Five Years at Wigwam: Senior Illustrator Mal Pye reflects on creative growth, collaboration and unforgettable projects

Mal, it’s great to connect! Was a creative career in licensing always part of the plan?
Mal Pye, Senior Illustrator, Wigwam: The Licencing industry was something I was very lucky to just fall into in my first creative role out of college. I was eager enough to take on any illustration work at the time, but I’m so thankful I landed where I did because I thought working with the brands that we do was just something I would only ever dream of. It felt right from the start, and I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of some of the industry’s greatest, I knew I’d found my groove. I’ve not looked back!!

And how did you come across Wigwam?
Mal: I knew of Wigwam from connecting with Ian a number of years ago. He always seemed like a genuine guy, and I knew working with him would be a smooth ride. I just had to sit tight and wait for the right time and right opportunity to do so!

Debs, Ian, let’s bring you in! Mal was Wigwam’s first hire – and this year marks his 5th anniversary with the company. It’s always a big moment when a company decides to recruit for the first time. What prompted the move back then?
Debs Southwood, Director of Design & Co-Founder, Wigwam: As a new agency back then we had seen accelerated growth – and this meant we needed to grow the team past the founding members. Mal was someone Ian had wanted to work with for years, but timings hadn’t been right, so it was great to finally get him on board. We knew what we were getting with Mal which made it a safe move for us!

And what made Mal a great fit for the role?
Ian Smith, MD & Co-Founder, Wigwam: Mal is not only massively talented, but also a really great guy and a perfect fit personality-wise, which is really important for a small company. We knew he had massive potential too – having been pigeonholed previously we knew he had the drive and willingness to learn more and develop here, which is exactly what has happened.

As well as being an extremely talented character artist and illustrator, he has a good knowledge of other working processes which meant he could support on the design side of the business also. Which as a first hire was a win, win!

Absolutely! And Mal, what have been some of your top projects to work on so far at Wigwam?
Mal: That’s always a tough one to answer. Recently, we did a large range of slightly stylised Disney character arts. It was great to figure out and match the style first time round.

Also, Paddington character arts for STUDIOCANAL Kids & Family was a great project with lots of elements and a real demonstration of team collaboration with my colleague Sara – one of our other magician illustrators.

There’s also countless amounts of Ravensburger puzzle artwork that I loved working on too, from crazy aliens and animals trapped in vending machines, to cut away Hogwarts castles showing lots of detail and hidden items of the Harry Potter world within.

Ian: Just to add, the Paddington character development for STUDIOCANAL Kids & Family has been a massive success for us here and Mal has spearheaded this, working seamlessly with Sara to deliver some of the best character work we have ever done. Mal is now vital to almost all aspects of the illustration teams work. Not only for his exceptional character and colour work, but also helping smooth work flow and working with clients directly to make sure we deliver on every level.

Great stuff! And how has the work evolved or changed over the past five years?
Mal: I think everyone here has found their preferred or best-suited roles, so this helps jobs move smoother and feel more collaborative within the team – which is a must working remotely. The work pace has also increased massively over the past five years. I can only put this down to demand for Wigwams quality, so I’m pretty proud to be part of that trusted quality.

What is it about the people or culture at Wigwam that has kept you there and happy for five years Mal?
Mal: We are all on the same page here, dedicated to creating the best work possible for our clients and always happy to share knowledge and information to better ourselves professionally. Outside of work when we get together for our quarterly socials, we always have the best times. We’re all just the same… Kids who never really grew up!

And to wrap up Debs, how big is the team now at Wigwam? And has your approach to hiring evolved over the years?
Debs: We are a team of eight here at the moment. Hiring is one of the hardest things, you never really know how it’s going to work out until you have someone in the role for a little bit. It doesn’t always work out, but when it does it’s also one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.

And our approach remains the same – a good portfolio gets you an interview, a good interview gets you to the next step where we ask for a sample piece of work to be done and presented at a second interview. That part is crucial as we get to see how a designer or illustrator tackles a particular piece of work and how comfortable they are at communicating the process they took, all of which is part of the job. By refining our process, we’ve been able to attract not only exceptional talent, but genuinely brilliant humans too – and we’re incredibly proud of that.

Absolutely, guys, thanks again for taking time out to chat. And congrats on the work anniversary Mal!