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BUSINESS NEWS & VIDEO - Illustrators are the unsung heroes of the modern media industry. Many of us scroll through Instagram and admire their work.

Sometimes we’ll tap a heart, but we rarely leave a comment. And yet, there are a mountain of adjectives to describe their artwork: Inspiring, thought-provoking and, sometimes even, nostalgic.

Below are six local artists whose work fits that description to a tee.

Subi Bosa 

Many modern artists struggle to create a signature style. That cannot be said for Subi Bosa, an architect by trade and an illustrator by passion. Subi has illustrated a number of children’s books, including Nanana Boselesele in partnership with Wimpy and Ethnikids. Subi is also passionate about literacy advocacy, and has worked with organisations as such Bookdash and The Bookery CPT to advance this cause.

Ndumiso Nyoni 

Ndumiso Nyoni’s work speaks for itself, but the awards he’s racked up over the years validate his contribution to the industry and his gifts. Ndumiso is also a motion designer and film enthusiast, but the title that’s stuck the most is that of vector artist; a discipline that requires him to create graphics through the use of points, lines, curves, and shapes that are based on mathematical formula. He is also an accomplished animator who recently worked on Disney Africa’s My Magic Is Me campaign.

Susie Appleby

Susie Appleby’s traditional approach to digital art sets her apart from many modern artists. A school art teacher by profession, Susie hand draws her illustrations and paintings before they undergo the digital rendering process. To the uninitiated, the process seems unnecessarily tedious. But to those who’ve had the pleasure of going through her work, the process adds an old-school charm to her children's books.

Katlego Keokgale 

If there was ever an artist who has mastered the practice of bringing characters to life, its Katlego Keokgale. Katlego was roped in to illustrate Refiloe Moahloli’s Know My Name, and is set to release a book published by Pan MacMillan in 2021.

Mogau Kekana

Mogau Kekana is a storyboard artist, illustrator, and animator with two distinct styles. One features angular lines and soothing colours, while the other makes use of a painterly style and hard lines to emphasise important features. He is currently studying at Gobelins, a school of visual communication and arts based in Paris.

Siya Masuku

Siya Masuku is a multidisciplinary artist who writes, illustrates, and publishes his own work. He is also the founder of Siyafunda Online, an independent publisher of picture books in indigenous languages. He is additionally the recipient of the David Koloane Arts Writing Award, a prestigious award meant to celebrate the life of the South African artist it was named after.

All the above-mentioned artists are part of a project created by Wimpy in partnership with Ethnikids, an initiative founded by five moms who wrote books that feature characters of colour in various South African languages. 

Ethnikids wrote six South African short stories for kids in all of our 11 official languages. The above-mentioned artists each provided illustrations for the books in question. You can get a FREE storybook for your child with every Kids’ Combo Meal.

Some are reimagined South African folktales passed down from generation to generation, while others are original stories created by local authors. The books offered in-store are written in English, while the Wimpy website features the stories in all 11 official languages. The website also features beautifully illustrated author readings of each indigenous story.

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