Christi du Toit

Q&A

• When did you first feel like, “This is it. This is the work I want to be known for”?

  I played in a band in high school. We were young and had basically zero budget, but what we did have was a lot of passion and a drive to succeed. That led to a lot of DIY, which meant learning things on the fly.

  We needed posters, album artwork, and shirt designs, and that became my first real introduction to illustration and design — something that would later form the foundation of my career. After creating my first absolutely terrible design, I knew I wanted to put all of my energy into getting better.

• What’s been helping you level up lately?

  I try to one-up myself with every new project. I spent too many years comparing myself to my idols, which only left me feeling stressed. Now I focus on comparing myself to my past self instead. If I’ve leveled up, even by just one percent, from the work I did last year, then I know I’m on the right track. Lately, I’ve been concentrating on making my work more intuitive and avoiding the trap of second-guessing every creative decision.

• Which part of the creative process is your favorite, and why?

  I love getting lost in the final rendering process, as it can be very therapeutic and meditative, but I would be lying if I said the initial planning stages aren’t my favorite. I’m drawn to the exploratory nature of developing ideas and approaches, and the looseness of sketching them out on paper with nothing but a pencil. Planning compositions, building complex scenes from simple shapes, developing characters, and weaving storytelling through visual cues is the part of the process that always puts a smile on my face.

• What’s something Affinity just gets right?

  There are many things, but bringing pixel⁠(opens in a new tab or window), vector⁠(opens in a new tab or window) and layout⁠(opens in a new tab or window) work into one app. It’s a genuinely smart move. I used to switch between apps on almost every project, which could be a hassle and often disrupted my flow and momentum. Being able to handle drawing, painting, vector work, typography, layout, editing, and file setup all in one place has been a total game changer for my process.

• Is there an Affinity trick you always end up sharing?

  With the latest iteration of Affinity, I always highlight its customizability⁠(opens in a new tab or window). You can build a digital workspace that fits your exact needs, and that’s something worth taking advantage of. Combining pixel⁠(opens in a new tab or window), vector⁠(opens in a new tab or window) and layout⁠(opens in a new tab or window) capabilities into one naturally means having a lot of tools in one place, many of which won’t be part of your personal workflow. The key is identifying your essentials and making them easy to access. Think of it like cooking. Keep the tools you use most within arm’s reach and leave everything else packed away until you need it.