The Wilmington, Delaware-based artist was commissioned to create the important thing artwork for season three of Donald Glover's hit present and shares insights on his artistic course of.
Alim Smith enjoys residing in and dealing from his native Delaware as a result of, as he describes it, “it’s only a bunch of parks and no competitors.” The 31-year-old multidisciplinary artist and his exaggerated model of portraiture gained recognition on social media when a couple of notable names (Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Martin Lawrence) shared his work years in the past; since that publicity, he has exhibited in reveals and continued to promote prints independently. However his massive break, arguably, got here final summer time, when he was invited to audition to color the promotional artwork for season three of FX’s Atlanta (which premiered March 24). It could be seen on billboards, bus stops, and plastered on partitions round Los Angeles and in cities everywhere in the nation.
“I really like this present,” Smith says. “I’ve been watching what Donald Glover has been doing since I used to be in highschool when he was on YouTube.”
Smith’s model is most neatly outlined as “Afro-Surrealist,” an experimental, whimsical, absurd tackle visible storytelling that reveals Black faces reimagined in ways in which seem past actuality however stay totally human. Past portray the portraits of the present’s 4 core forged members, Smith additionally painted the Atlanta title in its traditional typeface and each different aspect seen on the posters (the Eiffel Tower, a mysterious desert panorama). The tip outcome reveals all of those separate oil work superimposed on one another, creating a pointy distillation of the present and its universe.
Smith spoke to The Hollywood Reporter by telephone about how he embraced this chance, what his artistic course of seems to be like, and the inspirations behind his Afro-Surrealist model.
How did it come about that you'd illustrate the Atlanta season 3 key artwork?
In August 2021, somebody not from FX however an individual who was just like the facilitator for all of their initiatives hit me up and requested me if I might need to work on Atlanta posters. It began off with an audition: I had to attract these black and white photos. I in all probability drew like 80 photos, completely different iterations of how these faces might be distorted and contorted. Then I obtained previous that part.
I needed to do the identical actual part yet again, however now in shade and including different little particulars, which was in all probability like one other 100 photos — and so they authorized these. Then they lastly obtained new photos of the expertise. So I needed to redo your entire course of yet again, and this time it was much more strict with extra edits.
After I look again by way of all the e mail threads, it was over 300 photos simply to get to the purpose the place I may begin portray the portraits. So for 5 months, I wasn’t engaged on any work. I used to be simply doing digital renditions and sketches — some bodily sketches as properly — for 5 months straight, simply to get to the purpose the place they might be like, “Okay, now you may paint.”
How did you method this project and what’s your artistic course of? What instruments and software program do you utilize?
I’m probably not a digital painter, I’m way more of a hands-on, oil painter. [Sometimes] a bit little bit of acrylic paint. I wish to sculpt.
So the posters and billboards we see are prints of your oil work?
Yeah, they're. The one purpose I used to be doing digital edits is as a result of there’s no method I may do this many edits hand drawn. I might do a sketch, after which I might digitize it in order that I may do little edits in Photoshop and on my iPad.
After they agreed that these have been the fitting photos and every thing was good, then I used to be allowed to color them. I might say I needed to paint eight portraits all collectively. And I needed to paint it like I used to be doing it in Photoshop. So I needed to paint eight completely different variations of the characters, simply so they may have choices: three completely different variations of Van [Zazie Beetz], two completely different variations of Paper Boi [Brian Tyree Henry], two completely different variations of Darius [LaKeith Stanfield], and solely considered one of Earn [Donald Glover].
I needed to paint all the particular person portraits. Then I needed to paint all the completely different little icons within the background which was in all probability like 15 completely different little work, then I needed to paint the precise sky within the background — that was two completely different work. And I needed to paint the bottom and a few shadows, which was about three to 4 completely different work.
If you have been creating the drafts for the FX and Atlanta groups, what was their suggestions like?
They wished me to drag again; I went so bizarre. I got here up with some actually bizarre work types. However they wished me to dial it again so folks may nonetheless form of acknowledge who it was.
Why do you suppose the themes in Atlanta mesh properly along with your portray model? What’s Afro-Surrealist about Atlanta?
What’s Afro-Surrealist to me about Atlanta is simply its existence…and the way properly it’s obtained. Like, that’s surreal.
How do you choose your colours? What kind of moods and emotions do you attempt to painting?
I feel I actually select them based mostly on how I might match garments. And in addition, after I was in artwork faculty, it was largely all black and white. And the colour pencils and markers have been so costly. So I might simply use no matter colours I had and make them work simply based mostly off of shade worth. I used to be utilizing a grayscale however with colours; you should use any shade you need so long as you're following the colour gradient scale of hues and tones.
Did you get to satisfy with Donald Glover or any members of the forged throughout this course of?
I didn’t get to satisfy them. However I do know that a few the actors will in all probability be getting the unique work. And I do know that all of them needed to log off on their likeness, so I couldn’t begin portray till all of them stated: “Sure, this seems to be like me sufficient.”
Your work was proven at an Instagram pop-up exhibit this previous February in Los Angeles referred to as “Household Reunion,” paying tribute to Black meme tradition. What are some challenges that come up when creating artwork from fashionable media, like memes and TV present characters?
I feel the one problem is if you’re creating photos of individuals that folks already know, and ensuring I don’t get too bizarre. Ensuring that even when the attention is off middle, and the mouth is hanging off of the aspect of the face, you may nonetheless usually inform who the particular person is. That’s in all probability the largest problem: simply ensuring you seize the likeness sufficient.
How did it really feel if you lastly noticed the posters out on this planet?
It was surreal. I’ve been wanting on the items for months, so to see them exterior of my studio and outdoors of the pc display continues to be surreal actually. After I take a look at the little Hulu icon I’m like, “I used to be simply watching the present a pair months in the past. Now my artwork is the factor that directs you to the present!”
How do you finally outline Afro-Surrealism, and what are your influences?
The best model is simply: bizarre and Black. For me, I really feel prefer it’s on the intersection of hip-hop and Dr. Seuss. I spotted my curiosity in surrealism is due to Dr. Seuss; I feel numerous Dr. Seuss’s drawings are impressed by Salvador Dali…and MC Escher. Seeing all of these bizarre, warped homes and studying these Dr. Seuss tales with loopy characters and nothing however rhyme…it’s just like the intersection of hip-hop and Dr. Seuss.