Today we’d like to introduce you to Naim Hakeem
Hi Naim, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Naim Hakeem, and I’ve been in love with animation and art for as long as I can remember. My creative journey started with crayons and colored pencils, drawing characters and scenes from my favorite video games, anime, and cartoons on scrap paper. I often imagined exciting scenes that I wanted to see but couldn’t find anywhere, so I drew them myself. My first attempts at animation were stick figures in flipbooks—simple, but magical. Even back then, the idea of bringing drawings to life fascinated me.
As I got older, I began experimenting with software like Microsoft Paint and Movie Maker. Though basic, they allowed me to create animations by combining images and video clips. My journey took a big leap when I attended Overton High School, which had a dedicated digital art program. There, I was introduced to industry-standard tools like Adobe Suite and Wacom tablets, which changed how I approached art and pushed me into the digital realm. I also began self-teaching animation on Adobe Animate (then Flash), building my foundational skills through trial and error.
In college, I studied Computer Science at the University of Memphis with the intent of working in game development. Although my focus shifted to tech and software development, I continued creating art in my free time. Through BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates), I connected with other tech professionals and gained opportunities to design logos, judge coding competitions, and create interactive interfaces for virtual conferences. This experience sharpened my design skills, but over time, my style became more corporate and less whimsical.
BDPA Memphis needed a new president, and with the impact this organization had on me and so many others, I knew I couldn’t let it fade away. I decided to step up as the local chapter president, which brought a lot of unexpected responsibilities. But honestly, who’s ever truly ready for new leadership roles? My focus has been on building a solid team in the local tech community and organizing meaningful events. One of our biggest successes was hosting the South Regional Conference, where southern BDPA chapters gathered in Memphis to hear from local tech professionals and entrepreneurs. It was a packed event, and it was amazing to see people connecting and learning from inspiring speakers right here in Memphis. While this role has put a temporary pause on some of my art projects, the passion for creating was still very much alive within me.
I found myself drawn back to art, and met new people in the scene that has helped guide and mentor me. I began to develop more stories and pieces, particularly with a comic book character idea that came to me: a resilient “roach dude” who could adapt to any challenge. I sketched him out, calling him “Super Roach.” Eventually, he evolved into John Roach, a character that reflects my love for animation, humor, and action-packed storytelling. Now, I’m fully embracing my creative side again, developing characters, illustrating comics, and animating with renewed purpose.
This journey has taught me that pursuing “crazy ideas” is essential. Whether in software development or art, thinking outside the box is crucial. For me, creativity has always been my guide—and it’s a path I’m excited to keep following.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I faced a challenging decision early on between fully committing to a career in tech or pursuing my passion for art. This crossroads appeared just as I was considering moving out of state for college, but with my father facing health issues, it became clear that staying local to support him was the right choice. So, I enrolled at a nearby college to study software development—a field that required a completely different mindset. I had zero experience with programming, and learning to code felt like learning an entirely new language. I struggled through my first few classes, but I stuck with it and gradually began integrating my design skills through user interface work.
Although this path opened up new doors, it took me in a different direction creatively than I’d initially planned. To keep my artistic side alive, I had to teach myself and learn different practices through trial and error. There’s a point in any journey where you just don’t know what you don’t know so I felt I began to plateau-artistically a for a while as I finished up school.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have a full-time job in software development yet in my free time I freelance animation and design on top of creating my own comic series. Currently at work I’m part of an automation team where we develop services that allow our customers to build virtual machines in the cloud to host various applications. My latest forte has been developing and implementing the pipeline of bringing details from our data into the report visualization tool, PowerBi. This comes full circle to me as the whole workflow is practically an upgraded version of the tool I developed when I was an intern. My main thing that sets me apart is the willingness to continuously develop skills and try something outside of the box. At work I’m always jumping on new project requests that our team may receive and accomplishing them is extremely satisfying while for my art, and compositing specifically, I find any means necessary to get that professional quality look and feel to the final product. Whether it’s asking in forums or watching tutorials over and over, when I have something in my mind, visually, I try my best to get the ends result as close as possible.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I love creating because it allows me to bring my ideas to life and share them with others. Art has always been my natural outlet, and blending it with technology was an interesting evolution of my creative journey. Right now, I’m working on a website for my characters and comics that will host character bios, interactive games, and animations.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nookuscreates/profilecard/?igsh=aXh1anl4NXhucDdh
- Twitter: https://x.com/NaimHakeem
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NookusCreates
