Bolaji Olaloye is a full-time digital artist and illustrator who specializes in character design and illustration. He has been in the industry for about six years, during which time he has worked with notable clients as an Art Consultant and Graphic Facilitator at Synergos, a non-profit organization and as a Senior Color Artist at Headshrinkers Press, a comic book publishing company at Cincinnati.

Bolaji started his journey into the creative world as a three-year-old who had a deep interest in drawing anything on surfaces. He continued with this will-passion as he emerged as the best artist during his primary school education. The support and encouragement he received from his parents—by their provision of cartoons, comic books, drawing materials and movies—made art much enjoyable for him.

At 15, he started doing professional pencil portraits during his internship at Wisnik Art Studio. It became a holiday pastime until he proceeded to study Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. There, he majored in Graphic Design and learnt digital arts via personal studies and YouTube tutorials.

Bolaji describes the design and digital art as essential frameworks for the future, as humans greatly consume digital contents and these contents make up most parts of human daily lives. He is inspired by the hope which his works continue to offer people.

Bolaji Olaloye’s design process starts with the thought of a concept in his mind, then a representation of the concept as a rough sketch. He solidifies this concept by backing it up with references. Once satisfied, he proceeds to make a clean line art, flat colours and details like light and shadow.

With this design process, Bolaji’s works have earned him a number of awards and recognitions, notable among which is a showcase at the 2019 Mortal Kombat Reveal Event held by Netherealm Studio, London. In 2018, he completed a 365-day art challenge on social media.

Bolaji, as a growing artist, was challenged with the ‘poor-artists’ stereotype—the idea of art as a mere hobby and never a “real job.” He jolted himself out of this pervasive misconception and began focusing on personal studies and self-development so as to fit into the fast-evolving world of digital art. He foresees that art will be felt and experienced in some of the most unimaginable ways possible.

From Ifesinachi Adrian to Amardo Rillo, Bolaji has worked with a wide range of creative minds in the industry. He collaborated with them and worked on projects on character designs, storyboards and comic books. He has also been greatly inspired by Nigerian and foreign digital artists such as Godwin Akpan, Princess Kay, Duks Art, Etubi Unucheyo, Mohammed Agbadi, Harrison Tombra, Mikki Montllo, Sean Galloway, Jason Gonzalez, Goro Fujita, Max Grecke and his brother, Bunmi Olaloye, whom he partnered with to create the popular #WeAreNigerianCreatives movement. Today, the nerdy Bolaji Olaloye is an inspiration to upcoming artists whom he urges to be consistent and immerse themselves in the fundamentals of arts. He recommends ArtCampofficial and Lowtwait as twitter handles that daily give helpful tips on art.

Through his works and voice, the nerdy Bolaji Olaloye continues to reflect truth and advocate for good mental health among artists.