ART PRINTS

For the final painting, my art director asked for the kid to have a darker complexion than how I had him in my sketches. Which meant the opportunity for lots of reflected colors in his skin. During the sketch stage I thought It'd be wild to show Tristan throwing up the raised fist black power salute from the 60's. That probably would've been too controversial for a MG book though. I was thinking more giant fantasy dwarf looking hammer too but happy it got scaled down. @mbalia1 #scifi #afrocentric #blackmen #afrofuturism #sciencefiction #characterdesign #africanart #rickriordanpresents #westafrican #scifiart #blackart #dopeblackart #melaninart #melaninpoppin #blackisbeautiful #tribal #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #fantasy #illustration #coverart #instadaily #digitalart #supportblackart #imaginative #blackexcellence
My new book cover for Disney Publishing. “TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY” written by @mbalia1 ! When a seventh-grader punches a rip into another dimension, he falls into a realm where folktale heroes with incredible power need his help to stop a terrifying evil… IT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!!! Big thanks to the wonderful team at Disney for the opportunity to doing more of what I love to do.  Pub date Jan 2020! The vast worlds of West African and African American mythology await you!! #scifi #afrocentric #blackmen #afrofuturism #sciencefiction #characterdesign #africanart #rickriordanpresents #westafrican #scifiart #blackart #dopeblackart #melaninart #melaninpoppin #blackisbeautiful #nigerian #tribal #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #fantasy #illustration #coverart #instadaily #digitalart #supportblackart #imaginative
This past weekend I reconnected with my artistic muse, the lovely @photonef who was my inspiration for the afrofuturistic image she's holding. I finally got to thank her and share the impact meeting her 2 years ago has had on my work. It was a thrill just to see her again. Big thanks to everyone who came out to support me at the 7th annual Black Comic Book Festival. Thanks to the organizers at the Schomburg for bringing us all together in such a historic place. Happy that my work has touched so many. This is my 5th year doing the show and it gets bigger and better every time. Can't wait to do it again! #blackcomicbookfestival2019 #blackcomicbookfestnyc #blackcomicbookfestival #blackgirlmagic #afrofuturism #afrofuturistic #blackexcellence #instadaily #instagood
This has been a crazy year. Toward the end of 2017 I was anxious and down on myself. Then I decided to start painting more personal afrocentric work which caught the eye of a bunch of new clients and an agent that I signed with to represent me. This new focused direction also made the biggest entertainment company on the planet take notice. I can't wait to share that new work. Right now I'm getting paid to make art that represents everything I never saw on store shelves 10+ years ago and was always afraid to create as a portfolio sample since nobody was commissioning stuff like it. Moving into 2019 I want to make time to do more realist afrofuturism oil paintings because that is where my heart is. I know I didn't post much here this year but I thank all my followers for their support and interest in my art. More of this to come! #topnine #topnine2018 #scifi #afrocentric #afrofuturism #drawing #sciencefiction #africanart #futuristic #scifiart #blackart #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #instadaily #portraitpainting #oilpainting #portrait #trekkie #artist #startrek #traditionalart #art #artwork #instapic #artoftheday #figurativeart #artistsoninstagram
“Son Of Mogh” Oil on Panel, 10”x 10” The man of two worlds...Worf, Son of Mogh is now available on @everydayorig for #NewbieNovember . This was a super quick and fun little portrait and I hope to find time to do more of the TNG crew.  In honor of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek I created a portrait of a character that starred in more episodes and feature films than any other character in the history of the franchise, with the exception of Majel Barrett who provided the voice of the computer in every series from TOS to ENT. Bring HONOR to your house with a painting made from the blood and bones of Duras himself!!! #scifi #afrocentric #afrofuturism #drawing #sciencefiction #africanart #futuristic #scifiart #startrekfanart #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #instadaily #portraitpainting #oilpainting #portrait #starfleet #sonofmogh #trekkie #artist #startrek #traditionalart #art #artwork #instapic #artoftheday #figurativeart #artistsoninstagram
Here's a detail of my painting for Every Day Original with some final touch ups on the lips and beard done last week. The original painting will be available this Friday morning Nov 9th on EDO for #NewbieNovember @everydayorig #scifi #afrocentric #afrofuturism #drawing #sciencefiction #africanart #futuristic #scifiart #startrekfanart #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #instadaily #portraitpainting #oilpainting #portrait #starfleet #wip #trekkie #artist #startrek #traditionalart #art #artwork #instapic #artoftheday #figurativeart #artistsoninstagram
Here is a detail of my upcoming piece for #NewbieNovember boldly going to @everydayorig on November 9th. Qapla! #startrek #afrocentric #afrofuturism #drawing #sciencefiction #africanart #futuristic #scifiart #blackart #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #instadaily #portraitpainting #oilpainting #portrait #artgallery #wip #artsanity #artist #arte #traditionalart #art #artwork #instapic #artoftheday #everydayoriginal #artistsoninstagram ⠀
I'm happy to be making an appearance on @everydayorig in November. Attached is a teaser drawing for the portrait I'm about to start. Qapla!! #startrek #afrocentric #afrofuturism #drawing #sciencefiction #africanart #futuristic #scifiart #blackart #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #instadaily #portraitpainting #oilpainting #portrait #artgallery #wip #artsanity #artist #arte #traditionalart #art #artwork #instapic #artoftheday #figurativeart #artistsoninstagram
What would it look like if a soldier with cybernetic limbs and a sentient robot were fighting each other while in freefall over a scrap yard in Africa?” This.  It would look just like this.  Ladies and Gentlemen I present my first comic book cover...well a detail of. I had the pleasure of doing 4 issues of a prequel comic for the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 byTREYARCH/ACTIVISION.  Special thanks to @scottalliepdx for the opportunity. To any studio needing marketing illustrations, cover art or design, this is what I do. This is what you’ll get and I am available. #scifi #afrocentric #blackmen #afrofuturism #sciencefiction #characterdesign #africanart #futuristic #scifiart #blackart #dopeblackart #melaninart #melaninpoppin #blackisbeautiful #nigerian #imaginativerealism #instagood #instaart #fantasy #illustration #coverart #instadaily #digitalart #supportblackart #imaginative #blackops4 #activision