Akbar Nikanpour was born in 1956 in Ardabil. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University, a Master's degree in Illustration, and also holds a top-level artistic degree (equivalent to a doctorate).
Nikanpour has served as a consultant, artistic director, and juror for several national and international exhibitions. He has authored many books on illustration and has received several national and international awards. In 2001, he was honored as a prominent illustrator at a commemoration held by the House of Artists of Iran in Tehran.
He has over 20 years of experience in illustrating children's books and working in children's and adolescent press illustration. He has illustrated more than 50 children's books, taught at the graduate level in universities for 10 years, and served as a professor in illustration and painting for 10 years. Nikanpour has also been a member of the jury for various national illustration exhibitions and student competitions across the country, and participated in several illustration seminars in Bologna, Italy. He has been interviewed numerous times in relation to his work.
Nikanpour is known for using Ecoline colors, and his illustrated works are characterized by visual elements that are well-suited for preschool children.
In his book "The Size of the World" (1989), he distanced himself from his previous color techniques and began using acrylic paints and colored lines that resemble hand-printed graphics. The simple images created with these lines were an introduction to Nikanpour's later exploration of abstraction in his illustrations. This book's illustrations earned him an honorable mention at the second Lannion World Biennale in France.
Another book Nikanpour illustrated in the early 1980s is "Thirty Springs to the Sea," which, like "The Wooden White Horse," was painted using Ecoline colors.
Other notable works from the 1980s include his illustrations for the books "The First Day of School" (1989), "Catching Dragonflies is Easy," "The Sun is My House," "Behind the Red Light," "The Sky is Not Cloudy," "The Story of Spring," "The Story of the Moon," and "The Green Snake and the Mint" (1989).
Professor Akbar Nikanpour has received numerous awards and held many exhibitions throughout his career. He holds a top-level artistic degree and has been a member of the Institute of Veteran Artists since 2016.
