Cape Town illustrator to make his mark in New York
Cape Town illustrator Stephen Minyi has made big strides in New York City and will soon be moving there. Picture: Supplied
Cape Town-based illustrator Stephen Minyi has made his mark on the international scene and will soon be relocating to New York.
Under his brand Dear Stephan, his most recent work includes a series of illustrations for American media company, Complex.
The campaign, titled ‘How Ye changed sneakers’ features 12 of Minyi’s designs and was a dream come true, as he had been perfecting illustrating Kanye West for years.
“This was such a big honour. I was sad when it ended because I’ve worked on Kanye’s features for so long and this story itself is so special to me,” he added.
Since the end of 2019, all of his commissions have been from people in Los Angeles and New York City, proving that remote work can open many doors.
“In South Africa, I guess I am technically unemployed,” he jokingly shared.
“Fashion designer and author Bobby Kim, better known as Bobby Hundreds, really put me on the map when he shared work I did for him online,” he added.
Since then, he has completed illustrations for the former art director of Versace, Salehe Bembury, NBA player Langston Galloway, Tommy Boy Records and many more.
While scaling a rate for clients is a challenge, Minyi said a drawing on average would cost around R6 800.
“Corporate rates are different. I always say that corporations pay Bill Gates rates. While I can’t disclose what Complex paid me, you can expect to receive anywhere from $2 000 upwards for one project,” he said.
Minyi said being a freelance illustrator meant he was already at home, but that remote work had opened many doors for him.
“I always had the dream of moving to New York and as the commissions started piling up, this became a reality,” he said.
“I’ve been working on their time zone for the last two years, the move just makes sense,” he added.
As a cut above the rest, Minyi has never been employed by any corporate entity since he graduated in 2017 and has grown his brand solely through freelance work.
In 2020, Minyi thought he would give the corporate world a try but soon declined a job at a marketing agency.
“The job was for a desktop publisher, and they were offering a salary of R7 000 for the month, whereas I can make that off commission work from one client,” he said.
The second collaboration he declined was with a major clothing retail chain.
“They wanted to use my drawings for a season’s range but phrased it as a brand collaboration,” he said.
He added: “I asked about remuneration, which had not been mentioned once and they said they have a budget; but I know from other designers, I would not have received more than R3 000 for all the work.”
Minyi comes from Northpine in Brackenfell and did his national diploma in graphic design at CPUT.
He began drawing in primary school and a teacher advised his parents, Maureen and Jeremiah, that he should attend an arts-focused school. They acted quickly and enrolled him in Tygerberg Arts Centre.
He recalled drawing with his two of his friends, Cleo Cupido and Sergio MacMaster.
“We would sit for hours trying to draw whatever we could but moving to an arts-focused school helped me hone my skill,” he said.
He added: “We never watched TV or played games when we were together. The two of them fuelled the interest I already had.”
He fondly recalls creating caricatures for each person in his grade 11 class and drawing Dragon Ball Z characters for classmates at Bernadino Heights High School.
“I created characters for each person based on their character, and drew them that way,” he said.
Although he has made strides in illustration, his first dream was to be a cartoonist, inspired by Jonathan Shapiro, the cartoonist behind the Zapiro comics.
“I recall visiting my dad’s office and my life being changed by Zapiro’s work. I didn’t know this was a career option,” he said.
“When I was 14 years old, I even sneaked into my parent's room, called the Cape Times and asked them if they needed cartoonists,” he added.
“When the lady on the other end of the line said yes, I had no idea how to react or what to say, so I hung up.”