* Hello! Can we meet you?
My name is Onucheyo Etubi and I am a Digital Artiste, who goes by Mumu Illustrator. I was born in Kaduna but I grew up in Kano. I spent about 10 to 12 years there before moving to Abuja for my secondary education. I later moved to Nsukka for my higher education where I studied Fine & Applied Arts. I'm from a family of six of Igala tribe from Kogi state. My family is art-inclined. My mum was an actor, my immediate elder brother dabbles with photography, my sister is an Architect
by profession but she's also into interior decor and fashion. They are basically just versatile and are
very supportive of me.
First of all, it came randomly. It's just because the name of my comic is 'Mumu Juju', and since I do basically everything in there, I decided to go with it. Originally, my name on social media was Art Droid but it didn't stick. Again, Mumu Illustrator captures my personality. Now, if my friends are introducing me, they say "that's Mumu Illustrator", even though they know my real name.
* Tell us about 'Mumu Juju' and what inspires it.
It's a comic about foolish Juju as the name implies. It is about two best friends that are trying to pay their debt to a deity and they go on crazy adventures through out the universe. I draw inspiration from basically everything I love. Fantasy, self aware cartons, foolish cartons that doesn't take themselves
serious are what really resonates with me. The main theme is friendship. I've realised that I've been very lucky to have supportive friends throughout my life. It makes me know good friendship is worth it and so that's the lesson my comic passes, among other sub-themes.
* So we can say you tend towards the fantasy side of art?
Yeah...personally I love fantasy, but I don't shy away from Sci-Fi work if given. Like recently I did the in-game art for a game called Xen the Alien. It was totally Sci-Fi. I'm currently working on another project (which I can't talk about), and it's totally Sci-Fi. I wouldn't exactly limit myself. But yeah... I'm the fantasy guy.
* How would you describe your personality indoors, what do you do in your spare time?
There's no real distinction between who I am outdoors or indoors. As a matter of fact, I'm almost always working. If I'm not working, then I'm probably watching cartoon. I'm very serious about my cartoons. I should have about 600 gig worth of cartoons in my possession.
* Which is your favourite cartoon?
I told you I have about 600 gig worth of cartoon so it's hard to really have a favourite. But as at now, my favourite would be Amazing Wall of Gumball. But basically, I just like anything animated.
* What do you do for fun?
I draw!
* You're basically all about your stuffs and what you do?!
Naahhh.... Not really. I go out sometimes with my friends. It's funny because most of my friends are art inclined as well, and so when we meet up, we're back to discussing and doing art stuffs. It's fulfilling for me. I listen to music a lot as well.
* What kind of music are you into?
This might surprise a lot of people but I like metal music.
* That doesn't sound so surprising coming from a guy who likes cartoons
Oh yeah!..? (Smiles) I haven't really thought of the correlation but okay. I listen to other kinds including soft rock. But I'm more of a metal music guy.
* Who are your mentors?
Hmmm... I wouldn't say mentors but I have people I just look up to. I'm gracious enough that even though most of them are not Nigerian, they reply my messages. The likes of Edwin Huang, Patrick Brown, Dave Rapoza, Sean Galloway, Jeffery 'thechamba' Cruz and so many others have put me through and helped me follow my art. For those in Nigeria, it's mostly just my friends. Mohammed Agbadi, Harrison Yinfaowei, Ifesinachi Orjiekwe, and Bolaji Olaloye. These are the people I started with because we all lived in the same houses while in school. It helps when you have people in the same field of work as yourself. We get to talk about stuffs and work together on projects.
* How fulfilling would you say your work is?
Extremely!!! I realised recently that it's hard but we (myself and crew) now have this sort of 'god complex' towards the work. It's not in a bad way but we feel fulfilled creating stuffs from nothing. It gives so much joy and satisfaction. The feeling when you create something and say 'this is my work, I don finish work', is just fulfilling.
* What's your work process like? How long does it take you to create your pieces?
It all depends on what I'm asked to do. Like if I'm just doing a character illustration for just one person, I can get it done in half a day for a client. I can do same job under 3 hours because I don't have to continually check against the background of anybody's specification but my own. But we thank God for the internet. I can just look up references online and put up everything quickly. The work is dynamic and so it depends on how time consuming what I'm creating is.
* How would you say your art helps to grow the economy of Nigeria?
Well, for the most part, I know that internationally we push our stuffs and we're getting benefits and recognition even though it's not so big for now. I'm doing works for people in the UK and America, and a sizable chunk of my income is from there. In terms of visibility, it puts Africa, particularly Nigeria on the map of recognition as far as the art is concerned. Take for example, if a digital artiste can imbibe our culture into his art, that would be showcasing and moving forward the frontiers of arts in Nigeria. It just brings more eyes from all over the world to see what we're capable of.
* Asides digital art, what else do you do? Asides art?
Nothing! I love art so much. It's my bread and butter. I sleep, eat, wake art! Obsession is the only way to get there. Once you realize you're not obsessed with it, then you're not going anywhere. I'm even the least obsessed amongst my friends. If you meet them working, it's like they're about to kill themselves on the job. It's crazy.
* What are the beliefs and principles that has guided you so far?
Number one; E go better, because if you're mainly a freelancer, you can meet some very down times and you don't know when next you're getting a job. There'd also be those periods when you have so much work and the money piles on. It just changes but at the end of the day, E go better. Just keep pushing.
* Considering you're not doing badly, what will be your word of encouragement to your contemporaries?
Digital artistes should be passionate about their work. Again their art should have local content that meets up to international standard. It's hard but keep practicing. Nothing gets better without practice. Develop yourself. Also, don't expect to just land on a goldmine. Follow the process and keep practicing. Even now, I'm still practicing. You have to stay humble and assume you're 'John Snow' (like you don't know anything), that way, you get to learn and grow.
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