Cayleen Bester

Cayleen Bester

Born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand, Cayleen Bester is a digital illustrator with a background in 2D animation. She combines cinematic and traditional painting techniques to create her work, using pencils and watercolour to thumbnail her concepts before hand-painting the final composition on an iPad or drawing tablet. Her illustrations are inspired by the natural world and her curiosity for the creatures we share it with, incorporating their unique personalities and stories into her paintings. In each piece, she layers personal experiences and emotion, drawing connections between the human and animal experience in a way that feels enchanting.