Rasheed Yahaya-Zekeri is a freelance digital artist, graphic designer and digital 2d animation specialist with nine years in the industry. After completing his studies in the United Kingdom, he moved back to Nigeria to help grow the creative industry in the country. During his compulsory national service program (NYSC), he was commissioned to make a 2d animated music video for DJ Sose. The animation was ultimately nominated for and won the “Best use of Animation” award in the Nigerian Music Video Awards (NMVAs) 2013. After his national service, he spent years honing his craft and creating brand identity design, animation and illustrations for both individuals and corporate clients. He is currently illustrating children’s books for self-published authors in Nigeria and London. He is also producing and animating a feature-length 2d cartoon.
How did you become an illustrator?
Growing up, I had always loved drawing as a hobby so I took the time to learn and improve my skills to the point where I became pretty good in digital art and animation. During my compulsory national service (NYSC), I was often approached by friends and family to make illustrations for them for a reasonable sum. It was during this period that I decided to become a full-time digital artist as there is nothing better than doing something you love and getting paid for it.
Who are some of your favorite illustrators and what intrigues you about them?
Who are some of your favorite illustrators and what intrigues you about them?
Two very popular artists I like are Todd Mcfarlane and Masashi Kishimoto. I love the detail and overall art style of Todd Mcfarlane. In the case of Masashi Kishimoto, I love how he handles perspective in his illustrations.
What inspires your choice of colors, images, and themes in your illustrations?
I am inspired by creative works like movies, cartoons, comics and other illustrations from artists all over the world. I am also inspired by my own over-active imagination and experiences.
Does working on children’s books affect your creative process in different ways from when you work on projects intended for all ages?
Not really. My creative process is the same for all my projects and personal work
How do you create illustrations that help young audiences understand these abstract, wide-ranging concepts?
The key is to breakdown the subject matter into simple colourful art that isn’t too complex and will easily illustrate the message the author wants to convey to the young readers. A picture is worth a thousand words so I try to ensure that the readers can understand the message just by looking at the illustrations.
Have you ever gotten any feedback from a young critic that you’d be willing to share?
I have met children who love my art. Some of them love it and are so inspired that they want me to teach them how to draw themselves!
Run us through the process you took to illustrate Bisi is the Boss?
Bisi is the Boss tackles a serious subject matter so I had to do a lot of research to ensure that I create illustrations that will pass the appropriate message across. The illustrations had to be enticing enough to encourage children to pick up and read the book. I got inspiration by watching some children cartoons and I looked for various references before I started making sketches. The author also had a very good description of the characters and scenery so that was a big help in guiding my design of the characters and environment.
What do you hope children take away from your drawings in Bisi is the Boss?
I want children to take away the fact that nice illustrations can help spread an important message and I also want them to be able to look at Bisi and be inspired by her strength and courage.
