Nikkolas Smith, Artist, ARTivist, NYT Bestselling Illustrator

 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 an ARTivist, Concept artist, Children's Books Author, Film Illustrator  (Space Jam 2, Black Panther 2, Judah and the Black Messiah) and Movie poster designer (Black Panther, Beale Street, Southside With You, Dear White People, Stranger Fruit). He is the author/illustrator of the picture books "The Golden Girls of Rio" (nominated for an NAACP Image Award), My Hair Is Poofy And That's Okay and World Cup Women . Born on the Water from The 1619 Project is his latest illustrated picture book in collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist  Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson for Kokila and The NYT.

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 ,  People magazine and many more.  His art has been shared on social media by Michelle Obama, President Joe Biden and Vice President  Kamala Harris, Van Jones, Shaun King, Rihanna, Colin Kaepernick, Janet Jackson, Viola Davis, Jamie Foxx, Erykah Badu, Lupita Nyong'o, Kendrick Lamar, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ava Duvernay, Common, Simone Biles, Miley Cirus, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer and many others. Nikkolas also talks at conferences (TEDxWatts) and schools all over the country, and leads workshops in digital painting character and movie poster and design. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Find out more about Nikkolas Smith here including workshops, books, and purchasing/commissioning art.