Adesugba Adedapo illustrates the POWER behind his creative skills

My names are Adesugba Adedapo Oluwayomi… most people know me as Collyde Prime. I was born and raised in Lagos Nigeria.

I'm a graduate of creative arts, University of Lagos. I am also an illustrator working in an advertising agency in Lagos. I am also a hip-hop music enthusiast/ exhibiting artist, comic/graphic /novel artist

Tell us a bit about your childhood, how it influenced you as an artist.

My childhood was an interesting one. I grew up during the military administration when life wasn’t as complicated as it is now, then it was simple, stable and more predictable. We didn’t have social media or access to mobile gadgets just TV and street soccer. It’s either we were watching cartoons or playing ‘monkey post’, so we had to be damn creative to make our lives as interesting as possible.

Back then, my neighbours had cable TV so after school we all ran in front of the media box and tried sketching and drawing our favorite characters. Then our heroes were more of cartoon characters and a few musicians. I was heavily influenced by the 80’s and 90’s cartoon culture…"VOLTRON", "SUPER-TED", "BIKER MICE FROM MARS". I was the only kid among my peers who just didn’t stop drawing even when so many people tried to discourage me…I never stopped doodling on school books and walls even when I was getting flogged for it.

Most parents frown at the idea of an offspring becoming an artist, were yours any different and did they support you?

Like most Nigerian parents, they frowned at it.

This was mostly during my early years in secondary school but it wasn’t really about me drawing. It was more about what I was drawing. They had issues with my big boobed monstrous characters …to them it was offensive and immoral. I was also bad at maths and no matter how much they encouraged me I just kept on failing the subject but did well in my art class.

After a while, my dad eventually started supporting me. I will never forget how he tippex out law from my jamb form for creative arts. I am forever grateful for that.

Do you have any other formal training as an artist or is it just pure talent?

I would say both. I attended University of Lagos and then Bilge Adam (turkey).

Raw talent needs to be enhanced just as the benefit of education is to build a structured mind set - like how to processes work from start to finish and how to work with a team. Education does not teach you what to do…but mainly how to do things.

In the course of following your passions, is there a time you went through struggles or a difficult situation? How did you overcome it?

The challenges were enormous and it started from my days in the university.

In school, we were bombarded with a million assignments to test our capabilities and tenacity. I regularly slept in the studio just to finish up while some of my mates were partying at the club. It was like I didn’t have a life and It’s still that way today.

People still castigate me for working too much because I’ve had to sacrifice friendships, relationships, dates and weddings due to my busy nature. At a point, I found it very depressing when people sometimes see me as unserious just because I draw cartoons. It’s ironical that these same people love my work and offer to pay for them, especially when it’s something spectacular. I often wish that these perceptions were different and people would value creative talent.

My passion for what I do and the belief in myself has been the key to overcoming ‘most’ of the challenges. I learnt that it’s crucial to know what’s important and what’s urgently in life - my decision to me put my passion first was urgent…because if my career is on an upward trajectory everything important will fall in place.

Your illustrations look defined, what would you call your style?

I’m yet to find the right name to describe my technique, maybe I never will.

Perhaps it will surface when I am gone and being studied, then scholars might come up with their own theories. But it safe to say I have elements from the Manga, Japanese anime and Marvel styles all infused with an African theme.

What kind of illustration do you do and which are your favourite?

I do all sorts of illustrations but I love cartoon and comics more.

As for my favorites, I have sooooo many.

Your characters seem to have heavily emphasized features, what inspires this?

That’s one of the basic elements of cartooning. Something’s just have to be exaggerated to catch your attention. It could be a big feet like ‘Ryu’ from the street-fighter video game or big boobs like power girl from DC comics….nothing is perfectly normal in cartooning. Your character has to be heavily distinct with some emphasis.

My mother once joked that some of my female characters are going to have a hard time running plus serious backaches because of the size of their boobs. I argued for hours as I explained that nobody really cares about the logic behind these things.

Who are your biggest supporters? Is there someone special who has encouraged or motivated you?

Yes, I have mentors, fans and special people who have encouraged me, supported my work, shared my work, re-tweeted or tagged friends - some physically, some verbally, some with money here and there not necessarily because I did a job for them (mostly family). I really don’t want to drop names because it’s a long list.

Are there people in history who influenced your style?

Artists you mean…okay I would have to make a list on this one

Foreign ones - Stan lee, Jack Kirby, Masashi Kishimoto, Joemad, Frank Frazetta, frank cho, Jim lee, Alvin Lee, Scott Campbell, Proko Prenko, Serge, Sean cheeks Galloway,

Over here:

Ape Ekene, Ben Enwonwu, Isikan, Sukanmi, Mohammed Agbadi, Iyde Chris,

Susan Wenger, Moses 3bong, Lemi Ghariokwu, just to mention a few.

If you could do any project with some funding, what would it be?

Wow…it would be an animated feature.

How do you bring your drawings to life, do you have special tools that help make the illustrations look great?

Before now, I would start and finish my drawings on paper after which I would then scan them so I could transfer them to an image editing software for colouring. Now, I use a Wacom Cintiq – A tablet that enables me draw directly on screen with a digital pens that acts as both stylus and mouse making illustrating easier and faster.

What do your fans say about your work and do they sometimes misinterpret it?

Fans would usually say anything they feel. There are some who are patient enough to understand the philosophy behind the work and question my motives. There are also some who just don’t care, they just like what they see and make their conclusions. While they are some who see it as just art and fall in love with the interpretation and story behind them.

I love my fans but I have also realized that I can’t please them all the time.

How do you nurture your skill?

Practice, practice, and more practice.

Footballers train, athletes train, musicians and dancers rehearse even “babalawos” are in their shrines training. Artists have to do the same.

What are your future goals?

(Laughs). I don’t want to divulge that so that you won’t see the goal coming and when it hits the net…those are the best goals.

Any advice for young artists who are just starting out and want to be where you are today?

• Learn how to ignore people sometimes. People would throw dirt on your work. Focus on the people that don’t.

• Travel. If haven’t been out of your city for a year you need to take a vacation into a new place you have never been before. It helps.

• Practice. Learn from the greats - Google is your friend.

• ‘Good ideas have lonely childhoods’…like Hugh McLeod once said.

• Have boundaries…

• There is important and there is URGENT. All ways draw the line

Would you call your profession is a lucrative one?

Very lucrative…If you have a good business sense and especially now that Nigeria is looking inwards.

Besides Art what are your other passions?

Well…

Rap music – I’ve got a certified hip-hop head and this was way before mumble Rap.

I partially love football, I love arguing and just seeing teams I don’t like loose.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Most? Lol….every week there is another replacement for the recent.

I think it was when I choked on stage and forgot all my lines at a rap battle.

If you could only save one thing from your house, what would that be?

My workstation.

What would I find in your refrigerator?

Leftovers, alcohol and eye drops.

What’s your favorite meal?

DODO - Fried plantain

Photography by Ellis Mbeku for EMSTUDIOSng

www.emstudiosng.com

#Collyde #CollydePrime #EllisMbeku #EMSTUDIOSng #AdesugbaAdedapo #powerofhiscreativeskill #illustrator #interview #FruitTreeMagazine