, discovering new music, cooking, taking walks in nature, and indulging in dishes containing potatoes (I really love potatoes).

If something here feels like what you're looking for (or you'd just like to say hi!) you can reach me at hello @ milenamilak.com.

Close-up of a handwritten signature that says 'mila' on a light background.

Young child sitting on a wicker chair holding a vintage doll with blonde hair, wearing a pink sweater vest, striped shirt, jeans with rolled-up cuffs, striped socks, and red sandals, against a blue background.

Throughout our time together, it was clear that Mila possesses a blend of innate talent, a desire for continuous learning, and enthusiasm that sets her apart in the field.

Daniel Feusse, Senior Product Manager
While she is a talented illustrator with a distinct style, she also has the flexibility, chops, and attention to detail to interpret creative direction and deliver something completely different.

—Bojana Jam, Principal Product Designer
Beyond her artistic talents, Milena is a true team player and collaborator.

—Hannes Benson, Senior Backend Developer
She did great coming up with new ideas in response to our feedback.

—Christiane Collinge, Senior Product Marketing Manager