A few weeks ago we featured Tennant Mckay’s incredible body of work shown as a snippet on their reel. Being such excellent individuals I was curious to find out more about them and got a great chance to catch up with Creative Director Hilton Tennant. Tennant is a small studio but has huge dreams and exceptional work. Being from South Africa which is a mecca design city within the African content, Tennant is not only a small giant, but is represented by The Ebeling Group (NYC/LA), allowing them access to clients in North America. Here is the Interview.

(Kind thanks to Robyn Jephson – Executive Producer  & Partner at Tennant for making this possible.)

Q. Tell us a little bit about you and your role at TM.

I am the Creative Director of Tennant McKay, which involves overseeing the design, conceptual
development and execution of a variety of briefs, which range from Commercials, Channel Branding,
to Post Production oriented projects.

Q. What are the backgrounds of the principles of Tennant McKay and where did they get started and initiate the studio?

My original partner and I both have honors degrees in Information Design from the University of Pretoria, a course with strong conceptual and theoretical focus on design, business and marketing. I started my career at Delapse, where I had the opportunity to design and direct title sequences for a variety of South African television shows, this led to my role as Design Director on a series of channel rebrands for South Africa’s National broadcaster. After five years experience gained from working with some of the most talented people I still know today in the South African industry, we formed TM.

To clarify the relationship between TM and Tennant is relatively simple, TM is the local Production,
Design, and Post Production company which facilitates the work for Tennant, which is my Director handle for International projects. This came about after directing the African component of the Coke M5 project in 2006, after which I partnered with The Ebeling Group who represent me in the American market which has provided access to numerous clients and projects I would not have previously had access too.

Q. How many people work on day to day basis at Tennant McKay and how often do you involve freelancers on projects?

We currently have a small yet multi-talented team of six permanent staff who handle everything from concept development, illustration and design, to animation and post production. We tend to scale our team up according to the size and skills required for a particular project much like most commercial production companies do. We have developed relationships with a number of preferred freelancers, many of whom used to be former staffers, which makes their integration into our projects and process relatively seamless. That being said, we are always on the look out for new talent to work with. We understand the value of working with well orchestrated teams rather than relying on any single individual’s brilliance – but that is obviously welcomed too.

Q. Your work often seems to have lively and loveable characters. Do agencies come to you for
character driven projects?

I believe good characters have the ability to transcend specific demographics, leaving a much wider audience susceptible to a particular message or story than, say, a purely live action approach may have. You are able to transport your audience to a fictional space where they can leave their cynicism and reality based judgment systems behind for long enough to absorb the concept, feeling, or idea you are trying to communicate. Even a cliché-riddled animated character has more chance of being forgiven for his existence than just about any middle-of-the-line blue-collar actor does these days. I guess what I am getting at is that entertainment has always been the best way to leave an audience with a particular idea or message, especially nowadays, and people love good animated stories. You just have to look at the billings for any Pixar movie to know that is true.

Somehow I have managed to miss answering your question. Briefly-stated it is a yes and no answer. Not all the projects we have used animated characters in were scripted that way. Often we will write them into our treatments as a direction we believe is correct for the project where as other times anagency might have seen something we have done previously and want something similar.

Q. One of my favourite projects from TM is the YTV Channel Idents. Your execution of this project was amazing. What were some special moments you can share about the project and also challenges you faced?

This was a very challenging and enjoyable project to work on for several reasons. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this project was the opportunity to develop these spots from concept, to scripting with the client, to final execution. We were briefed to create 5 second branding idents for the Canadian children’s channel, YTV. Traditionally, a channel ident’s primary purpose is to build brand recognition for the viewer to know which channel they are watching. Our approach was slightly different to the average ident though; we decided to capture the spirit and energy of their audiences’ imaginations within short stories, and then integrate the channel logo into the story-line. Hence they act more like branded entertainment pieces than a traditional logo ident.

Having written close to 20 scripts, developing character designs and their personalities concurrently, the client settled on 12 stories for final execution, and the production process started. One of the biggest challenges was making sure the stories would fit into 5 seconds while still leaving enough time for the viewer to see the channel logo. Every frame in the edit counted so we had to continuously refine the performance and cut as the project developed so that only the essential actions and emotions necessary to tell the story were left. One of the most frustrating facts of the production is the amount of energy and dedication necessary to pull these 5 second spots off was equivalent to creating 12 thirty second spots. As anybody who has experience with 3D character animation knows, once you have modeled, rigged and textured your characters properly, the animation can often flow pretty quickly in the correct hands. That being said, I also truly believe a lot of these pieces’ charm comes from how immediate the storytelling is, and they definitely allow for boredom-free repeat viewing to fully absorb the detail we built into the spots.

Q. Who are your favourite musicians or bands you listen to and really like.

We are quite an eclectic bunch, so we like to have a variety of music playing in the studio every month. But generally we lean more towards lesser-known indie rock outfits. Some of our current favourites are Mumford & Sons, Chairlift, The Drums, Generationals, Riceboy Sleeps (Jonsi & Alex), and The Panics. Mixed in with a few classics, like Michael Jackson, The Traveling Wilburys, and I don’t think anyone’s music collection is complete without a bit of Bruce Springsteen.

Q. Do you get to kick back, throw some darts or what do you do as a studio as personal interests to keep inspired?

We all have our individual means to escape the monitor, whether it is getting out of the city on a hike, playing a not so friendly game of poker, baking cupcakes, going on road trip adventures, or working on a personal art projects. Oh, and we do have families and partners who like to spend time with us too once in a while.

Q. Any word of advice for motion designers & animators from Africa?

My advice would be to create as many beautiful, meaningful and unique pieces of work as you can and get them seen by as many eyes as possible. Entertaining stories and unique design will get you noticed. It is also better to focus on executing shorter, simpler ideas well rather than being over ambitious and ending up with an epic poo. Lastly. you have to be passionate about this
career, it is definitely not a 9 to 5 job.

Wow!!! Many thanks Hilton and Robyn. What a pleasure! Kind thanks for your time.

For those of you who may not know, Between 10 and 5 is one of the most popular design blogs in South Africa. We had a chance to catch up with the guys at 10 and 5 for a brief interview and here is what they had to say.

1. Let’s start with an introduction. Tell us about 10and5, who are you guys? How did you get started?
10and5 is run by myself, Uno de Waal, and Johann Schwella. I run my own consulting firm called Max Rover, and Johann is an account manager at Stonewall+. We started in 2008 when Johann and I were doing some research for a project and we realised that there isn’t really a single place to view all the creative work that South African’s produce. We felt frustrated because we knew a whole bunch of our friends who worked in design fields, and we knew that South Africa was producing some amazing creative work, so we thought let us create a space for that.

2. Between 10and5 where did the name come from?
Our premise is simple – show us between 5 and 10 of your latest creative work. From that 5and10 didn’t really stick in our mind, plus the domain was taken so we went with the name Between 10and5.

3. What did you all specialize in respectively?
We do feature quite a lot of ad agency produced material such as TV commercials, posters and other advertisements, but we try and feature all sorts of work and we have quite a strong following of illustrators that we cherish.

2009 Showreel from Stonewall+ Digital on Vimeo.

4. So how about the big debate which is better self taught or design school, why?
I’m not a designer myself, so it’s difficult for me to say. I would suggest that a design school fast-tracks your learning tools (such as Photoshop, illustrator etc). But I’ve also seen some great illustrators etc who are self taught and if you put in enough hours and dedication, and with the right peer group you can teach yourself and learn amongst your friends quite easily. I’m an academic myself and I realize the value that tertiary training has, even if it is just “that way of thinking”.

5. You guys are based in South Africa and have a pretty strong following, what does the creative industry in South Africa look like? What is the creative atmosphere?
While I think the lifeblood of our creative industry is advertising, and it’s also a huge source of work for 10and5, I do find it sad that a lot of the creativity in South Africa is being used to sell stuff. I think more people need to produce great work that they sell themselves (as opposed to selling something else, like a car). We are seeing that happen more and more now though with quite a few design markets popping up, and with PayPal in the SA market I think we should see more local guys selling their skills online. It’s difficult to say what the creative atmosphere is as a whole, it’s such a diverse space.

6. What are the benefits and what are the challenges being based in Africa?
Challenges is obviously the market size – we just simply aren’t as big as Europe, the US or Asia. But I think that’s also a good thing as it’s a lot easier for a relatively good designer in SA to make a name for themselves. Sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing!
Africa is also a unique place (yeah sure, you can say that about everywhere I suppose!) and I think we have a different set of challenges. I would like to see more design that offers solutions to problems that we have here, and not just in the field of product design. Great design can communicate awareness of issues, and apart from advocating another VUKA awards, I do think that design and creativity has a real opportunity to not be up it’s own arse here in Africa.

7. We’ve noticed that 10and5 profiles great S. African artists and you constantly generate awesome content, how do you guys find your post ideas, where do you find inspiration?
Through our growth we’ve been able to get in touch with some really awesome people, from well respected people in the advertising world, to fantastic photographers and illustrators who we want to get a tattoo from. Since research is part of our jobs, we also find great work a lot of the time, and then simply just finding out what people are up to is inspiring already. We do know what type of content people are looking for based on our historically well performing posts, and we have a few more ideas for original content pieces. Unfortunately time doesn’t always allow for it!

8. We love the posters… what is the Butcher’s Cut all about?
Ha yeah the Butchers Cut is cool! Kate Butcher runs that for us. She originally started her own site and blog. Since she works in advertising the Butchers Cut was aimed at giving advertising folk a good way to start their weekend on Fridays. We though that it would be relevant to our market and we asked if she would like to join 10and5 as a regular feature. She said yes, we were stoked and it’s been great since then!
I don’t know if you are referring to our poster project? If so… how did you find out! It’s still top secret!

9. How can you get involved with 10and5. Where can we find you online?
We are ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS looking for people to help us out. We need people to write articles, do research, update the site where necessary. And also people who have a good ear on the ground of design. If you want to get in touch with us, drop us an email at contact@10and5.com or visit the site at http://www.10and5.com

With Google Buzz all the rage now, it’s hard to think that only a couple months ago Google Wave was blowing up the interwebs with people dying to get their invite and “get waving”. Google Wave launched with only 100,000 invites worldwide and began spreading with people dying to get their hands on the invites. I got my invites from Google and my first experience of the collaborative platform was an interview I did. It so happened that this interview was with the talented Richard Bolland.

The story of the interview is also one to share. It shows the magic and serendipity of the social web. I got to find out about Motion Graphics Artist and Filmmaker Richard initially through Twitter, where I stumbled across his profile and his blog and that’s where I saw some of his work including his Loerie Award-winning animated short “Sid Knobodi” and the video he co-directed for SA band Captain Stu. The rest was history, and the channel of information leading to this post is something to note: From Twitter to the blog to GMail and from GMail to Google Wave (a sign of things to come, maybe?) Anyway, enjoy the interesting life and times of Richard and where he is, how he got there and where he’s going.

African Digital Art: Give us a bit of a background to where you picked up art from.

Richard Bolland: So I grew up with my parents, who were potters, literally and figuratively. My dad made all types of pots, mainly selling them to tourists at the waterfront. My mother eventually moved onto mosaics and she is still doing that today. Both my grandmothers are artists. Marguriette Bolland was a resistance artist during apartheid and Gina Howard was a watercolour artist. My uncle is a glass maker and artist and specialises in stained glass windows. My other uncle is a carpenter. So it runs in the family. So i come from a pretty arty family.

So art runs in all the family?

Ironically my brother doesn’t possess a single ounce of art juice. He just plays and studies sports.

And at what point were you sure that this was the path you’d choose for your life?

When I was about 16 I was asked for the first time what I would like to become when I was older. It was one of those fill-out-a-form things. I wrote: Cartoonist, with Beavis and Butthead being my favourite cartoon. From then on I started doing cartoon/animations in FlashMX which was quite fun. I used to make cartoons that would rip off friends. I did art throughout junior and high school. And was always interested in the subject. During high school I would spend most breaks in the art room and paint throughout my free time. When high school came to an end I started looking for somewhere to study. All I wanted was to do FLASH and carry on with my cartoons. A friend of mine, Ryan McArthur, got a scholarship to Vega School of Brand Communication. They offered a Flash course as part of their Multi-Media degree. DEAL! I was sooo stoked.

So you applied…

Yeah, and I got accepted. From there I learnt how to do more Flash stuff and eventually learned how to work in After Effects and Final Cut Pro. Slowly but surely I realised that After Effects held a lot more animation techniques and wonders, so I eventually made a full swing into that programme. I began to really dig compositing and 2 and a half D animation within After Effects. I stayed up late every night at Vega and worked on my own projects as much as I could. In my final year I decided to do a risky mockumentary on my previous High School. I dubbed the high school: Chesterfield High – and began to gather a crew together and write a script. I decided to make the school into a off-the-wall high school education institute that believes in racism, sex with children and violence.

Interesting, so where did you start?

It was going to be a Investigative Journalism documentary into why this school is like this. I went into the school with the crew, shot about 10 hours of footage and interviews with various teachers and pupils. Then went into the editing suite and changed all my questions in the post into very provocative questions such as: Do you enjoy sleeping with your pupils? (in which they would answer: Yes, I enjoy it thoroughly) etc… After I finished the mockumentary I showed it to my lecturer who proceeded to think it was a joke that I had spent 3 weeks doing. He thought that I had hired actors and friends to act as the teachers and pupils. News slowly spread around and the head of Vega offically banned the documentary from going on any public forum. It was completely illegal: filming under false pretences, character defrauding and a couple other charges.

So was that the end of it?

Someone managed to get hold of this documentary and spread it around. Slowly I would get feedback from people on Facebook and at clubs/parties that they had seen this documentary. I began to become very scared as if the school ended up seeing this documentary I would be in huge trouble. I entitled the documentary “How media can manipulate footage” and began to use that as my excuse should it ever be discovered by the school. To this day I am not sure if my old school has seen the documentary and I have only ever been back once.

Did you start to pursue film from then?

I decided that filmmaking would be another path that I should follow. I was concerned that I hadn’t studied filmmaking so I pursued post-production and ended getting the Top Student Multi-Media award for 2008. That was a hugely humbling and amazing experience and I was very grateful that Vega has awarded me with that.

Speaking of awards, tell us where your Sid Knobodi animation came from.

I did the Flash animation Sid Knobodi in my 2nd year at Vega. My lecturer at the time didn’t really enjoy it, but I persisted with her and eventually she agreed to enter it into the Loerie Awards if I changed the music. So I changed the music, entered the animation and waited. Soon I was informed that it had received a nomination for Digital Media and I pretty much thought that would be the end of the road there. I didn’t bother attending the awards ceremony and instead went to play poker at a mates house. Late in the evening I received a call telling me that I had won! It was a good night! I won the poker game too!

So did that open any doors up as far as opportunities?

Yeah, I’m currently at Orijin doing Cinema 4D and lots of post-production and compositing stuff and it’s great here. But freelance I’ve still got some cool projects I’m up to. Last year we shot our first documentary at a Music Festival just outside of Cape Town called Rocking the Daisies – where we asked a bunch of people: if they could change one thing in the world, what would it be. We also documented some of the bands there and the general vibe. My colleague has already edited a short piece which he entitled: General Pass (mainly because we applied for a Media pass and weren’t granted one – all we got was a general pass).

The Plastics – Rocking the Daisies 2009 from Richard Bolland on Vimeo.

Another project I’m excited about is a new documentary about a young man called Dowayne who was part of the Hard Livings Gang in Manenberg, Cape Town. He was addicted to TIK (Crystal Meth) at the age of 14 and became involved in gangs at the age of 16. An intervention happened when he realised that his life was going nowhere and made a complete turn around through a organisation called The Warehouse where he gave his life to Jesus and has made a pretty good recovery.

I Dream Manenberg Trailer from Richard Bolland on Vimeo.

Impressive. When can we expect to see the documentary?

Hopefully by the end of February. Giving it the finishing touches now…

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Interview by Mark Kaigwa.

We are thrilled to introduce you to Craig Hunter Parker, perhaps one of the best visual fx designer and cinematographer in Africa. This South African designer works for Africa’s leading motion graphic design studio, Orijin, specializing in 3D&2D Animation, visual effects and film. If you watch MNET you might have come across one of his awesome titles. Parker’s work has not only set a high standard for visual effects in Africa but it has also inspired countless of Africans to take up the craft.

Tell us about yourself? Give us a brief introduction, what do you do, what are you passionate about?

Born in Cape Town and raised on a farm in Phillipi, I was always into ‘make-believe’ from an very early age.

I have a strong fascination with sci-fi movies and so I was drawing my own comic books before I could write.  I even remember bringing my own version of Battle of the Planets to grade 1 and getting the teacher to read it to the rest of the class.  How embarrassing when I think of it now.

How did you discover your talent? How did it turn into a profession?

My older cousin used to sketch in his spare time and I got basically inspired to do the same.  I remember drawing an image of superman when I was about 5 or 6 and figured it looked quite a bit like Christopher Reeve (in my little opinion).  My parents were very encouraging at the time and I ended up taking it up as a hobby.  It wasn’t really until a teacher in junior school sent me to an art college for a day where I truly started to get into it.  I studied art in high school and took it further with Graphic Design in college. There I think I learned to get a ‘finish’ to my work and, along with photography, I majored in illustration.  I joined Ogilvy & Mather and worked there for a few years before moving more into experiential advertising where I began to pick up on 3d animation and digital video editing.  I did my stint in multimedia for a few years and now pretty much work full-time in visual effects, animation & motion graphics.

Tell us  a little about Orijin, how did it get started, is it a team effort, what are some of its mission and goals?

Orijin is an award-winning, leading broadcast design group in South Africa.  We specialize in animation, on-air promos, channel ID design, film, post-production and visual effects.  It started about 9 years ago and has grown into a team that’s based in Cape Town as well as Johannesburg.

Where do you find design Inspiration?

I find inspiration anywhere I look I suppose.  It’s hard for me to sit still at times, so I’m constantly feeding myself with all kinds of material and content.  Whether this is from graphic novels, books, music, short films, illustrations, photography, art or movies.  I have a big collection of dvds at home.  I particularly enjoy collecting rare films. The collection currently sits somewhere just under 400 right now.   So I think that might qualify as at least one source stream.

How do you define your style?

I try not to be too concerned about what my style is.  I believe that no ‘style’ or ‘subject matter’ is ever something that’s going to define you.  How you see the world is what connects others to you.  When you’re at that point where your vision becomes clear enough so that others may see it instantly, I believe it’s then when you begin to distinguish yourself.

Tell us about your creative process, how does a typical project go from start to finish.

Most projects I’m involved with are moulded by the time-frame they’re expected to be achieved within.  With this sort of ‘factor’ involved, I can either approach something very ‘off-the-cuff’ or more meticulously.  The ‘Mnet Magic Studios’ job was undertaken in about 3.5 months.  The first 2 or so weeks of this time was spent primarily in pre-production, planning the storyboards and cinematics. A lot of the time I tend to go for creating a poster or image that best encompasses what the essence of the final piece will portray.  If you have that poster, you have a vision to work towards.

How do you improve your work and technique?

I think the best way of improving is setting a benchmark for yourself that isn’t measured amongst those around you.  It’s measured up against the best of what is out there.  If you’re always pushing to meet international standards, you’ll be growing with the industry and pushing boundaries in the process.

How does Africa inspire your work?

There is a wealth of cultures in Africa that is so unique and, at times, severely untapped, on all forms of media.  I always find the term ‘dark continent’ to be something that holds as much mystery as it does promise.  I’m happy to be able to draw upon some of the many forms of inspiration my country, alone, delivers.  I’m a disciple of subtlety when it’s required and greatness when it’s desired. I think that mystery is a key to what I will always endeavor to portray in a lot of what I do.

In your opinion what does the motion/animation industry look like in South Africa? What are some of its strengths and weaknesses?

As of late, I see few weaknesses regarding the motion/animation industry in South Africa.  If there is any, it’s that there are few really well-trained, albeit talented, individuals.  The drive is there but the focus needs to be shifted up a few notches to push itself in the headspace of being contenders internationally.  I’m not saying it isn’t there, because I’ve seen it.  The good animators are certainly here.  And when they’re good, they’re seriously good.  I guess I’m just more receptive to a general celebration of mediocrity that seems to be more prevalent for some reason and as a result there are only the few that seriously end up pushing themselves further. On a more positive side though, the strengths are still most dominant.  There are such fresh approaches to design and animation in this country and what’s really wonderful is the ability to experience work that retains the unique voices of the artists.

Any advice for upcoming artists getting started in the industry.

There is an open canvas to a medium that’s still very much in it’s early stages of growth and it affords the opportunity to experiment as much as you want. It’s waiting for you. Go for it. Push it in every way possible.  Impress yourself.

Finally do you have any upcoming projects/events we should know about?

I couldn’t really mention what’s in the pipeline workwise, the hope to do my best work still I suppose. On a personal note, I have a digital photography/illustration series that I hope to complete at some stage, along with a project that might entail some of it realized in movie-form.  I still aim to get a short film produced in the near future.

Just a Band is a self proclaimed house/funk/disco band who are on the brink of  releasing their sophomore album 82. Their debut album Scratch to Reveal, released in 2008 received critical acclaim. Due to their spanking new sound and fusion of various digital elements Just A Band could be considered as pioneers of digital sound and animation in East Africa.In honor of their new upcoming album we posted this iinterview with our fellow Digital African, Afromusing. (We recommend that you check out her blog). Just a Band reveal their inspiration, creative process and future projects. Enjoy.

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I was listless, down out depressed, with chicken, egg and crossing of roads questions weighing on my mind; when my fingers as if they had a series of self-cordinating nanobots, tipitty tapped their way onto a blog called Sukuma Kenya. There, I found a pebble shaped like a play button on a retro CD player encased in a rectangle of sorts with a cryptic ‘You Tube’ logo on the bottom right. I touched the pebble. Holyhaberdashery! I touched it!

My fellow Africans, that is how i came to make an interweb acquaintance with Just-A-Band. JAB is defining Kenyan animation and Kenyan techno music with aplomb, piercing wit and style…what follows is the result of smoke signals encoded with morse code and for some strange reason, un-encrypted. Enjoy it, or the chicken gets it. Wait, the egg gets it! oh what the hell…something will get it.

Just A Band is composed of?
BLINKY: Jim, Dan and Blinky.
JIM: There’s also our various alter egos – so that’s 2,303 of us in total.

Is the blog Kenya Animation also part of Just-a-Band?
DAN: Kenyanimation isn’t actually a Just A Band project, but I work as an animator, and I put up my JAB animation projects there. That blog was set up to bring together animators and animation fans who are from/work in Kenya, just to show people that there actually is such a thing as Kenyan animation, and hopefully be a launching point for bigger local projects, which haven’t had a chance so far coz people don’t really know that a scene exists! The other guys on the list (filterene, Bint Ali, Achoko, Majiqmud) are my collaborators on that project.

The album cover for your CD has an arresting image…is there a story behind it? Did the idea pop into your mind or was it an organic, incremental idea that morphed from something? What is your creative process?

JIM: This is definitely a morph – the original blurry concept was to have angry, cathartic energy of some kind on the cover; and cables. Cables are always cool. The images I have in my head always morph into something else by the time they’re finished. The final image ended up being something rather calm and contained – whilst retaining that arresting vibe you’ve mentioned. Of course, Lenny (the model) helped a lot – I chose him because he’s like visual play-dough and he likes to know what we’re aiming for visually. I explained the general idea to him – and played loud drum and bass and clashy electro during the shoot.
My creative process; I typically see the visual in my head – slightly foggy around the edges, but there nonetheless. Then I work to transform that foggy visual into something real. It feels like I’m cheating, sometimes, because all I’m doing is translating the sketch that’s already in my head. In the process of doing that translation, many things change (somewhat like a multi-branched sequence of little decisions on execution) and the final results usually surprise me just as much as anyone else.

I have only listened to one song from your newest album, is the music on Scratch To Reveal kind of in the vein of Iwinyo Piny or are there more varied sounds?

BLINKY: I’d describe the album as adventurous. We all bring different influences to the Just A Band table plus an unwillingness to stay within proscribed boundaries, I’m influenced by acoustic guitar stuff, funk, jazz, hip-hop and dance stuff, everyone else’s influences are evident all through the album.
DAN: The first single, Fly, is up on YouTube and is pretty different, a bit more aggressive and obviously scifi as opposed to Iwinyo’s flirtation with spacey sounds.
JIM: Somewhere towards the middle, the album reveals a softer core; comes back to earth, if you will. Some people have found this surprising because the overall look of the album says – electronic – so having pianos and strings in the middle could be a bit bewildering for some.

I see Daft Punk is an influence on your music; what are your thoughts on the Gorillaz? Would you work with Damon Albarn if he asked? What other types of music/musicians do you gravitate towards? Graphically speaking… which animators do you like? Cartoons? Which ones??
BLINKY: I know for a fact that [Albarn] did some stuff with Fela Kuti’s band mates on a trip to Nigeria, so we wouldn’t be the first African peeps he’s working with, but I’d be absolutely down for it! I’m currently jazzed by Citizen Cope, Raphael Saadiq, Lupe Fiasco, John Mayer, Jamiroquai, St. Germaine, Van Hunt, Foreign Exchange, Bob Sinclair and Asa. I’m abit out of my waters with the animation vibes, though I like Aaron McGruder of The Boondocks fame.
DAN: DEFINITELY we’d collabo with Albarn (right after we regain consciousness)… Every project he does is SO DIFFERENT, from the Mali Music albums to Blur to Gorillaz…very much the kind of thing that we hope to do, as well.
I have a HUGE crush (creatively, hehe) on Björk. She pushes boundaries both musically and visually, stretches your imagination… We are all influenced by Parliament Funkadelic and their many spinoffs –
JIM: Are we? I just think that George Clinton guy had cool outfits. So, maybe visually.
BLINKY: George Clinton is cool!

DAN: I think they’re our spiritual ancestors in the genre of musical Black scifi! We like old funk bands, Jamiroquai, Basement Jaxx, Jaga Jazzist, acid jazz, French House, Van Hunt and a lot of neo-soul artists, rock dudes like RHCP and Incubus, Madlib, Timbaland and the Neptunes (N*E*R*D was one of those moments of WTF is this??), a lot of stuff. I like comical old ska, garage rock like the White Stripes and The Hives and these new dancey rock bands like Franz Ferdinand. But I think the best music is the stuff you can’t really describe…
Graphically, I’m very much into manga and anime, in terms of the stories, culture, even the shortcuts they take to meet their crazy deadlines! A random list of favourites: Samurai Champloo, Mind Game, Triplets of Belleville, Studio Ghibli films, Satoshi Kon’s work, Genndy Tartakovsky, Jamie Hewlett’s Gorillaz work is really well designed and moves so fluidly, The Boondocks. Ralph Bakshi’s confrontational movies from the 70s are a huge creative inspiration for what I’d like to do in animation in future.
There’s an animation director called Koji Morimoto (he did the Beyond segment in The Animatrix), he makes my eyes water. Also off The Animatrix, the World Record segment was done by another new fave, Takeshi Koike, who is actually a celeb in Japan! How interesting, celebrity animators… I would like to go study at the feet of Moebius, the French comic book artist. And a lot of movies and books (I may be a bit of a junkie). We also keep an eye on the graphic design and motion graphics scene, and that’s always a visual overload.

JIM: Daft Punk’s Discovery was one of those albums that really excited me (and it still does). Frankly, I like the visual detail of the Gorillaz more than their music. In fact, I really don’t think I like their music. But I like the way they work so hard on the supplementary material that helps you form an opinion about a band, the back story, the promos. I like people like Madonna and Björk for putting in extra effort and really being in control of their image and sound, and giving people some fantasy to believe in – however slightly.

When I was a kid, I loved the musicians who went beyond the music and created lush record covers, and placed their music in some kind of fantasy literary context. Or even the people who explored themes other than the usual “love, girls and sex”. I love the way the disco dudes touched the sky and went beyond to other planets. Why confine yourself to dull old Mother Earth?
These days it’s “Hi. I’m X and I have a great body. You want to have sex with me. I also sing.” or the other equally drab approach: “Hi. I’m exceptionally gifted. I will numb you into submission with my technical wizardry. I will now play the Euclidian scale with my teeth.”
I think Europeans are better at it than the Americans (with the exception of people like Madonna, as mentioned above). Americans are very literal about their music – Band X fits into this genre and you shouldn’t ask where they’re from or why they’re doing this. Europeans are very cool about alter egos and costumes and silly things like that.

Do you perform live shows? If so, where can we catch you guys?
BLINKY: Coming soon to an area near you.
DAN: We’re actually working on the live shows now, figuring out venues and instrumentalists, and all the cool fun stuff like projections, or not. We will be unveiling the whole shebang in August. Details will be on the site/YouTube/Facebook.

JIM: We’re working on making it something interesting – because I am skeptical that Kenyans would be OK with sitting around for several hours watching a bunch of geeks fiddling with guitars. So pom-pom’s, dancing, makeup, lights, psychedelic footage and action – on a shoestring budget, as always.

The chicken or the egg question: Which came first? The animation or the music?

BILL(Blinky): The music. We used to jam in campus. And that’s where everything else spun off from.

JIM: The music came first, definitely. As always, it was a random happenstance (our music usually is). Then Dan went, “We could do a cartoon…”, and here we are.

DAN: The music was there first, but I can remember some occasions when the animation influenced the song, especially the lyrics, coz there was supposed to be more words that would have made it clearly a song about a girl, but when we talked about the video concept allowing for a broader interpretation, the lyrics were trashed (after which one station told us they couldn’t play our song coz it didn’t have any lyrics! Haha!).

What is your animation history?

DAN: I did this one month crash course in animation right before starting Uni, and when I met Jim and Blinky I talked trash about how we could do these huge animated videos, even though I had never actually done anything… So we started Iwinyo, and I was thoroughly humbled. I guess it came out OK, though. It was a learning experience.

JIM: If there ever was a time that we had internal fights, it was during the Iwinyo phase. I think we’re over that now.

DAN: Or at least we’ve figured out some “Constructive Anger Management Techniques.”

JIM: I have absolutely no idea what he means…

DAN: *blink*

(Does rendering take forever?)

Rendering? That depends on what programs/methods you’re using… As the 2D guy, I lack the patience that the 3D guys develop whilst waiting for the goodies to iva[ripen].

I personally really like animation because of the freedom it allows you in terms of following your ideas. And I like 2D for its much more human feel, 3D can be kinda plastic. I really hate how long it takes to make, though. I see Jimmy dropping live action videos and photography projects like bunnies…

I taught animation and cartooning a bit and I work as a freelance animator to pay them bills, and so I’m all up on Kenyan animation, where it could go, what stories we could tell… but that’s a long story.

JIM: Photography and video are somewhat more immediate, which makes me look hard-working. It’s just that projects get finished real quick.

What kind of software do you use to create the animation? and is uploading videos onto YouTube (from Kenya) as torturous task as I experienced or do you have a secret high speed bunker where we can mooch off of justabandwidth?

JIM: Adobe Flash and Adobe AfterEffects.

DAN: Drawings for the 2D are done on paper, and scanned or redrawn on comp. For the next animated video we’re doing, for the track called FunkyFineBeautiful, we have a new collaborator who kicks butt at 3DS Max. As for the uploading, we mooch off our friends’ high speed connections…

Your YouTube tag is justabandwidth which is very cool. Could one presume that you are total geeks?

BILL: We seem to attract an intelligent crowd…I prefer to be on my computer than at a party…

DAN: Haha! Ms Interviewer, it’s like you know us! Yes, at least two of us are total geeks (the other one is in denial).

JIM: As in?

DAN: As in, whilst some of us spend all day turning pale indoors with computers and pencils as our only companions, others manage to maintain some kind of engagement with the outside world. Game recognize game, by the way, so should we assume that [Ms. Interviewer] is also the “bookish type”?

JIM: So all that nonsense about Bill preferring to be at the computer is a lie. He’s the most outgoing chap. I think it’s strange how it’s never been cool to be a geek (only for a brief moment, when Pharrell and company emerged, then he sold out and became cool)? I mean, everyone else has had their moment in the spotlight; the skaters, the punks, the thugs, the gay boys and girls (heady times, the 80s), the Goths…I feel disenfranchised.

I am a total geek. I did every geek thing a human being can possibly do; the braces, the spectacles, being bad at sports (except swimming, for some strange reason), being good at computers, going to cinemas to actually watch movies instead of making out at the back, actually using my library card, studying IT in college etc. If there are types of geeks, I guess I’m the finally-at-ease-with-it kind of geek.

BLINKY: You should see my primary school pictures… then you wouldn’t talk like that… I only go for parties because…

DAN: Geeks are so cool nowadays. The days of warrior kings and sportsmen politicians are gone! Now it’s like, “Bow Before My Fearsome Intellect!”

I found the use of pictures in the video quite interesting, what is the name of the street at [1:08] of Iwinyo Piny? (I have taken pics of that street but can’t remember the name for the life of me??! What of the one at [1:33] placemark?

JIM: That would be Kenyatta Avenue – one of the cuter streets in town. 1:33 is the street that connects City Market to Koinange Street, I have no idea what it’s called; but it’s very textured.

I found out about your band through the blog Sukuma Kenya. What are your thoughts on blogging? How do you feel about your own blogs so far?
DAN: I had never heard of that blog before today, but I looked and I thought it was kind of surprising to see Iwinyo right in the middle of a lot of politics! Haha!

I think the Net in general has really helped get the word out, Facebook and YouTube and such. Blogging has really helped add a more personal vibe to everything (especially the band blog, I think the other blogs are more like manifestos of some sort but the band’s blog is just goofing around…). I think it really helps to have an online presence as it allows you to present your stuff the way you would want it done, not in a control freak kind of way, just in the sense that, for example, I doubt that we could find a media house that would indulge our fake bio.

JIM: Except for the very cool people at Kwani Trust who just slapped it onto their site as is. Sukuma Kenya? That’s so cool. I didn’t even know that exists. Say hi to them. Blogging feels a bit self-indulgent sometimes – I use my blog to provide alternative material about the process of making pictures, and the mental stuff that happens before and after. Sometimes people ask me tough questions, and I ask everyone what they think – then I plagiarize the answers I receive and generally look smarter.

We used to run an underground arts-and-culture type web magazine thing a few years ago, it was called LabelRevolution, and the thing we enjoyed the most was the community feel of the site. So we try to be very inclusive about everything we’re doing, because that’s how we make our music. The only reason we’ve come this far (admittedly, not THAT far but…) is because we make people feel like this is something anyone could do. Whether that’s true is another matter entirely.

BLINKY: I blog sparingly of late because I tend to expose myself a lot in my writing, I’m trying to find a method of detaching myself when I do. I don’t want to have the whole world know about me.

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Do not forget to check out their blog and also the new release of their album 82.

Ryan Atkinson is a 22 year old South African who loves good design. His portfolio features his work with typography, print design, photography, package design, motion graphics and illustration. We were fortunate to catch up with him and ask him a few questions about his work and portfolio. Here is what he had to say.

What is your Favorite Tool/ Application? Why?

Hmmm favourite app… That’s a tough question. I think most applications can do great things if used correctly, it is the artist using the tool that is important. Having said that, if I absolutely had to pick my application of choice my number one would be Adobe Illustrator, and a close second is Photoshop.

As you may know we have a soft spot for African digital artists. Do you know any African artists that you would recommend?

I would recommend Louis Minnaar, his work is absolutely phenomenal. His style is very bold and heavy, with strikingly unique illustrative linework. He worked with us recently on a job that we are doing for a well known television channel, which highlighted to me that his great artistry is well complimented by his design.

Where do you seek inspiration? What are some design sites you can’t live without? Why?

I feel that inspiration can be found anywhere at any time, you just have to look and you will find (and appreciate). I find inspiration in good work be it art, design, architecture, typography, film and music. Basically anything that you can attach an emotion or feeling to, could be inspiring or make me feel inspired. I think its important as a designer or artist to draw from your surroundings for inspiration, this is what gives us all our differences, as our designs our shaped by our experiences and influences. When I’m feeling down, I think my design depicts this and visa versa. Hmmm, sites that I cant live without. These are some of my favourites:
http://www.behance.net
http://www.cpluv.com
http://designyoutrust.com/
http://www.thegridsystem.org/
http://www.shilo.tv
Each site here is handpicked off my favourites list. Behance is such a great social networking site for creative people, I have already started collaborations with other designers that I have met from the site. CpLuv and Design you trust are some of the best sites for inspiration, because they handpick not necessarily the best designs or artwork, but just amazing imagery from around the globe. The grid system is a great resource for any designer/artist. You can get a lot of good advise, downloadable templates and so forth, all obviously to do with design grid systems. If you like motion design, go look at shilo.tv you will understand.

We are always interested in what people have on their bookshelves. Do you have any design books you would recommend?

There are so many great design books out there, but I’ll give you a few of my favourites. A book by Joseph Muller-Brockman called Grid Systems, its great for any person that is interested in typography and layout, it might feel technical at times but once you get through it you won’t regret it! The Helvetica book, INSPIRATION condensed into a small handbook, enough said. The Layout Look Book by Max Weber is a great book, which showcases amazing work from the past to present, you will love this book! And I know this is not a book, but I think this film deserves a special mention as it is just one of the best documentaries out there for anyone creative, it’s called Helvetica (get yourself a copy of this at http://www.helveticafilm.com its invaluable).

So Ryan what are you currently working on? Any upcoming projects?

There’s so much happening at the moment, that its hard to think about whats still to come. But if I could have things my way, I would be allowed some time to work on a new corporate ID that is very close to my own heart (a personal project to some extent), where I would love to develop everything from the corporate stationery through to packaging and a new showreel release (this obviously incorporating a lot more work than just my own).

Any advice you would give to upcoming African digital artists?

Advice I would give to any artist/designer. Follow your passion, feed it, allow it to grow and flourish. Work hard, push your creative boundaries every chance you get. Snatch the opportunities when they come your way, and remember everything you do is an extension of yourself so be true and keep your vision in mind.

Not too long ago we discovered the work of Nigerian, Kenneth Shofela Coker who is based in Memphis, Tennessee we immediately fell in love with his multi-faceted portfolio and we just had to find out more.

We want to get to know you. Introduce yourself. Where are you from? What is your area of expertise and how did you get started in the field?

Hi, my name’s Kenneth Shofela Coker, most people call me Shof. I’m a 22 year old illustrator/animator from Lagos, Nigeria. I moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 2005 to start college at the Memphis College of Art. I graduated at the top of my class in May 2009 as an illustration major and right now I’m trying to begin a career in the animation industry.

Animation has always been a love of mine, with early memories of old 80s action team cartoons (Thundercats, etc), Tom and Jerry and movies like the Jungle Book and Dumbo. Going into college, I wasn’t too thrilled by the standard visuals of 3d animated movies, so I thought it would be best to attain a solid foundation in traditional illustration. I believed that understanding illustration might inform more unique visuals to go along with the quality of whatever story was told. It was even more important to me because I knew I’d be telling African stories, which I felt and still feel need to visually stand out from the animated fair that flood the screens across the globe.

What are your design and artistic influences? Are there specific artists, movements, books, or online resources that have been pivotal in your development and daily work?

I like to believe I have quite a few that span many disciplines. I respect and admire many contemporary artists work like Sam Weber, James Jean, and Emmanuel Malin to name a few. Artists that blend the digital and traditional processes successfully tend to intrigue me most. I love old time illustrators like Edmund Dulac, Heinrich Kley, Ludwig Holwein, Eyvind Earle, etc and comic artists like Sergio Toppi whose work is breathtaking.

I also think its really important to be inspired by work outside your profession. For instance, I receive a lot of inspiration from architecture, and if I wasn’t an illustrator/ animator I’d probably be an architect. I enjoy the challenge of creating spaces and structures that tell stories with mood like Luis Barragan’s architectural masterpieces in Mexico. I visit websites such as Drawn.ca, Notcot.org and Abduzeedo occasionally, and I certainly scour the web for animated shorts that look interesting e.g shorts from Supinfocom and Gobelins schools in France. Everytime I see work like that, I feel revitalized in my opinion on the importance of unique visuals in cg animation. Finally, I like to read books on mythology, history, fantasy and Wole Soyinka novels for literal inspiration.

How has Africa influenced your work?

Well first and foremost I like to think that growing up in Lagos with my family  instilled a sense of what is valuable in life. Intermittent power cuts and water shortages in a bustling hectic city of over 15 million people will do that to you I guess. Lagos probably made me a more ambitious person and the strife and political/ economic contention the country endured in my youth tinged my perspective of the world and gave me some interesting subjects to utilize later in life. The food, music, humor, and sensibilities of African people are undeniably unique, as well as its mythology, of which I am an enthusiastic study of, particularly Yoruba cosmogony. Also my father is an art professor in Lagos so I grew up around him and his friends and colleagues like Olu Amoda whose work I occasionally got to see, as well as work from one of his teachers, Bruce Onobrakpeya.

Could you tell us about Visual Essay no. 1: Niger Pipeline Timeline? What is it? How did it get started? How has it evolved and where do you see it going?

In my final illustration class, we were asked to gather research on a topic of our choosing and create a series of illustrations exploring the issue. I thought it was high time I tried to interpret the crisis in the Niger Delta. So I narrowed down the subject matter to a vocabulary of a few graphic, iconic images that would demonstrate the escalation and cyclical nature of MEND’s recent history (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta), a militia group supposedly fighting for the rights of the downtrodden inhabitants of the Delta area. I used the Ijaw (local ethnic group of the Delta region) and Yoruba god of chaos and unpredictability to embody the spirit of MEND, whose actions and reputation have quickly become exceedingly violent, corrupt and exploitative. It is definitely a series I am going to return to fully explore and execute without the pressures and constraints of a college deadline. Hopefully by then I’ll be able to get it in to a gallery… somewhere.

You have a multimedia portfolio including character modeling, can you please walk us through the creation of a character, what is your process in developing each character?

Research is probably where I have the most fun surprisingly. Like I said, most of my characters and stories are African or related to Yoruba Mythology so gathering information on the subject matter is usually challenging, which is something about African culture that pains me. For instance, most African history is decently documented in the colonial era but is quite sketchy before that period, especially in terms of imagery. However, I sometimes believe it can be a boon, because I get to venture outside the strict realm of historical fact. My process usually starts off with a story for the character that aids the sketch with charcoal, ink or graphite, then scanned in to Photoshop to tweak and add color and certian details. I build a rough model in 3ds Max, unwrap the UVs and export to Zbrush. I usually add the majority of finessing and detail in Zbrush, then take the normal maps and textures back in to 3ds Max and to prep for animation.

What is your favorite tool/application and why?
I’m not sure. I can’t do my work without all my tools, but I guess specifically, for digital sculpting Z brush is the most fun and intuitve, and for ideation I can’t do without a trusty charcoal pencil or my Wacom tablet for that matter.

Your characters are interesting and unique ever thought of doing an African inspired comic book?
Thank you, I’m flattered. Actually, I have several in the works. Its just going to take time and effort to see them completed, seeing as how I plan to have a studio job while I work on them. Right now I’m working on a comic that features the life of the legendary Malian king, Sundiata.

What sort of advice would you give to anyone who would like to go in to your line of work?

Study the history of the medium of animation/ illustration and learn that ‘learning astutely’ is your best asset, you can always pick up the physical skills if you’re determined enough. Both my parents are teachers so I guess it figures that I’d say something like that.

What are some of your goals/aspirations? Do you have any particular projects  that you are excited about?
I’m trying to get a position working in an animation/ video game studio at the moment. Seeing the way a studio works will hopefully give me enough insight for when I open my own studio some day. I’ve also got a lot projects in the works with my older brother who is also an artist. A particular project we’re working on now is the reason Eniola was created, the little girl I recently sculpted, who’s obsessed with Bruce Lee. I’m trying to keep the project mum at the moment, but there are little tell tale clues on my site about the project. Anyway, with projects like this, combining my own unique illustrative visual style (at least I like to think so) with digital animation is an approach I employ to embellish my story telling methods. I suppose anticipating the response people will have to this style of animation is what gets me excited… and quite nervous sometimes…haha.

Do you have anything else to say to all those digital Africans out there?

Well, hopefully without sounding pretentious or elitist, let’s all strive to enrich society’s perception of an over stereotyped continent.

We had the privilege to interview Anthony Dart  Founder and Creative Director of Ontwerp. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dart has built his career on a range of digital media forms and techniques.

To begin tell us a little about what you do and your area of expertise.
I am essentially a Graphic Designer not very different from many others, I just do a whole lot of things instead of let’s say sticking to just Graphic design or illustration. Ontwerp is a small company so we all kind of have to wear many hats and have to serve up a diverse skill set. So i am involved in everything from Graphics creation (Still or Moving) Photography, Compositing, Animation, 3D and even sound design. This seems to be a very natural evolution for todays image makers who are embracing new technologies, positioning themselves to pretty much take on any job from Motion Graphics to Print Design.

How did you begin working with graphic design and motion graphics.
I am self taught and from the very beginning of my career as an art director for an agency i found myself always totally emerged in Photoshop and Illustrator. I just loved the possibility of the software and pushing the tools as far as i could. This philosophy got me into Flash and new media design where i got my stuff flying around in 2D and as soon as i discovered After Effects and 3D i was just crazy obsessed with it as a platform and medium.

Can you describe your creative process?

t’s pretty straight forward in how I will have a basic idea, you know – kind of doodle a typeface or logo or whatever. Once I got a feel for it I jump in and start working it in the computer – alot of times I will just randomly play around with Photoshop and Illustrator and an idea will emerge from that. Which ever way I do it though I want to try and have something multi layered and multi dimensional, something below the surface that will appeal to people on a deeper level.

What is your favorite tool/application and why?

I use what everybody else is using, my main applications are Adobe Creative Suite, Maya for 3D, & Logic Pro for my sound stuff. If i had to choose a favorite it would have to be Photoshop i just love how flexible it is.

What inspired you to startup Ontwerp? How did it come about?

I really just wanted the freedom of doing my own thing and invite like minded individuals along for the ride.

What do you love most about design? What are some of the challenges you face when it comes to design?
Design is my life, it really consumes me pretty much 24hrs a day, it’s a dream job to get payed for what you love doing. I love to solve problems. Therein lies the challenge – Tighter budgets, tighter deadlines and managing client expectations are obvious challenges.

Do you think coming from Africa influences your work/creativity?

-Oh for sure! Im certain all people are a product of their environment to some extent. Africans are unique, culturally diverse and I  think you can see it in our work.

Where do you find inspiration?

All around me  – everything inspires and compels the senses especially music -I am always listening to music when I work and when I am not working I am still listening to music or making it.

Do you have your eye on any particular African artists?

There is just so much talent! locally and abroad out there! It would really be difficult and unfair to just single out a phew.

Do you have any advice for upcoming digital artists?

Try to find the thing that your into – your voice and just stick with it through the good and the bad no matter what the haters say or how judgmental people get, stay hungry and inquisitive.

To view Anthony Dart’s extensive portfolio and work check him out on Behance.

A few months ago we featured digital artist Jim Chuchu. We are always excited whenever he launches exciting  projects like the TRNSMSSN, video art exhibition with Just A Band.  Here’s your chance to get Jim Chuchu a little more.

Give us a little run down on your profession/area of expertise.

I still hesitate to call photography my profession because of the way I gatecrashed into it through the back door. Also, these days I find myself jumping from one medium to another; photography one day, video and music the next, then a little animation and graphic design the next. I don’t know which I enjoy most. Right now, I make a living mostly from the photography.

How did you get started with photography and videography? Was it a deliberate decision? Do you have an educational background in this field?

It was not a deliberate decision.  I’d always wanted to make films since I was about 12 – so it was a hazy future goal that always hung around in the back of my mind. After college (where I studied IT – so, no I don’t have an educational background in the field), I worked for 6 months as a graphic designer at an ad agency (and hated it) – where I routinely saw commercial photographers saunter in and out of the place, looking like they were enjoying themselves. So I quit in late 2006 with the intention of becoming a freelance graphic designer who dabbles in photography.

I can’t remember what was going on in my head at the time, but I took a loan from my brother to get my first camera. I figured if I could learn how to take good photos, then making film would be easier in terms of getting specific looks. Then all this happened.

What is your favorite tool/application, and why?

My favorite tool would be light – having a snazzy camera doesn’t really matter if the light sucks. I’ve seen the most amazing photos taken on crappy camera phones, and it happened because the subject was surrounded by delicious light.
As for my favorite application, I really like the whole Adobe suite for making it very easy to get ideas out in whatever medium you choose.

So you are an Afrigadget inventor, how did this come about? What has been the response so far? Do you have any more inventions lined up?

Am I really an inventor? Ha, ha! Another accident; I needed to shoot some video and in Kenya you have two options:

A – get REALLY expensive lights from the likes of Film Studios Kenya, or
B – get REALLY crappy tungsten floodlights (which are modified security lights) for hire

I didn’t have a truckload of money, and I really hate the floodlights (they waste so much power and they’re really hot). So I stuck a couple of compact-fluorescents in a cardboard box and used them to shoot the video (I never tell purists this story because they’d vomit all over me).
It was surprising then to hear that there was an article on AfriGadget about my little box. Later on, I began to wonder why there’s such a shortage of innovation in Africa that when someone sticks bulbs in a box he becomes an inventor. The nature of this work forces you to come up with solutions to problems quickly, so there’s always a lot of duct-taping of things to one another, and misusing of ordinary household objects.

What are the fundamental design/artistic challenges you face when working in Kenya (Africa)?

There’s a very strange unofficial motto in Kenyan advertising that goes something like: “Kenyans wouldn’t understand this,” (usually delivered in a resigned I-like-it-but-that’s-because-I’m-cool tone). It’s a firm belief on the part of both the industry and their clients that the average Kenyan doesn’t understand anything that’s slightly humorous or creative.

So the agencies and clients spend hours stripping the life away from any of their cool ideas so that the average Kenyan can keep up. That attitude filters down to all the creative work in Kenya – resulting in us being surrounded by bland and safe adverts, programs, plays, books and music. I always thought that artists are supposed to gently nudge their audience into new places with their work – there’s not much of that happening around here.

Do you think coming from Africa influences your work at all? If so how?

Yes, being in Africa does influence the work. I’m really interested in afro-futurism – the theories about what happens when you place Africans in a future context; our interactions with science and technology and the place we occupy (if any) in a fantasy and science-fiction world. The modern African regards things such as fantasy and science-fiction as suspect, which I find strange considering how naturally we took to things like animism in our past.

Anyhow, there’s an inescapable tone, color and grit that somehow permeates all the work that’s done around here. I also suspect that even the quality of light in Africa is different. There was a time I tried to escape it and create ultra-clean, cold, future-inspired work because of watching too much Hollywood stuff, but I noticed that there was always that color and texture seeping in. So I’m learning to embrace this undefined quality and incorporate it into any vision I have of an African future.

Who are your major artistic influences?

That’s a long list, but I’ll single out David LaChapelle, Pedro Almodóvar, Bjork and Radiohead – they all work in different media, but I like their common disregard for convention and their love of surrealism (and the camp humor of the first two guys).

Which African artists do you have your eye on?

I was lucky to meet Nii Obodai from Ghana – he’s amazing. He showed me some photos he’d taken with a broken old camera; they looked like abstract paintings – spectacular. Many African photographers feel under pressure to depict all the tough things they see; street-life, war and hardship, but not enough of them take photos of all the beautiful stuff. Try doing a Google Image Search for Africa and the first pictures you’ll see are some civil war somewhere, a drought-stricken refugee camp and if you’re lucky, you’ll get photos of some school kids receiving hugs from a missionary. Sigh.

Any advice you’d give to up and coming African digital artists?

I don’t know if I’m in a place where I can start dishing out advice, I still have a long, long way to go. Give me a couple more years?

Do you have any projects you are excited about and want to share with others?

I just finished TRNSMSSN – a video-art exhibition together with Just A Band; it allowed me to mix photos, animation, music and live action. I really enjoyed that; being commissioned to make pieces without logos and corporate agendas and people seemed to like it. Next up, I’m finishing two more music videos, and then I’ll disappear for the next 3 months to work on a secret project.