Opportunity of a Lifetime

Season three of Atlanta on FX dropped on March 24, 2022, with a brand new style. Every episode doesn’t feature the main Atlanta cast, but every single one has a deeper message. Most of the season takes place in Europe, with characters “Earn” (Donald Glover), “Alfred ‘Paper Boi’ Miles” (Brian Tyree Henry), “Darius” (LaKeith Stanfield), and “Van” (Zazie Beetz) on a European tour Paper Boi is a part of. Delaware artist Alim Smith was selected to create the promotional art for the season to match this season’s vibe.

Smith was discovered from his social media meme art that went viral.

When approached by the Atlanta team in mid-August of 2021, Smith thought the opportunity was a scam. Smith was contacted several times before he gave it a chance. He told himself, “If this shit is real, it’s going to be big.”

Drawing after Drawing

The project started off with him sketching pictures of each character, along with multiple sketches of the characters as a group. This was all a part of the audition process to see if Smith could handle the workload.

Through the months-long project, Smith created over 300 digital revisions and many black-and-white sketches.

“It is so stressful and it makes you question if you’re good,” said Smith but he’s grateful for the opportunity.

He credits and thanks his close friend Andre for helping him through the process.

The Atlanta opportunity came just a month before Smith wasn’t where he wanted to be in his career, but now he can’t find time for a break.

“It’s historic. It makes me feel super confident to keep creating,” he said.

Booked and Busy

Immediately after the Atlanta gig, Instagram contacted Smith for his next big assignment. Instagram hired Smith to put work in their art show in California at the end of February. He also did a VR painting for Instagram’s Memecon.

“I’ve been doing way too much and I should chill,” Smith said, but he has no plans on stopping.

31-year-old Smith remembers being in his family living room around four to five years old drawing the Looney Tunes characters from his underwear on a piece of paper. Now, he’s in high demand.

Smith doesn’t plan to sign with an agency and he hopes his art makes other people money. He wants people to think “I should buy his art because it’s going to be worth a lot.” But most importantly, he wants his art to be appreciated.

To see more of Smith’s work, click here.