10 Digital Artists: Black artists you should know
Honoring Black History Month with brilliant digital art by black creators, we’re celebrating these artists who are reshaping the landscape with their creativity, innovation, and mastery of technology.
In support of the diverse voices and perspectives that enrich the world of digital arts, we’re spotlighting ten digital artists who create to support Black culture in the realm of digital art and Web3.
From mesmerizing illustrations to stunning animations, these visionary artists are pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. They are not only redefining the boundaries of digital expression but also inspiring the next generation of artists to break free from conventional norms.
Here’s a list of black digital artists who are pushing the boundaries of digital expression by experimenting with several forms and techniques, such as digital collage, 3D animation, AR art, and more.
Whether you are an artist looking for inspiration, a curator working on an exhibition, or a digital arts fan looking to discover digital artists, this list is for you.
Here’s 10 black digital artists you need to know.
Scroll to learn more about them! Here’s the featured artists:VintagemozartShay the SurrealistMaryjane UzodinmaZoe OsborneRory ScottIdris VeitchIsaac UdogwuDominique RamseyMaxwell DewunmiHuntrezz JanosLet's be friends on Instagram!
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Vintagemozart is a Zimbabwean afro-surrealist and afro-futurist digital artist and curator. He creates pictorial realms and surreal digital collages inspired by mystical tales and African and Greek mythology.
Vintagemozart dreams of a transcendent future — he conceptualizes “what if” realities, where children can become whatever their hearts desire, where mother nature is respected and protected, and where humans support one another and rise together.
We are completely in awe of his art which depicts traditional textures and colors of African culture in imagined futures.
“I believe when you see children out in the real world, the one thing that would empower them the most is seeing themselves in a position where they can achieve anything their hearts or minds dreams of. This is beyond education. It is changing the cycle of what we need our youth to be surrounded by.”
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: African artists you should know
Shaylin Wallace, better known as Shay The Surrealist in the digital art world, is a digital artist and graphic designer from Wilmington, Delaware and is currently based in Washington D.C.
Shay The Surrealist creates surrealistic compositions and “strives to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.” She has worked with clients including Netflix, Mercedes Benz, Adobe, AMC, and Warner Bros and her work has been exhibited worldwide.
We are huge fans of her series where she uses Adobe Photoshop to create afro-centric floral portraits that convey the confidence of embracing change, uniqueness, and inner beauty, and blooming fearlessly.
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: Digital flowers that blossom in our hearts
Maryjane Uzodinma, who creates under the alias Designwithmj, is a digital artist and illustrator from Lagos, Nigeria. She creates digital portraits and 3D cinematic renders and is also a certified Robotic Engineer. She has worked with ElewaTV, Shecluded, United Nations, and Data4SDGs.
Maryjane’s art concentrates on black culture and community. She creates to turn fear into hope; to empower her community to feel proud of their culture and highlight their unique identities.
Make sure to visit Her Crown VR Showcase to see Maryjane’s gorgeous art and learn more about her inspirations.
“As Human we are connected to our emotions based on relationships, ethnicity, our wins, failures and a lot more. Though most leaves SCARS we can always find the STARS in them.”
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: The Best of Digital Illustration
Zoe Osborne is a physical and virtual interior designer, photographer, and curator from Barbados, and is currently based in Canada.. She has a bachelor degree in Interior Design and was a a creator in Elevate’s inaugural NFT Residency Program in Toronto.
Her digital animations has been showcased in Toronto, New York, Barbados, and Dubai. She is also the founder of Mahogany Culture, a collective for Caribbean history, culture, and community.
Her work focuses on the Caribbean Diaspora with inspirations from Caribbean symbolism and homesickness. The surreal aesthetics of her art are in fact explorations of the feeling of home as well as being a visual escape to paradise – a dreamland that we’d love to be immersed in.
“In my mirror I see dreams of someplace I would rather be.”
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: Wonderful and surreal digital dreamlands
Rory Scott is a creative technologist and multidisciplinary artist who lives in Chicago. She is an Alumni of The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and has been selected as one of the Kresge Artist Fellows in Literary and Visual Arts in 2023.
Her work is recognized for its use of patterns, glitter, and for its likeness to the Universe. She explores the ideas of impermanence, the passage of time and the impacts of technology upon the evolution of humanity.
We are absolutely in love with her AR dresses she creates for Snapchat and TikTok. Users can bring fashion and fun in any room by using her augmented reality designs as filters on themselves in photos and videos.
Rory Scott is also featured in 10 Digital Artists: Digital Fashion and Style in Web3
Idris Veitch is a Jamaican/Nigerian digital artist who mainly creates digital collages and mixed media art. His works represent a natural evolution of bright colors, contrasting textures, and elements of Afrofuturism.
The artist went to Tokyo for his studies at Esmod Fashion School. Japanese influences combined with his half-Nigerian and half-Jamaican roots to give birth to an art collection filled with cross cultural references. The themes of intercultural fusion reflects wonderfully in his digital collages due to the nature of collage art.
Idris Veitch has been featured in publications including Nataal, African Digital Art, Vogue Girl Japan, and Buzz Caribbean, and his art has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Nigeria, Japan and Jamaica. Follow his art to immerse yourself in stunning surreal worlds!
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: African artists you should know
Isaac Udogwu is a Nigerian-American digital artist and martial artist who is currently based in South Carolina. His art focuses on messages around black liberation and themes from West African and Black Southern culture.
He is also a co-founder of Diaspora, a DAO leveraging Web 3 to create opportunities for underserved communities in the digital and real world.
He creates to explore the relationship between the universe and humans. He aims to awaken the higher self while allowing constant rebirth and self-discovery along the journey of life. Isaac’s art reminds us to listen to our inner voice to find our purpose — and it’s powerful.
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: African artists you should know
Dominique Ramsey is an illustrator and designer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her art draws inspirations from folk art, culture, music, cartoons, and the metaphysical. The artist strives for uniqueness; using bright colors, cultural patterns, and shapes to catch the viewer’s eye.
Dominique Ramsey creates children’s illustrated books, yearly calendars, and posters that depict all kinds of animals and mythical creatures in fairy lands — and we’re huge fans.
She graduated with a BFA in illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and has worked with recognizable clients such as Snapchat, Pinterest, Netflix, Macy’s, and Nike. Her work has been acknowledged by the Society of Illustrators, the Art Directors Club, 3x3 Illustration, American Illustration, and showcased in galleries around the country.
“When she’s not at her desk, Dominique likes watching cartoons, traveling, reading, playing video games, and saying “hello!” to every animal she meets.”
Also featured in 10 Digital Artists: The Best of Digital Illustration
Maxwell DeWunmi is a digital artist, illustrator, and graphic designer from Nigeria. He was raised in the northern central city of Jos and is now based in Lagos. He has studied physics and works mostly with 3d software.
When he first started creating digital artworks and NFTs, he says, he was fixated on the idea that his art needs to look African. He later realized that his art is most powerful when he focuses on what inspires him personally and found his unique style that depicts a beautiful dystopian reality.
We absolutely love his 3D artwork “Before I had a name,” which contemplates who decides what we are or what we become – the work is also featured in Digital Arts Blog’s virtual exhibition at The Wrong Biennale.
“I live to create beautiful things.”
Read our interview with Maxwell DeWunmi to learn more about his art, inspirations, and creative process.
Huntrezz Janos is an Afro-Hungarian digital artist born in Los Angeles in 1996. She holds a degree in Experimental Animation from California Institute of the Arts and creates works in various mediums such as painting, music, animation, and performance.
For her 2020 solo exhibition, Infilteriterations, at Transfer Gallery, she takes her experience of systemic violence and exclusion as a black, non-binary artist and offers new realities using augmented reality. Huntrezz’s face filters explore concepts of identity by creating impossible characters of a fantasy world where the oppressed can rise up, defeat their aggressors, and reclaim agency and authority.
While her protest videos cry for justice against police brutality in the US during the social justice uprising of 2020, her art presents a future of equality and freedom, and empowerment to self-realization for anyone.
“I have been exploring my own identity through avatars made to my own design – moving sculptures in another dimension – a virtual projection of beings clothed in impossible garments that do not adhere to norms and rules that govern our space. Faces to be shared among people and objects without space.”
Huntrezz is also featured in 10 Digital Artists: LGBTQIA+ digital artists you should know
Read next:
10 Digital Artists: Women in digital arts you need to know
10 Digital Artists: African artists you should know
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