Caricature as Graduation Gift

Adrian the student from Nederland

This caricature was commissioned by Adrian’s ex-South African parents in the Netherlands as a graduation gift for him as he completed his degree at Leiden University. My caricatures are personalised with the subject's interests, hobbies, travels, and academic or career elements.

For Adrian, I captured details from his rowing team's logo and colours, his keyboard, guitar, student house, and more. My overseas clients enjoy great value with our favourable exchange rate. I’ve worked with clients from the Netherlands, Canada, and Switzerland, but most of my work comes from Cape Town and Gauteng.

Caricature as Graduation Gift

Nerita the business student

This caricature was commissioned by Nerita's parents and grandparents in Durbanville as a graduation present for her, who was about to graduate from Stellenbosch University.

Creating this caricature presented a challenge since Nerita was a strikingly beautiful 21-year-old woman. From my experience, it can be tricky to distort a woman's features to create a comical effect, as there is often greater societal pressure for women to conform to certain beauty standards than there is for men. Fortunately, Nerita's grandparents were pleased with the final outcome and felt that I had captured her likeness perfectly.

Caricature Gift for Birthday

Colin the jungle guy

At the request of Colin's partner, I was commissioned to create a caricature showcasing his passions, including his fondness for critters and exotic creatures, as well as his dream of exploring the Amazon rainforest someday.  

The artwork also featured Colin in his usual work attire and his dream vehicle. The caricature was a birthday gift for his 50th.

Caricature as Retirement Gift

"The Godfather"

During my early career as a caricaturist, Cape Oil, a Cape Town-based company that produces sunflower oil and other products, requested that I create a caricature of a retiring top manager as a farewell gift.

This particular manager, fondly referred to by employees as "The Godfather," was a peanut lover and was renowned for his passion for gambling and his knack for always having a trick or two up his sleeve in business dealings. Upon close inspection of the complete caricature, you'll notice oil dripping from his sleeve.

Caricature as Gift for Graduation

Douw the "boerseun"

This individual has a deep affection for the bush, computer-related pursuits, and ethical hunting. This caricature of him was presented to him by his parents as a graduation gift for his Investment Management degree.

Caricature as a Business Gift

The tower boys

A client requested a caricature to be displayed in the office of her husband's communications tower company based in Cape Town. Her husband was one of three partners in the business, and the caricature was intended to commemorate their successful partnership and business venture.

Children's Caricature

Business kids

Lucia Nteke commissioned me to create a project for Business Kid, an organisation based in Gauteng that aims to provide training opportunities for underprivileged children who aspire to enter the business world. Their work involves interactive programmes, initiatives, workshops, and awareness campaigns aimed at empowering disadvantaged children.

Caricature as Achievement Award

Thabo, potjiekos connoisseur

Thabo, who resides in Centurion, Pretoria, has a great fondness for braaing and potjiekos, collects cigars avidly, takes pride in his lush beard and sports car, enjoys playing golf despite being admittedly "a shocker," and is passionate about music, aspiring to be a closet DJ.

Thabo wanted more distortion in the artwork than what I typically apply, and I must note that I have never had a client as pleased with the final result as this one.

Caricature Gift for Wedding Anniversary

Joanne and Richard's family

Previously, I had created a caricature for their son's bar mitzvah, but this time Joanne requested a caricature for the entire family – a significant undertaking! The catamaran portrayed in the artwork displayed the logos of her husband's various past and present businesses.

Caricature as Farewell Gift

Franco the travelling Italian

The South African branch of the advertising agency Grey requested a caricature of their brand manager, Franco, which was presented to him as a farewell gift before his departure to Mexico.

The caricature was designed to reflect Franco's Italian heritage, his extensive travel experiences to various countries, his fondness for music and Heineken (the account he was responsible for), as well as his playful, caring, and witty personality traits.

Caricature as a Birthday Gift

Jimmy the cycling champion

I was approached by Jimmy's spouse to create a caricature in celebration of his 60th birthday. Being an accomplished cycling champion, Jimmy frequents a wooded region in Cape Town for his rides. To add a touch of humour, his wife requested that South African wild animals be incorporated into the caricature, surprising him during his cycling journey.

Editorial Caricature

"The Arch"

During my early days, I drew a caricature of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, also known in South Africa as "The Arch." I did it as part of a job application for The Cape Argus's business section. Tutu had an expressive face and a famous sense of humour which made him a dream subject for me and caricaturists everywhere.

He made great contributions to democracy and was seen as one of the "good guys" in politics. "Bad guys" are even more fun though because it's totally acceptable to exaggerate their features to the point of being insulting.

I didn't get the job, by the way. Turns out that if you want to be an editorial cartoonist, you have to be really fast, which is probably why they are in high demand.

Event Invitation with Simple Caricatures

Conference speakers

Rode & Associates's annual property conference was promoted through an email announcement that featured caricatures of the expert economists who were scheduled to speak at the event. The idea was suggested by Rode's marketing manager, Lynette Smit, and resulted in a visually appealing and attention-grabbing marketing campaign.

Caricature for Editorial

Tito Mboweni

In this issue of quarterly research and analysis publication Rode's Report on the South African Property Market, the former Reserve Bank governor, Tito Mboweni, had something to point out on the graph behind him. It's worth noting that Mboweni would later become the Minister of Finance in President Cyril Ramaphosa's government.

Simple Caricature as Gift to the Boss(es)

Corporate directors

The staff of BDO Spencer Ward, a firm of chartered accountants, commissioned me to create a group caricature of the company's directors.

Due to budget constraints, they requested a line art caricature. I received separate photographs of each director, which I then caricatured and merged into a group caricature.

Caricature as a Birthday Present to Dad

Harley rider

Natalia requested a caricature of her father riding his Harley-Davidson as a gift for his 60th birthday. The caricature needed to feature her father's biking club emblem, and the most enjoyable part was getting the chrome of the motorcycle just right. I ensured that it had a certain glossiness with sharp lines and clear reflections, capturing the essence of her father's beloved Harley.

Thabo Matime
General manager, New Product Development, Netcare

"Konrad, wow!!!! I’m blown away. Thank you so much. I've always wanted this. I really love it."

Pieter De Waal
Sole proprietor, Hermit on the Hill wines

"A stickler for detail, Konrad appreciates the difference between good and great, and won't stop tweaking till the end-product meets his exacting standards.

"His offbeat sense of humour, coupled with his ability to transform this into his designs, makes it a pleasure to brainstorm new concepts with him.

"Konrad has been a key member in developing my brand, and I always look to him for inspiration and creativity."

Tania de Maine-Oosthuizen:
Manager, Tharagay Addictions Services

"We love his work, from initial ideas to final designs! What he has done for us, was simple, yet elegant, and purely beautiful".

Zeki Hilmi
Sole proprietor, Chelsea Village Framers and Antique Shoppe

"Konrad has this exceptional ability to develop illustrations.

"We were so thrilled by the work he undertook for us that we employed Konrad to design our wedding invitation, which, through collaboration and Konrad's outstanding knowledge of graphic design, he designed for us exactly what we were looking for. All our guests commented and said, "what an amazing wedding invitation!"

"I recommend Konrad to everybody and will use him in the future again."

Sanett Uys
Marketing manager, Colliers International

"The work Konrad did for us has been outstanding! His customer service is great and his creativity exceptional. He is willing to think out of the box and come up with new ideas, which we love."

Ursula Jensen
Blue Sky Towers

"That is AWESOME. We handed the caricature pictures to the 3 guys at a dinner and they were completely blown away. What a lovely surprise it was for them."