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The Future is young and creative! At just 19 years old, this trailblazer has already become one of Chris Brown’s go-to illustrators. His work has been featured on billboards in New York Time Square and has received numerous mentions and features from some of the biggest names and urban magazines in America such as Tory Lanez, Young Thug, Snoop Dogg, Timabland, Revolt TV, XXL Mag and RapMusic. The incredible thing is he only just started building his empire a year ago! It is impossible to not crush on this extremely talented young man. We celebrate Nyasha Warambwa, popularly known as Hulio Draws who is paving the way for many young and aspiring artists by showing them how conquering the Zimbabwean creative industry should be done!

Who is Hulio Draws and what inspired you to pursue a path in design?

I am a 19 year old digital artist/illustrator from Harare, Zimbabwe and my passion for art and creating led me to follow this path of design.

What type of design work do you do?

I mainly do artistic digital art but I also dabble in regular graphic design from time to time, things such as logos, posters and flyers.

Your work has gotten quite a lot of international recognition, how do you feel about the recognition and did you expect your art to blow up as it has?

I am very thankful for the recognition. It is something that I’ve worked hard for but the amount of exposure I have received is definitely beyond what I was expecting so it is really a blessing.

What do you think has been the appeal with your art and why have so many people resonated with it?

I think my art resonates with people because I try to appeal to everyone by drawing art that looks good but also has meaning behind it.

Where else do you see your brand going?

I hope that I can continue to grow and make more connections with people overseas then eventually try and create a platform that allows other Zimbabwean youth to establish themselves out there.

As a Zimbabwean creative, what struggles have you experienced thus far?

The main struggle without a doubt is local support. It’s something that I’ve managed to garner over this year that I’ve been drawing but it’s definitely been difficult as I’ve had to achieve greater heights to receive the recognition.

Being young in Zimbabwe is hard especially when it comes to career choices, what advice would you give to fellow Zimbos about pursuing their dreams?

Never aim low when it comes to your dreams. I feel that in Zim we are confined to achieving things only within our country when we should be aiming to make it out there and elevate our country.

Who have you worked with and who would you love to work with in the future?

The biggest artists I’ve worked with so far are Chris Brown and Famous Dex. I would love to work with Tory Lanez in future.

What keeps you humble?

I always set very high standards and never allow myself to get too comfortable with any of my achievements therefore I never give myself too much credit for my big wins. In doing so, it keeps that mindset of “I’ve made it” out of my head and always makes me hungrier for more achievements.

What do our schools and education system have to do to encourage more students to pursue careers in the creative industry?

I feel that we should have better facilities to support our creatives. Things such as equipment to draw digitally could go so far in encouraging students.

When you’re not flying the Zim flag high with your drawings, what other interests do you have?

Well when I’m not drawing, I guess I’m just doing what any other teenager would do, lol. You know things like games, music and hanging out with friends.

Why is it important to have a strong support system as a creative?

From my own experience, starting off trying to establish your name as a creative in Zim can be so difficult because you feel you have no support to the point of wanting to give up but when you have a good support system you always feel motivated to do better and make them proud.

It would not be a real celebration, if we did not help to amplify the work of inspirational young leaders in the creative industry like Nyasha. His dedication, evident talent and continuous advocacy of a better Zimbabwe for all leaves many of us in awe and we are incredibly excited to see more from him. A lesson to all the youth out there, dream big dreams, work hard and you too can see all of it result in success! — the article is courtesy of divasinc.co.zw.