Imile Wepener

Any hilarious stories about you as a kid being creative?

As a kid (a very, very creative kid), I drew everywhere and on everything! My mother tells me I even once painted a very large face on a lampshade and then proceeded to draw a full body mermaid inside of my closet door.

Where did you study and what were some of your first jobs?

I received my BA and BA Honours Degree in illustration at The Open Window Institute in Centurion, South Africa. After I finished my honors degree, I started doing a few internships at a few design companies and ad agencies. One of these internships led to a full-time job as a junior designer. After a year, I realised that working in the corporate design sphere was not for me and that I was not creating the type of work that I enjoyed, so I started freelancing. Now I am proud to say I am doing the type of work that I enjoy.

What are your top 5 local design things our readers can check out?

There is a very active design community in my area! The design and arts industry can be a very competitive area, but I feel there is also a big supportive sense of community between the creatives.

Some of my favorites to follow are;

Nina Torr for her beautiful paintings;

Aurora Creative Studio for their amazing digital illustrations

No End Contemporary Art Space, an amazing artist-run gallery that showcases upcoming artists

The Coool Project, an online collaborative initiative for young artists

Spaza Studio, a local illustration and design agency

Any passion projects/collabs you would like to share?

I recently starting dabbling in some hand-drawn animation, and I would love for that to become a bigger project in the future - be it an animated short-film or an animated music video. Seeing my still illustrations coming to life is an amazing sight to see.