David Oku.

David Oku joins Howard to talk about the path from being told art was not a serious career to creating work for global brands. It is a conversation about self-belief, cultural identity, and the people who help open doors when talent and hard work alone are not enough.

Born in Germany and raised in Nigeria and Italy, David explains how his mixed heritage shaped both his early black-and-white drawings and the vibrant colors he uses today. He shares the rejection and racism he encountered in the industry, the encounter in a shoe shop that led to new opportunities, and why he wants his Hidden Layers podcast to give more creatives a platform.

They dig into David’s freestyle process: drawing directly in Illustrator, building compositions from shapes, and letting one idea lead to the next. David talks through his love of sneaker culture, the personal illustrations he made to attract brands’ attention, and how he combines characters, typography, and familiar objects into densely detailed worlds. He also shares why Pathfinder and a mouse remain central to his workflow.

The conversation turns to animation, experimenting with 3D, and David’s mixed feelings about AI. He describes the practical tasks he finds it useful for while raising concerns about lost creative opportunities and the value of learning through the process of making.

Finally, David explains how consistent posting, trusted collaborations, and word of mouth helped his career grow—and how working with an agent changed his understanding of pricing, licensing, and his own value. He reflects on the meaning behind his Martin Luther King Day artwork for the Sphere and his Pepsi project celebrating HBCUs, before closing with encouragement for anyone still waiting for their chance.