I have many clients who come to me and ask me to produce work in a style that they have seen me do before. I like to believe that I am able to adapt my style to suit the given project. But somehow people are still able to see me in the work. I have no idea how it works or where to switch that button on or off.
I studied Visual Communication in Pretoria after going to art school (Pro Arte Alphen Park) during my high school years. My first love has always been fine arts.
That's easy. I get distracted and bored quite easily so I need to jump in-between all of these mediums to keep myself stimulated and interested. I really just like doing different things the whole time. I often feel like a kid in a candy shop - all these amazing different sweets to sample, but quite a small tummy. I guess I am quite good at time management and people have also told me on many occasions that I work really fast.
SHOWREEL 2014 from Louis Minnaar on Vimeo.
I learnt pretty quickly that running my own graphics company wasn't just about creating cool imagery, but mostly finding work and doing a lot of admin. A lot of students tell me that they want to freelance, not knowing that they wont simply be sitting in a room for days on end drawing pretty pictures. You have essentially to create your own salary, which can be a daunting task. Its definitely not for everyone. That said - I cannot imagine not being my own boss. I love being able to close the office halfway through a day and go mountain biking. Freedom is so valuable.
We (Albino Creations - a company I started a year ago with my partner and friend, Werner Burger), recently did animation work on a project that I also co-directed with Jono Hall (Darling Films). We had to create a type of Star Trek spoof for Vuzu Amp. We did all the production design on the project and also handled the animation. Its been a dream of mine to design space ships for a very long time. So this one definitely takes first prize. Check it out at www.albino.co.za/portfolio/vuzu-amp
VUZU amp (DARLING) - ANIMATED SEQUENCES from Albino Creations on Vimeo.
Co-Directed with Jono Hall
Production House: Darling
Agency: Black River Football Club
Probably After Effects. It is a program that I have really come to know pretty well over the last seven or so years.
I pack up my things, go home and try again the next day. Either that or I distract myself by doing something completely different. I like doing things that only require basic motor functions to clear my head.
I mostly have no idea what I am doing until I am done.
If you could take a really big room, fill it up with all the second-hand items you can find. Spray it all with a really sticky substance and then shake it around. That's what my head feels like.
I am really proud to be a South African creator. I really do believe we live in an amazing and unique country where we play such an important role as creatives. What we do inspires and uplifts in a time when it is desperately needed.
Production House: Whatwewant
Agency: Jupiter Drawing Room CPT
Right now we are animating projections for the Fiesta Awards 2016, which is happening in February. Eeek.