This post is a ghen ghen something. So comics are my guilty pleasure and I had the honour of interviewing one of Nigeria\’s best Comic Illustrators. Chaii my 2019 has been made! Without too much talk I present OWONTE SAMUEL of Toe Arts. Read on, his work will SCREAM for itself. Yeah he\’s that good!!!
Owonte Samuel, the animator and writer of Toe Arts Comic Strips is a native of Rivers State born in 1996.
He grew up in the cities of Jos, Port-Harcourt and Abuja and is currently based in Lagos State. He attended Redeemed Peoples Academy in Jos, a Naval School in Port Harcourt, British Nigerian Academy in Abuja and Babcock University in Ogun State where he studied Public Administration.
Growing up Sam changed his career aspirations so many times. He wanted to be a Police Man, a Traffic Warden, a Mechanic, and at a point an engineer, but that all changed when he reached adulthood; He realized that he was best suited as a business Man. In primary and secondary school his fascination with art affected his academics negatively but fortunately (or unfortunately, well it turned out well so lets stick with fortunately) by the time he got into the university he dropped art completely and faced his education. Now that he\’s a graduate, he has picked it back up along with other businesses he also runs.
TOE ARTS
The name Toe arts was chosen because…
Sam loves the creative arts, he watches cartoons and movie series and appreciates the writers behind it. He picked up an interest in art as a young child but never got any formal training.
He intends to give art illustration trainings on social media so turn on post notifications for his handle @toe_arts. He also has messaging stickers available on imessage and whatsapp. Send him a dm to get them.
Sam opted for Comic art because other forms of art looked too serious but eventually he got sucked in and fell in love with comics without minding all the work needed to put into it.
Toe Arts was created in March 2019, Samuel\’s goal is to make cartoons that would make the whole world CRAZY. He intends to illustrate for motion pictures soon, so Watch Out Nollywood!!! His work is really wonderful considering the short time since @toe_arts was born so if you\’re tempted to repost his work GO AHEAD but dont forget to GIVE HIM CREDIT! Once again the handle is @toe_arts on Instagram and Twitter.
Samuel is currently a free-lance illustrator, he mostly gets his clients from social media @toe_arts. For his original works he gets inspiration from his feelings, experiences and trends.
CHALLENGES
Art Appreciation: Nigerians generally don\’t believe aesthetic art has any real fiscal value so Samuel presents his art as a form of entertainment by telling short stories in his comic strips.
To reach out to Sam for partnerships, brand sponsorship and other enquiries send a dm on:
Instagram: @toe_arts
Twitter: @toe_arts
