Celeste du Preez was born and raised in South Africa where she spent a great deal of her childhood drawing and painting. Her work is influenced by the intense vibrancy of Africa and tends to have a bittersweet undertone.
She studied Graphic Design at the University of Johannesburg and majored in illustration in her final year where she won the 1st Daimler-Benz AG Graphic Illustration & Painting Competition in 1998. After graduation she started her career in web design but continues to do freelance illustration work.
Creating an image has to begin with a story. She usually starts with loose drawings to develop and explore the character and scene she wants to portray. Once she’s captured the spirit of the character she scans the drawing into Photoshop. She completes the illustrations on her Mac using a mixture of digital painting techniques, textures and overlays.
Maskew Miller and Longman
South African Airways
Daimler Benz
The framed Gheco
Joy Interactive