28 Jul 2025

Emerging self-taught 2D animator Keneilwe Tsiako, alias Mmadipopae, is leveraging online platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to share short skits and original characters, all without ever setting foot in a traditional animation studio.

What began as idle childhood doodles has blossomed into a full-fledged passion for 2D animation, a style characterised by minimal frame rates and a focus on key poses. 

Through her work, she blends storytelling, humour, and everyday life in Botswana, filtered through her lens as a Motswana woman. 

She launched her digital animation journey over three years ago and produces content that appeals to audiences of all ages.

“I have always loved 2D, I feel more in tune with it, and I have been lost in this rabbit hole since childhood,” said the self-taught creator. 

She expressed a desire to use her work to spotlight Botswana’s stories, which are often overlooked in the animation world, and is incorporating more Setswana dialogue into her projects.

So far, she has created a short animation titled Customer Service, inspired by her personal experience renewing her national identity card, Omang. 

Her debut animation featured two goofy characters, Bala Moeteledipele and Bala Molatedi, together known as BalaBala, a direct translation of “ramblers.” 

She described them as a silly comic relief duo who usually say things that are not worth listening to.

Her go-to resources include Ed Tadeo’s YouTube tutorials and Krita, a free animation software she praised for its wide variety of tools. 

“I prefer 2D style because it suits the platforms I use, like social media shorts,” she explained, adding that while social media helped her market her creativity, promotion remained a challengethough she  remains unfazed. 

She is currently working on a new project titled Driving Keletile Crazy, a comedic take on driving behaviour on Botswana’s roads, told through a protagonist named Keletile.

“Right now, I am at the storyboard stage and plan to release the first short by the end of July,” she shared. 

Looking ahead to 2030, she hopes to produce a feature film, perhaps inspired by Botswana’s own sci-fi novel, The Mela Legacy by Ita Mangela. ENDS