Work / Creative direction

Giving an East African comedy its look, and keeping it.

Art direction and co-production on Boy Boi, an animated comedy rooted in everyday East African life.

Watch the teaser

ProjectBoy Boi, animated comedy series

My roleArt director and co-producer

FundingKenya Film Commission grant

ResultA pilot episode ready for buyers

Hi, I'm Shaddie.

I art-directed and co-produced Boy Boi. I've spent 15+ years in animation, from story artist to head of department, and on this show I also handled the business side: the grant, the reporting and the partners.

More about me

Art director and co-producer

15+ years in animation

Managed a Kenya Film Commission grant

If you are making something people will watch for years, this is for you.

Studios, producers, brands and NGOs with a character or series that has to stay consistent as it grows.

Studios and producers

A visual language a whole team can keep up, episode after episode.

Brands and NGOs with a character

Characters and worlds that stay consistent across every format.

Teams that need a creative lead

Part-time creative direction for a programme or campaign.

The brief

A comedy series needed a visual language that a team could maintain across episodes, and that felt unmistakably East African.

That meant redesigning the characters, styling the environments, guiding the production and reviewing the work, while helping steer the production as co-producer.

What I was trusted with

The look of the series: characters, places and colour
Leading and reviewing the visual development team
The production style guide
Grant finances, records and reporting, with my co-producer
Investor and partner communication
Shaping the show for its audience and for buyers

The skills behind it.

Leading the look of a show, and helping run the business around it.

On the creative side

Building a visual world

Characters, places and colour that feel East African, and funny.

Leading artists

Growing a team's skills while keeping everyone pointed at the same look.

Direction artists can act on

Clear notes in reviews: what to keep, what to push, what to drop.

Consistency at scale

A style guide that lets a new artist draw the show correctly from day one.

On the production and business side

Managing grant finances

Budgets, record keeping, financial reviews and reporting on a Kenya Film Commission grant, with my co-producer.

Investor and partner communication

Keeping funders and partners informed and confident in the project.

Marketing support

Back-end support and campaigns to build an audience for the show.

Product development

Shaping the concept for its audience so it sells, and finding income beyond the episodes.

How the look came together.

From the first redesign to a show a whole team could draw.

Visual development

Exploring the world, the tone and the colour.

Character redesign

Faces, silhouettes and expressions that read instantly.

Style guide

Rules the team could follow without me in the room.

Production reviews

Notes on every stage, keeping the look consistent.

The work

Scroll sideways, or tap any image to see it larger. 16 images.

Watch the Boy Boi teaser

The finished look, and the quality the team reached.

Why it works: world-class animation, made in Africa.

The usual obstacles to African animation, and what I did about each one.

Tight, grant-funded budgets

Every shilling had to show on screen and be accounted for.

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What I did

Managed the Kenya Film Commission grant with my co-producer: budget tracking, records, financial reviews and reporting.

Uneven experience across the team

Few artists had worked on a series at this level.

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What I did

Led and upskilled the visual development team, with clear review notes at every stage.

No shared pipeline or standards

Without rules, quality drifts from shot to shot.

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What I did

Set up a production style guide and review stages, so the look held across the episode.

Work that looks "made locally" struggles to sell

Buyers compare against international studios.

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What I did

Art-directed to an international standard while keeping it East African, and shaped the concept for audiences and buyers.

A high-quality pilot for a marketable show.

A pilot episode that doesn't look like typical African production, ready to take to buyers and audiences.

Need someone to lead the look of your work?

Bring me in for a project, or part-time as your creative director.

You'll speak with me directly. About Creative direction like Boy Boi change

Prefer to send a brief?

Replies within a work dayNairobi-based, working across time zones

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