Shelflife Artist Tee Series: 14 'PJ Offner'
The Shelflife Artist Tee Series 2023!
We know it's been a while but we can assure you it was worth the wait, as we collaborated with four incredible local artists and designers to weave their own unique style into our Shelflife "S" series.
Starting in 2018, we had some of our best local creatives interpret this letter onto the perfect canvas- a classic black and white tee. Five years on, and this series continually brings something new and unexpected to our SL community.
With this week being the first drop of the year, we’re starting off with the masterful PJ Offner. We caught up with PJ, one of SA's finest, ahead of the 'Shelflife Artist Tee 14' release to find out about his 10-year history in illustration and graphic design, as well as his journey to (and through) the many industries he’s a part of.
SL: Who are you and where are you from?
PJ: My name is PJ Offner. I'm an illustrator and designer from Cape Town, where I currently live and work.
SL: How did you get into illustration? Tell us about your journey.
PJ: I’ve always loved drawing – especially in school. So from a young age, I knew I wanted to do something creative. I had high hopes of becoming a cartoonist, and when I got a bit older, I started looking into possible careers and found graphic design, which I ended up studying at AAA. I then started gravitating more to the illustration part of design and never really looked back since.
SL: Name 3 of your favourite influences at the moment.
PJ: Ornamental Conifer: One of my favourite artists over the last couple of years. He's an amazing sign writer and works on some of the coolest projects out there, like hand-painting cars for Porsche and designing helmets for some of the best race car drivers in the world.
Stevie Shao: Personally I think she’s one of the coolest artists at the moment. The way she uses shapes and colours to create these vibrant and amazing animals on wood is crazy. And she does it all – from murals to painting basketballs. Look her up.
Nathan Sykes: Maybe a bit of a weird pick, but the most incredible painter – mostly specialising in motorcycles. His level of craftsmanship is something else and the way he brings something to life with colour is insane.
SL: If you could work with any designer / brand in the world who would it be and why?
PJ: Designing graphics for Nike and Adidas has always been a dream of mine. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Nike a couple of times over the years but would love to collaborate on some shirt graphics or a capsule collection.
SL: Tell us a little bit about your work history and what you are currently up to at present.
PJ: After finishing my studies I started an internship at what was then called Am I Collective. I stayed with them for a couple of years as a junior illustrator before the company became Bewilder TV, which was more animation-driven.
I stayed on and became the Creative Director, and after five years, I decided to try my luck at working for myself in 2019. So it's been four years of working freelance, with some months easier than others, but I haven't regretted the move just yet.
Now, I work predominantly for animation studios – doing everything from scripts and storyboarding to illustrating and directing.
SL: One piece of advice for anyone starting in your field today?
PJ: Just experiment and try new things. I don’t know of any artists who found their style from the start. It's a process and the journey can be amazing if you try different things. You’ll find your voice eventually and things will work out. Also, learn from other people – work with others and with people who inspire you. It will get you to where you need to be if you don’t rush it.
Shelflife Artist Tee 14 'PJ Offner'
R549
S, M, L, XL, 2XL
Dropping Saturday the 18th of August, in-store and online!
Stay tuned for the 'Shelflife Artist Tee Series' 15, 16 & 17 coming soon!
