Rob Foote

Foote, Rob (1977 - ) is an award-winning artist and illustrator living in Ōtepoti Dunedin and originally from South Africa. He holds a degree in Fine Arts with Distinction from Durban Institute of Technology and has lived and worked variously in Australia, South Africa, Japan, and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Rob has extensive experience across a wide range of art forms. He began his career as a bronze foundry worker, going on to build film sets for movies such as Blood Diamond and Starship Troopers. Rob also worked as a teacher, alongside illustrating, for four years. In 2007 he received a Coca Cola Young Designers Award in Cape Town.

Between 2013 and 2017, Rob worked as an Artist Illustrator for Times News, illustrating over a hundred educational titles and projects. He worked as a concept artist for film and games for four years following this, including on Mosley (2019) and for game companies including Gameloft, Supercell, Blizzard, and League of Legends. Rob was a finalist for the Golden Baobab Award in 2017 and received an Honourable Mention in the Arts Station Challenge in 2018.

In 2023 and 2024, Rob has focused on his own art exhibitions and illustration projects. He brought his first title as both author and illustrator, Samples from the Lab (Creativity Unleashed Studios), to life in 2023. It was a finalist for the Russell Clark Illustration Award in the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Rob is available for school visits through the Writers in Schools programme and is passionate about sharing a love of art, creativity, and humour with young learners. He includes live drawings, amusing videos, and lots of interaction with students in a style they can easily connect with.