Meet Hayley, a talented 27-year-old artist hailing from Pretoria, South Africa. Donning multiple hats as an art director, illustrator, concept artist, and 3D character designer/animator, she balances these roles with finesse. Instagram has proven to be an invaluable platform for marketing her work, and it is where most of her collaborations, contracts, and partnerships have been born.
Although already possessing a strong creative flair, Hayley chose to hone her skills further by attending the Animation School of Cape Town in 2016. This venture allowed her to delve into the world of digital art and animation. Eventually, she focused on character creation in Zbrush with Animschool online. Hayley adored the learning experience—moving from being one of the only three art students in high school to immersing herself in a specialized creative institution was simply awe-inspiring.
When asked about when she realized art directing was her calling, Hayley shared that creativity had always been ingrained in her essence. As a young girl, she harnessed her artistic talents as a mode of expression to combat her shyness. Her creative confidence grew steadily over time through drawing pictures for those around her. At 12 years old, after creating her first stop-motion animation film with play dough and her father’s camera, she knew the creative industry was where she belonged.
Her parents’ unwavering support has been crucial throughout her journey. Hayley appreciates the importance of failure as an intrinsic aspect of refining and mastering her craft. It has molded her direction and abilities while strengthening her resilience.
Hayley’s work boasts impressive collaborations with renowned names like Anele Mdoda, Trevor Noah, Minka Kelly, DJ Speedsta, Zinhle Jinyane, Black Motion, Chef Mbombi, and AKA. Additionally, she has teamed up with marketing agencies, small businesses, and individuals.
When asked about her favorite 3D artists, Hayley listed Charles Ellison from Dreamworks- as he tought me the dreamworks pipeline for Character creation In Zbrush. Scumboy (Oliver) – South African making a huge name, his direction is unique & thought provoking. Beeple- in his early days as an artist created a piece of art everyday, even when it was inconvenient, he never stopped learning and that inspires me! Antoni Tudisco – His art direction, use of colour, texture and lighting is bold, edgy, and strangely edible, and I love that! and Kibooki – Kibooki has a character look and feel that I connect with, the expression, body language & overall look and feel of his work is something I appreciate”; said Hayley.
Moving forward Hayley plans to continue creating character designs, concept art, stories and renders whilst she works towards building her brand. She also plans on publishing her first book within this year. The purpose of this book is to prove that anyone can create something spectacular out of nothing by exercising their subconscious creative mind, which everyone is equipped with. There are 100 different practical exercises that are fun, challenging and therapeutic.
An advice she gives an aspiring Art Director which she wishes she knew before she started, is that YouTube is the space to start learning 3D, this platform has everything ranging from intermediate to advanced tutorials. Blender is a powerful 3D program that you can start learning on and is for free. Artstation is a creative platform where 2D and 3D artists can publish their work, it’s a great space for inspiration, networking and learning tutorials. Start now, start by creating something, a concept, sketch or design and try and make it a daily habit, take it further, dig deep and challenge it. 
You’ll start off as a 3D generalist, you’ll begin to notice which department you’re interested in. Once you have found your niche, practice, start perfecting it and grow that portfolio!
You can find me on Instagram and Artstation – Instagram handle @by_hayleypretorius & Hayley Pretorius on Artstation