Nikkolas Smith

Nikkolas Smith, a native of Houston, Texas, is a Master of Architecture recipient from Hampton University. After designing theme parks at Walt Disney Imagineering for 11 years, he is now a Concept artist, Children's Books Author and Film Illustrator (Space Jam, Judas and the Black Messiah, They Cloned Tyrone) . He is the author/illustrator of the picture books The Golden Girls of Rio (nominated for an NAACP Image Award) and My Hair Is Poofy And That's Okay. The latest children's book he has illustrated is The1619 Project: Born On The Water. He also creates activist art paintings and Hollywood movie posters (Black Panther, Beale Street, Southside With You, Dear White People, Stranger Fruit). He has collaborated with major Hollywood studios such as Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, Sony, and others. He is a proud 2016 White House Innovators of Color fellow. As an illustrator of color, Nikkolas is focused on creating captivating art that can spark important conversations in today's world and inspire meaningful change. Many of his viral and globally published sketches are included in his latest book Sunday Sketch: The Art of Nikkolas, a visual journey on life and a collection of more than 100 sketches he has done in the last five years. His works have been featured on TIME Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Buzzfeed, the Academy of Motion Pictures, The Guardian, ABC, NBC, KCET and many more. His art has been shared on social media by Van Jones, Shaun King, Rihanna, Colin Kaepernick, Viola Davis, Jamie Foxx, Viola Davis, Erykah Badu, Lupita Nyong'o, Kendrick Lamar, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ava DuVernay, Common, Simon Biles, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Williams, Amy Schumer and many others. Nikkolas also talks for conferences (TEDxWatts) and schools all over the country, leads workshops in digital painting character and movie poster and design. He lives in Los Angeles, California.