Baitemi makes blazing digital illustrations
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Sunday November 5, 2023 06:00
The Tsetsebjwe native is currently blazing a trail in digital artistry locally. Baitime, who is currently studying for an Honours Degree in Creative Multimedia at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, his creative abilities are deeply rooted in his family. He told Arts&Culture that creating art runs in his family, having begun with simple line cartoons throughout his childhood years. Born in a family of five, Baitemi stated that he never looked back after beginning to express his feelings and stories via art at junior secondary school using brushwork to shade his pieces. “I always aspired to perform better than my priceless artworks and I consider myself to be one of my greatest inspirations. I challenged myself to improve as an artist from time to time. My mother (Mmaseno Baitemi), who has always valued my creativity and encouraged me to make more and better work, has inspired and kept me going,” he continued.
The talented artist said he adored and learned from his secondary school Art teacher, who became his mentor and inspiration of all time. He said as a mentor, the teacher devoted time and helped develop his artistic abilities. He highlighted that he enjoys drawing portraits and that, to put a fine point on it, his highly creative teacher has always pushed him to pursue portrait drawing in the future. “Over time, I have developed a deep love for portrait drawing, especially when the results of my work bring happiness to others,” he continued.
Furthermore, Baitemi explained that his interest in digital art increased as a result of a module on illustrations or digital portraits that was added at the beginning of the course. He discovered a market niche in the art world where he can easily make money since being introduced to Adobe Illustrator in 2021. “I spend roughly a week studying my subject or portrait reference before I start creating artwork. I then use an HB pencil to grid the paper I want to draw on so that it will be easy to erase. I subsequently sketch the reference picture’s contours before shading and erasing the preceding grids. Finally, I use an electronic rubber to highlight the artwork and clean the surrounding area before calling it a day. I usually sketch using charcoal and pencil,” he said, providing examples of his methods.
Among the challenges he faces include being underappreciated since people take art for granted and constantly attempting to haggle over the price of their artwork. Additionally, he said there is still a significant divide in the ways that conventional and digital art spaces are valued. He stated that other issues include a lack of resources to purchase high-quality art supplies.